Major Reed Revelation-Did I learn Something

[Jeff C]

This is a major learning experience I just had concerning reeds. It really sheds light on how pointless it is to post a thread like, " What is the best reed?" So. I just got a Guardala MBII gold to test. Up till now I had been using a Jody Jazz Classic. On the Classic I had tried Vandoren javas, ZZ's V16's, Rico jazz Selects and Plasticovers, Alexander Superials and DC's. The Classic sounded best to me w/ the Plasticovers. Overall tone, crispness, response, and altissimo all were better w/ the Plasticovers. The Javas were good, but altissimo was hit and miss. 80-90% of the Alexander reeds were very stuffy, as were the jazz selects, and I labled ea. of the stuffy ones as such. Now here is the real eye opener for me.
On the MBII, the Plasticovers are stuffy and altissimo was bad. All of my stuffy Alexanders and jazz selects are Fabulous on the Guardala. Great response, bright, Altissimo is the best I have experienced and was using 2.5 Superial, DC, or a Jazz Select. The MBII seems to not be reed picky at all, except it doesnt like Plasticovers much. So all those reeds in your drawer that you think are stuffy and worthless might be great on a different mouthpiece. I am really glad i didnt get rid of all those "stuffy" reeds. I am using Rovner Ligs on both MPC's. The Classic seems to be picky where you position the lig. The MBII played great no matter where I positioned the lig. This was about a 5 hr. test in all.

[Lovano1239]

Took me a while too. I had a Rousessu JDX 7 for a long time and really all the Vandorens worked great on it. V16's, JAVA's, and my favorite ZZ's. And then I bought a Jody Jazz HR* 8, which I love to death, but when I tried playing it w/ ZZ's, it just sounded terrible. Really stuffy, terrible inntonation, couldn't articulate as well, just really bad. And so I thought, "okay, don't panic, maybe some JAVA's will work?" Nope. "Okay, then V16's? Please let them work?!?!?!?!" Nope. So I decided to try a different brand and I went for some Alexander Superials. It sounded like a new horn! I was in shock and awe. Then I decided to try the Alexander DC Superials and it was even better. It's funny how these things work. And that's why we have this wonderful site, SOTW, to share experiences such as these. This is why the saxophone is such a great instrument.

[Agent27]

Yep, you learned something. Not all reeds work with all mouthpieces and not all mouthpieces work with all reeds. And just because a particular reed/mouthpiece combo doesn't work doesn't mean that either is necessarily bad.

[Doug Lange]

So, the best solution is to have a few different mouthpieces around in order to increase your usable reeds per box ratio;-)

[larryleung]

Hi, Jeff C and Lovano1239,

Did you work on the reeds before 'testing' them with different mouthpieces? or you just took a new reed from the box and tried 'em on the mouthpieces?

Thank you.

[nagukush]

So, the best solution is to have a few different mouthpieces around in order to increase your usable reeds per box ratio;-)

Wow ! It just keeps getting better and better for me...lol...:D

[Robbie C]

There are so many posts on here by obviously extremely experienced players, a beginner could get confused.
As a novice, with one sax and one mouthpiece (yamaha 4c) I'd like to know if there is a concensus of what are the best reeds to use with that setup. Would it still vary from player to player?
I have only used Rico 2s so far, but I've discovered that they are not all the same, and I have learned what 'stuffy' means. Occassionally I'll get one that is so much better than the rest, everything suddenly becomes easy to play and sounds great.
Just a little chip of wood. Amazing!

[Rahspeak]

So, the best solution is to have a few different mouthpieces around in order to increase your usable reeds per box ratio;-)

not for me. i focus on one mouthpiece at a time, with one kind of reed, I use every reed in the box, and I make no efforts at modifying my reeds. a good, hand-finished mouthpiece should be reed-friendly...after that, it's my job to adjust...and there are too many tunes to learn to worry about fussing with reeds.

that's my take anyway. i rotate reeds and I do differentiate between gig reeds and woodshed reeds, but that's about the extent to which I evaluate reeds out of the box. every now and then there's a reed that is really lame but that is rare...I think a lot of reed stuff gets into guys' heads and under their skin. *time for me to duck!!!:twisted:*

[dave2sax]

I agree. Nothing lights up my Lamberson 6m like a #3 Superial, yet this same reed on another piece can sound a bit shrill. Conversely, the Alexander DC is great on brighter pieces, but not as good as the Superial on the Lamberson.

[Zannad]

This is a major learning experience I just had concerning reeds. It really sheds light on how pointless it is to post a thread like, " What is the best reed?" So. I just got a Guardala MBII gold to test. Up till now I had been using a Jody Jazz Classic. On the Classic I had tried Vandoren javas, ZZ's V16's, Rico jazz Selects and Plasticovers, Alexander Superials and DC's. The Classic sounded best to me w/ the Plasticovers. Overall tone, crispness, response, and altissimo all were better w/ the Plasticovers. The Javas were good, but altissimo was hit and miss. 80-90% of the Alexander reeds were very stuffy, as were the jazz selects, and I labled ea. of the stuffy ones as such. Now here is the real eye opener for me.
On the MBII, the Plasticovers are stuffy and altissimo was bad. All of my stuffy Alexanders and jazz selects are Fabulous on the Guardala. Great response, bright, Altissimo is the best I have experienced and was using 2.5 Superial, DC, or a Jazz Select. The MBII seems to not be reed picky at all, except it doesnt like Plasticovers much. So all those reeds in your drawer that you think are stuffy and worthless might be great on a different mouthpiece. I am really glad i didnt get rid of all those "stuffy" reeds. I am using Rovner Ligs on both MPC's. The Classic seems to be picky where you position the lig. The MBII played great no matter where I positioned the lig. This was about a 5 hr. test in all.

Totally agree with your points.
I cringe when I hear people trowing away certain newly bought reeds just because they sound a bit naff.

It's the combination of Sax+Mouthpiece+Player that matter!

I've found out that certain reeds deemed as faulty sounded perfectly right months later. What was really happening is that my lips got stronger and more able to control the nuances of each reed.
I check reeds with different mouthpieces (6 of them), before storing for future use or useful experiments (never chuck them away).

[Pojoty]

Ah I completely agree. It also changes from horn to horn. I posted about a week ago... My favorite reed, the Java 3.5's sound bright and wonderful on an Olds Ambassador. When I bought my Custom Z I couldn't STAND how stuffy they sounded. I tried a Hemke 3 and ZZ 3 and they worked great! On the Olds they sound a bit quiter.

Maybe it's all in my head.

Maybe... not?

Ok I'm not very good at making suspenseful commentary on my reply.

[daigle65]

That's why I choose my mpcs according to how well they play with Vandoren BB's.
I'm not going to go through the hassle of finding the right reed for the right mpc, I do it the other way around.

[Pojoty]

But reeds are cheaper than mpcs? If you spend 200 bucks on a mpc you wouldn't spend a few dollars on a few individual reeds to try?

I would, and I did. Mostly because I didn't have the money lying around to buy a new mpc, and I had a new horn that wasn't responding as well to Javas. I figured if it didn't work then it's time to return it, but I'm glad I did try 'em out because now I've decided to keep the sax ;)

[Jeff C]

Hi, Jeff C and Lovano1239,

Did you work on the reeds before 'testing' them with different mouthpieces? or you just took a new reed from the box and tried 'em on the mouthpieces?

Thank you.

That brings up another point. I had some 2.5 Superials that were so bad (stuffy) on the Classic that i had done the drillbit deal on them to free them up. Some it helped and others it didnt(on the JJClassic) Guess what? They all worked great on the Guardala. So to answer your question, some of the reeds had been worked and some hadnt. The only reed that didnt play well on the Guardala was the Plasticovers( 2, 2.5,3) Another interesting note about the lig placement of the MBII. I could have it mid, forward, back, and even upside down on the MBII and it was still great to play. Ease of use and reed friendly. I dont want to have to be a reed engineer to play sax.
And to add to the last 2 posters, one of the points I am trying to make is: Dont get rid of any reeds you dont like because they may be gems in the future if you try a new MPC. I had alot of fun trying out a smorgasboard of reeds on the MBII. MY lip is kinda raw this morning.(smiles)

[daigle65]

But reeds are cheaper than mpcs? Not if you don't buy the mpc ;)
I never buy a mpc if I haven't extensively play tested it before.
I have found a reed whose playing characteristics I like, so I prefer this approach.

[cjmdsax]

That's why I choose my mpcs according to how well they play with Vandoren BB's.
I'm not going to go through the hassle of finding the right reed for the right mpc, I do it the other way around.


I think that's worth a thread in itself. I've wondered myself if there is anyone who takes that approach (reed first). I don't but I've been thinking recently how important the reed is, yet there doesn't seem to be a lot of interest in the sonic characteristics of reeds by themselves and how different cuts affect sound and playability.

[Pojoty]

Not if you don't buy the mpc ;)
I never buy a mpc if I haven't extensively play tested it before.
I have found a reed whose playing characteristics I like, so I prefer this approach.

Some of us aren't lucky enough to live in a city with music stores that carry mouthpieces other than the Goldentone's and Rico's.

Thank god for return policies!

[Pojoty]

I think that's worth a thread in itself. I've wondered myself if there is anyone who takes that approach (reed first). I don't but I've been thinking recently how important the reed is, yet there doesn't seem to be a lot of interest in the sonic characteristics of reeds by themselves and how different cuts affect sound and playability.

Not a lot of interest? I'd say there's A LOT of interest. Reed, mpc, neck to my understanding is what makes up the core sound of a horn. Not many people by aftermarket necks so a lot of focus is shifted to the two. I've spent months trying reeds and failing or feeling satisfied. A lot of people spend a lot of time conditioning reeds. I don't spend so much, personally, but you should check out the excessively elaborate procedures people go through with their cane.