Reeds Australia Vintage Hand-Finished reeds

[Mike Ruhl]

Anyone have any experience with the Vintage Hand-Finished reeds from Reeds Australia?. I picked up a box of their tenor reeds on ebay last week. Haven't had a chance to blow them yet, but visually comparing them to my Vandoren V16s and Rico Royals, the Vintage reeds have a noticeably shorter vamp cut - like maybe .25" shorter. That's ok with me, because I've been wanting to try a reed like that. I was actually bidding on some Hemkes, and lost that auction when I decided to bid on the Vintage reeds.

So what's up with these reeds? Do they suck? :wink:

[Bootman]

They are good reeds and play very nicely indeed and have a big, bright sound. Tehy also last longer than most other cane reeds. They are gaining in popularity here although they can vary in consistency fairly dramatically from box to box.

[Mike Ruhl]

Thanks Boot!

[Quijote]

Bootman, how do their strengths compare to other standard brands (Vandoren, Rico) :?:

[Mike Ruhl]

When I finally get some time to try these things, I'll let you know how the #4 Vintage reeds compare to my #4 V16s and others I have laying around.

[Cameron Wigmore]

I've had a box of those reeds kicking around for a few years now. They're too hard - #5. I got them free from a music store cuz they couldn't sell them. Very nice looking cane. Vintage 1994.

[MS]

I tried one that a student gave me to try. My initial impression was that it played pretty well. As I experimented with adjusting, was a little more difficult because the taper from tip to vamp had hills and valleys. So what I normally do didn't work easily or predictably. Cane seemed to be good and lasted OK. Played fine out of the box.

[MS]

I tried a size 3. Responded quick, but a fair amount of blowing resistance. Based on one reed, I'd say close to other flat cut reeds, with a little more mouth/blowing resistence. Quick response which makes them seem brighter.