Need some advice on working with reeds

[Mister Z]

Hi there, i ve been trying several brands of reeds, playing for few months.
I started from Rico Orange 2, and my fren introduced me to a vandoren blue box size 2+1/2 which he has used, and find them soften. (gave them to me for free!).

After that few pieces of vandoren, i dun look back anymore, i find the rico 2 to be too soft for me, i proceed to trying on 2 brands of reeds, rico royal 3 and gonzalez 2+3/4 (my fren says gonzalez is slightly softer, hence the 1/4 size increase).

I played okay for the rico royal, in fact, never could ve been better, after some warming up, the royal plays superbly smooth on my stock mouthpiece, i felt very little resistance and no resistance after 30mins. I can get all notes from low to top and make the sound dark or bright according to my preference.

But the gonzalez i got to be temperamental, i find the gonzalez too hard despite the size i got to match the 2+1/2 vandoren, i takes some time to break in to feels like a 2+1/2. And today, one of them feels like a pain in the a**. I can blow in tune and it feels difficult no to blow an octave higher than what i wanted.

I m wondering how do i work my way with the reeds to make them playable? i have read alot on the forum how many of the forummers talks about working with reeds and making them playable. I just dun get how to alter the reeds. Anyone able to guide me on this?

Sorry for the long winded post and thank you in advance.

[RandyJ]

Pick up Larry Teal's "the art of saxophone playing".
Go to each of the reed manufactures web site and read what they offer on reed conditioning. Here's another;
http://bands.army.mil/masterclass/tusab/mar2003/reed_clinic/reed_clinic.htm
(good info all through the main site)
Then put it all together take what you need and go!
JR

[SuperAction80]

I'll second the Teal book, and add http://www.bootmanmusic.com/. IMHO, working on reeds comes with the territory of mastering the saxophone.

[Canadiain]

The Ridenour ATG reed finishing system was the best money Ive spent here...I am able to get most of the "bad" reeds in a box to play well through using it.

Basically he shows you in a simple way how to determine where a reed needs to be worked on, and supplies the tools to do the work without doing damage that would have a negative effect on the reed.

There is a clip of the system in action on youtube I believe.

[Scott Ramminger]

For what it's worth, I have found Gonzales reeds to run about a 1/4 to a half streghth HARDER, not softer. So if you bought the a bit harder than your normal reeds, they could be way harder than what you are used to playing.

Scott

[Tim Price]

http://www.timpricejazz.com/lessons/dealingwreeds.html


Check it out ;

[sycc]

I use this: http://www.vandoren.fr/en/accessories.html (the glass resurfacer kit)when they need softened a bit. I'm bad though I use a Brancher or Hemke til it's dead and then put a new one on.

[Mister Z]

Thanx guys, while looking around, i found out a reference of my own as well,
Just to share with everyone else what i found:
http://billhall.net/html/saxophone.php
the bottom of the page shows the list of reference available.

But is it necessary to get those kits? i mean, i could get any piece of glass and sandpapers as well as blade rite? The problem now lies with experimentation, since these gonzalez reed do cost me quite abit due to me having low to no income as a college student.

[Mister Z]

I tried another gonzalez from the same box and found that there isnt a problem with it, which means, the previous reeds was a bad reed.. And after checking, i found out that it is slightly warped...

but still, like what scott says, the reed is still hard for me, i might need to shave it to a 1/4 softer if thats the case.. I m having difficulty playing it..
So if the next time i were to buy gonzales again, should i get the 2+1/2 or 2+1/4?

[Canadiain]

But is it necessary to get those kits? i mean, i could get any piece of glass and sandpapers as well as blade rite? .

Good question. I like the ATG kit for two reasons;

First, the design of the block in the kit means you CANT wreck a reed, its designed to be used from the tip towards the vamp (against the grain), and if you try that with just sandpaper you will quickly wreck the tip of the reed

Second, you are paying to get the information and experience of Tom, who is able to explain clearly what it is he is doing, and demonstrates the effect. Saves reinventing the wheel. I guess its a question of paying for the intellectual property, rather than the physical materials in the kit.

As for the expense of experimenting...get some Rico Royals and practice on them instead. You might even find you dont need to switch to more expensive cuts once you can work them how you want them...