[HonkBopSax]

I tried one of these new fangled Legere American Cut reeds and LOVED IT. Seriously, blew my mind. I left it on the mouthpiece for a couple hours, came back, and it was warped with a serious wave in the center of the tip and no amount of storing it flat/adding pressure/rubbing it flat has changed it. Day 1 and it's totally useless. The horn was stored in a temp controlled environment. Anybody else had this experience?

 

[BrianMitchellBrody]

I have been playing on one for about three weeks and have not had this happen (yet).

 

[Andrewplaysax]

Interesting, I've played legere reeds exclusively for a few years now and never have had one warp at all, Some of them I've played for upwards of 6 months with no issues other than them softening up.

 

[adamk]

All my reeds warp at the tip when dry.
When wetted they flatten out.

 

[mmichel]

All my reeds warp at the tip when dry.
When wetted they flatten out.

The OP is talking about a plastic reed. There is no "wetting" or "drying out".

I've been using Legeres on clarinet and bass clarinet for a while now. I frequently leave the reeds on the mouthpieces overnight, and I've never had this happen. Now these were European Cut rather than American Cut, but they are both made of the same material.

I have accidentally "warped" one of my reeds by catching it on something and bending it momentarily (i.e., the sort of accident that would probably break the tip of a cane reed). Following the bend, I couldn't get the reed flat again. Is it possible that something like this happened to yours?

 

[adamk]

Never tried a Legere or any other synthetic.
Maybe I'm missing something great.
Tried black coated reeds in the 80s, way to bright and coating wore off.

 

[Ixthusdan]

I have a legere reed, but did not like the sound (perhaps the feel) compared to wood. It always plays. Yet, I wonder how a piece of polymer would warp. While it wears due to flexing, it does not absorb or dry out. There is no grain. Plastic can be bent and creased, but I really do not understand warping. Something unexpected has happened to it. I also do not see how the cut would make any difference.

 

[Guto]

I'd contact them for an explanation/exchange. When these 1st came out I wrote them asking about the case they ship in (discussed in another thread here). Why it holds the reed lifted up from the flat surface, risking warping? I also pointed out their FAQ recommending their reeds be stored on a flat surface, while this case they ship in doesn't. Their answer:

"The case the reed comes in is recyclable, yes. It does help for shipping, as the free floating tip of the reed in the hard case makes the reed far less susceptible to damage during even extreme transit.

The reed tip does not warp while floating - reed warping in cane usually occurs from moisture and the reed swelling and drying out, this does not happen to Legere reeds. Part of the reason why we suggested reeds be stored on flat surfaces in this way was that there were no cases commercially available that let the tip of the reed float but still be protected - that is, until we made one.

Some players find Legere reeds can warp after playing with very strong articulation, and in this case storing the reed flat will help it flatten out again. This is not the situation for all players, however, and some players find their Legeres never warp in such a manner."

 

[Sax Panther]

I've been using a signature and more recently an American cut, haven't had either of them warp yet even when I leave them on the mouthpiece for a bit. The signature is a couple of years old and still plays fine.

 

[Taragot]

If you can't exchange it, try to tip it in hot water and then try to bring it back in form. The material is more bendable when hot. You can also change strenght if you heat and then bend it a bit in the right direction..
I am guilty for leaving a signature reed for years on my soprano mouthpiece and never experienced a warp. I simply enjoyed the fact that I could start on my one piece soprano within 10 seconds after entering the rehearsal room without fiddling with a neck and a reed. But of course - don't do it......

 

[Pete Thomas]

As a Legere endorser, I cannot exactly speak on behalf of legere, but i can tell you no Legere reed should warp like a cane reed might, at the tip.

So send it back, and please feel free to say Pete Thomas advised you to do this.

Never tried a Legere or any other synthetic.

The thread is about Legere reeds.

Maybe I'm missing something great.

I think that is very likely

Tried black coated reeds in the 80s, way to bright and coating wore off.

That is my experience (not the brighttness, more that the coating can wear off) , but not exactly relevant to a thread about synthetic reeds.

 

[joebas]

I've been using the Legere tenor American cut for the past two months with no issues.

 

[dirty]

Are you using a ligature that puts a lot of force down on the reed, like a Selmer 2-screw? I was having some issues with the wide, flat Legere European cut clarinet reeds on certain mouthpieces with particularly narrow tables. The 2-screw ligature that I was using tended to apply too much pressure to the sides of the reed and would flex the unsupported portion of reed around the edges of the table and eventually crack the reeds.

Careless person that I am, I just tightened the ligature without looking at ended up breaking my reeds at the heel end. The solution for a reasonable person would have been to tighten less aggressively, but naturally I went on a ligature hunt that amounted to nothing.

I was probably flexing the hell out of cane reeds, too, but they seem to be a bit more elastic and probably just swelled up to fill the gaps. Or maybe the ligature is better formed to the thicker, narrower "normal" reeds.

 

[Hassles]

I tried one of these new fangled Legere American Cut reeds and LOVED IT. Seriously, blew my mind. I left it on the mouthpiece for a couple hours, came back, and it was warped with a serious wave in the center of the tip and no amount of storing it flat/adding pressure/rubbing it flat has changed it. Day 1 and it's totally useless. The horn was stored in a temp controlled environment. Anybody else had this experience?

place your reed into a reed holder and leave it in the sunshine OR warm and oven and when warm turn the over off and place the reed and reed holder in - hmm, maybe the dashboard of your car or windowsill. If you're reed is now useless you have nothing to lose.

 

[HonkBopSax]

As a Legere endorser, I cannot exactly speak on behalf of legere, but i can tell you no Legere reed should warp like a cane reed might, at the tip.

So send it back, and please feel free to say Pete Thomas advised you to do this.

The thread is about Legere reeds.

I think that is very likely

That is my experience (not the brighttness, more that the coating can wear off) , but not exactly relevant to a thread about synthetic reeds.

Thanks Pete, I will do that. Yeah, the first time I played it I was absolutely knocked out. It was fantastic -- a perfect balance of edge and core, very freeblowing, nice and fat all over the horn. I left iton my mouthpiece with the harrison ligature on it, and when I came back a few hours later, it was like seriously warped dead center. I pressed it onto some glass and went to play it again, but now it is stuffy/tubby sounding, and there is no dynamic range. It's just brittle and harsh sounding, and it feels like the center of the reed is now softer. I dunno, but for $35 I will send it back, but am not about to invest in another one at this point if they won't take it back and send me another.

 

[StylesBitchly]

I tried one of these new fangled Legere American Cut reeds and LOVED IT. Seriously, blew my mind. I left it on the mouthpiece for a couple hours, came back, and it was warped with a serious wave in the center of the tip and no amount of storing it flat/adding pressure/rubbing it flat has changed it. Day 1 and it's totally useless. The horn was stored in a temp controlled environment. Anybody else had this experience?

I used to use the old fangled Legere reeds on clarinet now and then. I had many different styles over the years, never had a problem, and once got a prototype, and the owner said to send it back if I did not like it. They were great to deal with. I never had a problem with it warping. Might be sun spots, alignments of the planets, phase of the moon, or just the insanity going on in the world right now that just got to the reed. Hey, reeds are sensitive you know, and sometimes they have a bad day. Every reed deserves a second chance.

 

[Sean]

I tried one of these new fangled Legere American Cut reeds and LOVED IT. Seriously, blew my mind. I left it on the mouthpiece for a couple hours, came back, and it was warped with a serious wave in the center of the tip and no amount of storing it flat/adding pressure/rubbing it flat has changed it. Day 1 and it's totally useless. The horn was stored in a temp controlled environment. Anybody else had this experience?

Do NOT store it on the mpce

 

[Pete Thomas]

Do NOT store it on the mpce

That's what I do though, never had problems

 

[MM]

I have a Legere Sig tenor reed, maybe 3 years old, played very lightly. Last night I played it during an online session, perhaps 30 minutes total and it played fine. I left it on the mpc for about an hour, then tried to play and found the reed so soft I couldn't get G2 and A2 to play. Do Legeres often undergo sudden death? I stuck it back in my reed holder so will see if it revives.

 

[Lexypoibra]

I have a Legere Sig tenor reed, maybe 3 years old, played very lightly. Last night I played it during an online session, perhaps 30 minutes total and it played fine. I left it on the mpc for about an hour, then tried to play and found the reed so soft I couldn't get G2 and A2 to play. Do Legeres often undergo sudden death? I stuck it back in my reed holder so will see if it revives.

I've had a couple that started playing up - they were pretty old, and it turned out that they went soft and warped a bit. it ,too happened pretty sudden - being warped, it closed the tip opening down, and then my palm key notes randomly wouldnt play. But I got decent life out of them (12 months), so it's the end for them.