[jmathesonjr]

Has anyone other than me tried the Boston Sax Shop Baritone Sax Reeds? I bought two boxes based on a friend who plays these on Tenor. He has a good experience with these reeds and I thought I would try them.

I have never been more disappointed in a reed. I am zero out of ten for playing. Not one reed worked.

The problems:

1. They were cut so horribly. The bark was uneven. In all honesty, they looked like they were refined with a chain sax. I expect a half moon of bark or a straight line at the shaved part of the reed. I found patches of bark in the center of the cut area of the reed. Those half moons of bark were all shifted to the far left of the cut. The whole two boxes were as uneven as could be.
2. They were incredibly stiff. I bought 2 1/2 strength reeds. That is what I usually buy with an unknown reed. These felt harder than Vandoren 5s.
3. The reeds warp fast. I spent a solid ten hours on the ten with a Vandoren resurfacer, a Reed Geek, and good old sand paper. Nothing got these things flat enough to play more than five minutes.
4. They are overly thick at the heel. They are a little more than half again as thick as a Blue Box Vandoren reeds at the heel.

I paid a little over $76.00 for the two boxes of reeds. All ended up in the trash. I should have taken pictures. Never mind playing them out of the box. None did play period.

Now, I play all strengths of reeds depending on how I am feeling and the mood I am trying to create. I also play all different kinds of reeds. My favorites are Brancher Jazz reeds, but I do play Blue Box, ZZ, Jazz Select filed and unfiled, Orange Box Rico, and Grand Select if I can get them. I usually play around a 2.5 or 3 every day.

If anyone has a better experience with these, I would love to hear about it.. I found these to be horrible and unworkable. I cannot recommend them to anyone. I may try them again in a little over a year, but right now I am going to keep my money and recommend people do the same.

 

[jmathesonjr]

So, a small update on these reeds.

I received a text from the Boston Sax Shop late last night. I have not responded to it yet, but the Boston Sax Shop wants to make this right. I will let you know what happens in a later post.

Due to their response to this post, I am going to give the reeds a second chance. They texted me. I have trouble reading text messages. I will email them later today when I have a break. I had the time to either contact them or post something here. I chose to post here to let the 75 of you who read this post already the opportunity to know that the Boston Sax Shop has reached out to me.

I would still like to hear from anyone out there who has tried these reeds. I originally posted this to hear from others who have played on these reeds to see if my experience was an aberration. I know more than one person playing these on Tenor who think these reeds are the greatest thing since the Mark VI.

I will post more as I hear it. Like I said the Boston Sax Shop reached out to me. That means a great deal.

More later.

 

[jmathesonjr]

Talked to the Boston Sax Shop a few minutes ago. He is sending out new reeds for me to try.

CUSTOMER SERVICE here is GREAT. I never expected him to do this. I posted my review here to see if anyone else here had the same problem with these reeds as I did. I was seeking information.

I now cannot wait to try the new reeds. I will post more when I get the new reeds.

I am impressed with this company. I do have to say. He is doing things the right way here. More later.

 

[Benjamin Allen]

Jack at the BSS is a great guy. I'm glad you're as pleased with his customer service as I have been.

 

[whaler]

He sent me a few to try. I thought they played well but a little darker than Rigotti. After I played them they brightened up and last a little longer than Rigotti.
I’ve just stuck with Rigotti because like the extra edge right out of the box.

 

[Bob M]

jmathesonjr - I couldn't agree with Ben's comment more. Jack Finicane has worked on several of my horns, including the Buescher "Custom Built" Aristocrat shown in my avatar. I have found him to be a great tech and honorable businessman. Also note that he is pretty much a one man shop.

BSS reeds are now my go to reed on Alto, so I was excited to try the Bari reeds and ordered a box of 2.5s. While the first on out of the box played really well, the next two (I haven't tried all of them yet) required some work and break in. I am starting to think 2s may be better for me and will be ordering a box soon.

As I understand it, Jack's goal with the cut of these reeds was to get the best of so called Jazz and Classical cuts, which to me he has accomplished. I do note your comments about the finish. Mine were definitely not as uniform as D'Addarios or Vandorens, however I found them to be within the range of other "boutique" reeds which I have used. Perhaps it is a function of these being at the beginning of the production run because I don't find the same variations in the Alto reeds.

Glad you are giving the BSS Bari reeds another shot. I like them so far, but whether or not they are ultimately your "cup of tea", you will not regret dealing with Jack.

 

[jmathesonjr]

Glad you are giving the BSS Bari reeds another shot. I like them so far, but whether or not they are ultimately your "cup of tea", you will not regret dealing with Jack.

My dealings with Jack so have been one of the best customer service interactions I have had. It has been a very weird week for customer service for me, to say the least.

Jack is wanting to set my experience with the reeds in a positive direction. At this point, if my take on the reeds does not change from my first post, I can say this, he has taken a good experience with his company and made it a great experience. Whether I continue buying his reeds or not, I will do business with Boston Sax Shop in the future. Jack is doing a great many things right. His website is laid out well. He is treating me well. This is a company to do business with. I am sold.

At this point, I would like to see him start adding more product lines to his business. I know that will take time. I love that he is trying his own brand of reeds. He is catering to tenor and alto players more. I get that. As a bari player, I would like to see more products aimed at the baritone sax. However, I could say that about every music company I buy from.

He is sending me some new reeds to try. I am anxious to get them and try them.

Jack and I had a great conversation when we talked.

I do want to make one thing clear, if I hadn't before. My original intent in creating this post was to see if others who have played on these Bari Reeds had the same experience I did with them. If someone had a different experience, I was going to try these reeds again later on. Jack reached out. I am giving these reeds another shot sooner than I had anticipated.

Thank you all for adding to this post. It confirmed some things for me. I appreciate it.

More later.

 

[Bari Sax Guy]

"Jack and I had a great conversation when we talked."

From his web site: "Consults are free of charge" So it looks like you won't get a bill

I was in neighboring Brighton yesterday, will have to check out his shop some day.

My tech sends complicated repairs to the Boston Sax Shop, and I'm told, with great results.

 

[claxton]

I’m kind of mystified by this thread. I’ve really loved the BSS reeds on tenor, but found the 2.5 to be at least as strong as my previous go-to on tenor, Rigotti 3L. After breaking in the BSS last quite well and I just love them. I tried some Rigotti bari reeds in various strengths about six months ago and and found them just awful, got disgusted with trying bari and sold the horn.

Recently just obtained a YBS-62 and a Klum New London 7. Ordered some BSS bari reeds in 2.0 and 2.5, as well as some Java Red box 2.5. To my surprise because of my experience with the BSS tenor reeds, I find the BSS 2.5 reeds to be be about equal or maybe even a little softer than the Java 2.5 red box. I’ll dig those Rigotti reeds out in the next couple of days and see how they do.

 

[KeithL]

Well it mostly sounds like the OP just got a bad box of reeds which occasionally happens. However, in general, some reed cuts or even brands just don't work for some people for whatever reason. Many people seem to love Alexander reeds I tried tins of these 3 different times and they were just terrible for me- they split, they chipped, they warped, etc.. More pertinent to this thread, I have several boxes of Vandoren and Rigotti bari reeds in different cuts and strengths that I've accumulated over the years that just don't work for me either. Rico bari reeds work great for me so that's what I stick with now. On tenor I move back and forth between Vandoren, Rigotti, and Rico/D'Addario with similar results so no brand stands out good or bad for me here.

The only thing about this thread that's mystifying to me that there is still someone out there who understands that if you are going to sell a boutique product at a boutique price (over $7 per reed in this case) you'd better be ready to step up and stand behind it. This has become exceedingly rare in today's world where everyone is ready to take your money but few are really prepared to make things right when there's a problem. Kudos to Jack and BSS for doing so.

 

[jmathesonjr]

So, to update. Jack at Boston Sax Shop sent me two new boxes of reeds to replace the two that prompted me to create this post.

Jack hand picked two boxes for me: one box of 2s and one of 2.5s.

Right now, after breaking them in for three days, they are starting to show some signs of coming to life. The weather in my area has been as high as 65 degrees and as low as 25 degrees since getting the reeds. I am sure that the constant change in humidity and temperature is not doing them any good. I should also mention I live two blocks from Lake Michigan.

These two boxes are far better and more consistent than the first two boxes I received. They are cut more even and thinner at the heel than the first ones. I will keep playing them and work on them a bit to get them to really snap and punch. It is not like I can do anything else at this point with everything shut down.

I will try these reeds again in the future. My advice about these reeds at this point is to give them a shot. Jack and the Boston Sax Shop are a quality set. He is more than willing to stand by his products and listen to people. This business deserves to make it. Buy something from BSS soon. You won't regret it.

 

[Ausax]

Great thread for those of us who love their Baritones!

I also play an early YBS-62 and am often hunting for reeds with a solid core tone, some edge & good access to the lower register. It's a fine line to achieve that balance.

After years on La Voz mediums, I now work with Rigotti & derivatives, Woodstone, Robertos, & Vando ZZ in the 2.5 ballpark. Some do work on my vintage Slant & Florida 7* links.
However I find it is still very much a reed by reed Quest, more so than on tenor, alto or sop.

I have tried the BSS tenor reeds in 2.5 & 3, and do like them, especially the 3s, but am hesitating on the baritone strength wise as i'm keen to avoid a costly mistake.
Never liked the Vando Blue box, but used V16s on the other horns, as well as Francois Louis (Rigotti variant). Sadly these last two aren't made in bari form.
Your trials of the BSS are helpful info for all of us seeking a more nuanced, responsive bari reed, jamathesonjr (Call me Goldilocks!)

Claxton, you're on the right path with a YBS-62 (not the only good bari, mind you) and your rejoining of the Reed Hunt. Let us know what you think of the TK London also.
Along with jmathesonjr we may shed some light!