[Gary59]

I use Fibracell 2 1/2 and 3 on my alto, and, though they are extremely free blowing,find they are also very high pitched. I find cane to be more stable,but more stuffy.
Does anyone else find Fibracells kinda high pitched,or is it my mouthpieces. I have no fancy mouthpieces, just an ebolin, a graftonite,and an ebay metal piece.
Gary

 

[dexdex]

That is funny. I stopped using them regularely cause I found them low pitched ! It probably depends of the mouthpieces and personal technique.
I still keep them as backups.

 

[JL]

I use Fibracell 2 1/2 and 3 on my alto, and, though they are extremely free blowing,find they are also very high pitched. I find cane to be more stable,but more stuffy.
Does anyone else find Fibracells kinda high pitched,or is it my mouthpieces.

"High pitched?" You mean they play sharp? I've never heard of pitch problems due to a reed brand. Reeds that are too soft might give you issues with pitch, but that's nothing to do with cane or plastic, or the brand of the reed.

If you mean they play bright, then I'd say one person's 'bright' is another's 'shrill', and one person's 'stuffy' is another's 'rich and full-bodied.'

 

[Dave Dolson]

I use Fibracells (all Premiere 1 1/2) on clarinet and alto. I recently came across a soprano set-up that plays pretty good, too. Clarinet - Lakey 5*; alto - Brihart Ebolin 3; soprano - Super Session E.

For me, the trick is to find the right mouthpiece for Fibracells. I have a ton of old mouthpieces for each instrument(s), so I could experiment easily enough. The pieces I found that work well with Fibracells don't work so good with cane (a personal opinion, but all mouthpiece choices are personal). If I went back to cane on clarinet and alto, I would be using different mouthpieces.

For instance, the pieces I use now with Fibracells are all fairly closed in tip-openings. The pieces I use with cane are much more open.

I can't say much about high or low pitch, if you mean tuning pitch. If you are referring to tone (like bright vs. dark), that is subjective to the max, meaning that everyone hears those tonal qualities differently. But when I find the right mouthpiece for Fibracells, they play on pitch, are very responsive, and offer superb volume control. The tone is equal to my cane set-ups.

As far as choosing strengths with Fibracells, that too is a personal matter. Much depends on one's own embouchure. I've always gotten the best and fullest sounds out of softer reeds and found the 1 1/2 strengths (SOFT for the older Fibracells) worked great for me - again once the right mouthpiece was found. My Fibracell mouthpiece choices are not limited to the ones I listed; suffice to say I have others that work nicely with Fibracells, but not all. DAVE

 

[dexdex]

The way I discovered they where sounding a bit lower was that I was getting tired very quickly. I was actually unconsciously continuously correcting the pitch. I do play rather open mps, with a loose embouchure. Fibracells probably require more control, whatsoever. On alto, I could just tune the horn a bit high, and it was OK. But on tenor, bari and Bb clarinet (obviously), it just didn't work fine.

 

[Dave Dolson]

It has been my experience that when the set-up isn't perfect, those synthetics WILL tire one's embouchure, much more so than cane. With a fresh embouchure, most synthetics will feel great, but it won't be too long before one's chops are shot.

I had that experience with Bari-brand plastic reeds - super strong and forceful when fresh, but 20 minutes into the set and I was done. However, when I get it right (as I have with clarinet and alto), I have no trouble playing for hours (or in the case of a live performance, several sets) with Fibracells. I agree with dexdex that the Fibracells MAY require more control effort, but for me that was only when I didn't have the absolutely correct mouthpiece-match. DAVE

 

[Gary59]

Yes I should have used bright verses high pitched. They seem awfully bright. I like the sound I get from cane better,though they seem harder to get the notes out from.

 

[Blonski]

I have a dozen Fibracell reeds, and use in rotation. They respond differently from themselves. There are small differences, as well as natural cane reeds. Also, I have practice on Sand synthetic reeds like Fibracell, to modify them to my needs. Within this dozen, some are the favorites. Unfortunately they do not come all the same. And do not exist in fractional numbering like Légère Reeds.

 

[soybean]

…when the set-up isn't perfect, those synthetics WILL tire one's embouchure, much more so than cane.…

Very interesting. I think you're on to something here. I switched to Fibracel on all my horns for everything except recording. I've been happy with them for many reasons, but I did notice getting tired more easily. At the time, i blamed it on a lack of chops. Another thing about Fibracel is they can get buzzy if you have a lot of saliva. This is because they do not absorb moisture the way real cane will.

 

[JL]

Yes I should have used bright verses high pitched. They seem awfully bright. I like the sound I get from cane better,though they seem harder to get the notes out from.

I tried fibracell reeds at one time and yes they play fairly easily ('free-blowing') so at first I thought they were great. But after a few days I returned to cane because for me the fibracells just didn't have the flexibility and 'sound pallet' of a good cane reed. Note, I said 'for me.' Others might have a different experience.

I actually like a bit of resistance. A good cane reed provides just the right amount of resistance, but cane is variable as everyone knows.

 

[mi000ke]

I used fibracells for years because of their consistency and reliability (especially on gigs) but found the sound to be a bit more buzzy than I liked, and recently they seem to be much less consistent from reed to reed. I tried Legere a few years ago and did not like them, but recently tried the Signature line and was blown away by how free blowing they are, and how they sound much closer to cane they sound than the Fibracells. My embouchure also gets much less tired with the Legeres than it did with the Fibracells.

 

[MojoBari]

I find the 2s buzzy, the 3s and harder not. I use mostly 2.5s for jazz/pop and 3.5s for wind ensemble (with a smaller tip opening mouthpiece).

If you was a darker synth reed, try Legeres. Brighter try Bari (brand) and Forestone. Forestone has thinner tip material that can get buzzy. Some like their vibrancy. I did not care for them.

 

[wersax]

I've used Fibracells, (Premiers), for quite some time now, and am very comfortable with them, but it took a while. Finding the "right" reed strength is key; I use pieces in the 8-8* range w/ Fibracell #3's. I've also found that lining up the reed flush w/ the tip rail eliminates a whole lot of the "buzzy-ness" in the tone.

 

[Ed Geddes]

I agree with the softer ones being buzzier. I use premier 3.5 on alto and tenor and modify 4 on baritone I take a sliver off the tip. Got a 4.5 and feel I may sand down the sides a little . Tip opening on Alto 81, tenor 110 and Baritone 108. That's probably why I prefer a harder reed on the Bari as it is a fairly closed opening compared to the alto and tenor.
.

 

[Gary59]

Maybe I'll try a 3.5 or 4 Fibracell. I really like the reed for its ease of playing.

 

[Ed Geddes]

That's why I use them,consistency and you don't have to deal with a different tonal pallette. Makes getting your sound easier. Mind you some don't want easy.

 

[coltranecrawford]

Most players try to find the right reed for the particular mouthpiece they are playing on, but with synthetic reeds it seems you have to do the opposite. I tried legere reeds a couple of years ago, but did not care for them. I liked the consistency and reliability they provide but they just did not seem to work for me. Perhaps I need to give them another shot on some different mpc's before giving up on synthetics.

 

[BillTaylor0]

I use Fibracell 2 1/2 and 3 on my alto, and, though they are extremely free blowing,find they are also very high pitched. I find cane to be more stable,but more stuffy.
Does anyone else find Fibracells kinda high pitched,or is it my mouthpieces. I have no fancy mouthpieces, just an ebolin, a graftonite,and an ebay metal piece.
Gary

I find I have to adjust the depth of the mouthpiece a little to compensate. The trade off of the flow you are talking about seems well worth it. I am just a student for life, using a 5C mouthpiece, nothing spectacular by any means.

 

[Saxophone Strange]

I used to play fibercells all the time but they became so inconsistent that I stopped and went back to cane. They do have affect on the pitch; most notably when they go. I’ve never really cared for the legere reeds so ultimately every time I try them I just realize that it’s either back to cane or but a handful of fibercells until I find some I like how they play...