[Sacks Of Phones]

So, due to obvious reasons, I have some gig down-time as we all probably do right now. In this time I have set out to replace my go-to D'Addario Jazz Select reeds. They have been way too inconsistent with way too many bad boxes. This is a common complaint. I have begun my new reed quest and have tried the Vandoren Java red box and Rigotti Gold jazz blue boxes. Being a life-long Vandoren clarinet reed hater, I am very surprised at how much I enjoy the Java reds. They are full sounding and even across the horn's range. The Rigottis are similar with perhaps a little lighter sound, both have a moderate buzz, less than a good Jazz Select (almost impossible these days) but nice sounding.

Anybody else trying new stuff during this forced hiatus? New reeds and/or mouthpieces?

 

[1saxman]

What we should be doing is practicing and doing maintenance on the horns. But coincidentally, I was at the music store yesterday getting an insurance appraisal on a horn and I bought a couple boxes of reeds. I'm a lifelong Vandoren 'hater' too, but I bought some V16s plus my usual 'Royal's.

 

[timgo75]

Java Reds are the only Vandoren reeds I like. Until recently they were my main reed but due to them not being very consistent and wanting to try a new direction I recently started using Silverstein cane reeds for alto and they are fantastic. I've given Pilgerstorfer and Marco reeds a spin too - not sure I've got the right strength/cut of these yet so not sure how much I will explore seeing as the Silverstein are treating me well.

 

[Grumps]

What we should be doing is practicing and doing maintenance on the horns.

Yeah, I've got no urge to waste money trying stuff I don't need. Happy with what I've got and have been so for many, many years. I am working on a project horn though. One last pad to replace today.

 

[turf3]

At the moment I'm working from home but I'm expecting big layoffs soon so with the possibility of my income going to zero I am holding off on buying anything except necessities.

 

[JL]

At the moment I'm working from home but I'm expecting big layoffs soon so with the possibility of my income going to zero I am holding off on buying anything except necessities.

+1. If I'm not pulling in some $$ on gigs, I'm not buying any new 'non-essential' sax gear. Reeds are essential, of course, but I've got a big supply on hand.

 

[lostcircuits]

What we should be doing is practicing and doing maintenance on the horns. But coincidentally, I was at the music store yesterday getting an insurance appraisal on a horn and I bought a couple boxes of reeds. I'm a lifelong Vandoren 'hater' too, but I bought some V16s plus my usual 'Royal's.

No additional investments at this point unless some pawnshop treasure comes along and given the situation, I am not eager to scout them out either. I still have a few sets of guitar strings, about 10 boxes of reeds and, most importantly, 1000 songs that I need to learn/practice.

 

[ZootTheSim]

I used to play Rigotti Golds exclusively on alto and tenor, but have also been using Java Greens lately, which are similar in strength but less bright. I still have a few Lupifaros for those dark Ike Quebec covers.

As an early birthday gift to myself, I ordered a Beyerdynamic M201TG hypercardioid mic right before it all went sideways, but haven't opened the box yet. It was meant for the stage anyway, and they're all closed. Suprisingly, my LMS remains open, though I'm not leaving the house. Maybe if a sweet deal came up online, I'd consider ordering it in. But I was already taking a sabbatical when this thing hit, so will refrain from making any large purchases.

Instead, I'm returning to my older gear, very thankful for what I already have. Finally fixed the F# key on my Armstrong 3055T, which I've been neglecting for months. At first, it was hard to come back to it after a prolonged absence, during which I spent time on my clarinet and TH&C tenor. But I'm suddenly enjoying the Armstrong again, with its huge bell and raunchy bohemian tone.

I picked up a couple pieces of plexiglass before self-isolating, and have been building my own sound reflector. Not that it'll see any use for the foreseeable future, since our gigs have all been cancelled. That project's nearly done, so maybe it's time to do some composing and recording. Might practice filing some older reeds, too.

 

[MLucky]

I thought I'd try some synthetic reeds. Long story short: it hasn't worked out. So far, anyway.

There should be no need to explain why: like everybody else, I'm frustrated with the inconsistency of the cane reeds I buy these days. I normally use Lavoz, and for a while it seemed like maybe 2 reeds out of box of 10 would be excellent, 2 more would good, 2 would be complete duds, and the rest were usually salvageable enough, with some adjustments, to use for practice at least. The idea of just having one synthetic reed that I wouldn't need to adjust, wouldn't need to worry about it being different from day to day, that would last for months, was pretty appealing.

So I ordered a Legere and a Fibereed, using their charts to match the strength (medium soft) Lavoz I normally play. I figured that, with no rehearsals or gigs for the foreseeable future, I'd have plenty of time to make whatever adjustments I needed to make.

Alas, neither one did it for me. I'm really bad at describing these kinds of things, but just in case anyone is interested, I'll try: the Legere wasn't too bad, but it's a little buzzier than I like, and just didn't have the richness of tone that a good cane reed can offer. A thinner "core" would be one way to put it. Maybe I could work with the Legere to get more of what I want out of it, and I'm thinking it might be a good idea just to keep it in my case, kind of as a back-up if nothing else is working. The Fiberreed I just didn't appeal to me at all. Too dark (and I like dark!), the resistance just didn't feel, just wasn't fun to play at all.

So, I'll guess I'll order another box of Lavoz and hope for the best. Your results may vary, obviously.

 

[Saxaholic]

I got in the last 10mfan Black Ultem Classic 7* with the silver paint and I absolutely love it. Just recently had the tenor overhauled with oversized resos and firm pads, so wanted to try something more tame than my Showtime and Robusto. I liked the Gen I classic but the Gen II is perfection for me with the horn setup. Rich and resonant and more depth than I've ever had in my tenor sound.

I also got a box of Java Reds and I really enjoy them, just wish they were a little more consistent. I really like the balance of overtones I get from the good reeds, it feels warm but not dark, and resonant without being buzzy.

Also broke in an unused Legere Signature and they keep reminding me of why I love them. Played exactly the same as my other ones, perfect response and felt great.

I'm interested in trying the Fiberreed but have no idea where to start and not necessarily interested in spending a bunch on curiosities since I love the Legeres so much.

Dusted off my Time Out record as well and put it on the player with a bottle of Blanton's and a nice VSG Ashton torpedo. Was a wonderful night!

Stay safe everyone!

- Saxaholic

 

[lostcircuits]

I thought I'd try some synthetic reeds. Long story short: it hasn't worked out. So far, anyway.

There should be no need to explain why: like everybody else, I'm frustrated with the inconsistency of the cane reeds I buy these days. I normally use Lavoz, and for a while it seemed like maybe 2 reeds out of box of 10 would be excellent, 2 more would good, 2 would be complete duds, and the rest were usually salvageable enough, with some adjustments, to use for practice at least. The idea of just having one synthetic reed that I wouldn't need to adjust, wouldn't need to worry about it being different from day to day, that would last for months, was pretty appealing.

So I ordered a Legere and a Fibereed, using their charts to match the strength (medium soft) Lavoz I normally play. I figured that, with no rehearsals or gigs for the foreseeable future, I'd have plenty of time to make whatever adjustments I needed to make.

Alas, neither one did it for me. I'm really bad at describing these kinds of things, but just in case anyone is interested, I'll try: the Legere wasn't too bad, but it's a little buzzier than I like, and just didn't have the richness of tone that a good cane reed can offer. A thinner "core" would be one way to put it. Maybe I could work with the Legere to get more of what I want out of it, and I'm thinking it might be a good idea just to keep it in my case, kind of as a back-up if nothing else is working. The Fiberreed I just didn't appeal to me at all. Too dark (and I like dark!), the resistance just didn't feel, just wasn't fun to play at all.

So, I'll guess I'll order another box of Lavoz and hope for the best. Your results may vary, obviously.

Have you tried "conditioning" the synthetic reeds? I found that on my Forestone, the back end was very concave (hard to see until you draw a reed knife across and see that it doesn't even touch the center) and carefully shaving it down until it became flat as well as just taking off a little bit off the side edges helped quite a bit in terms of overall responsiveness. I know it is bit of a scare to take a knife to an expensive reed but at least it got some life. Still not quite where the natural cane reeds are but way better than before.

 

[Grumps]

Finally... the last pad is in. Now I can just play the horn... and hope it stays together.

 

[MLucky]

Have you tried "conditioning" the synthetic reeds? I found that on my Forestone, the back end was very concave (hard to see until you draw a reed knife across and see that it doesn't even touch the center) and carefully shaving it down until it became flat as well as just taking off a little bit off the side edges helped quite a bit in terms of overall responsiveness. I know it is bit of a scare to take a knife to an expensive reed but at least it got some life. Still not quite where the natural cane reeds are but way better than before.

No, I haven't tried that, thanks for the suggestion. I may give it a go. Then again I might just try to sell them. Do people buy used synthetic reeds? They could easily be sanitized, and they're good as new, played for about two hours each. But I can understand if people wouldn't buy used, especially right now.

I really wonder if a different strength wouldn't work better? But I can only afford to do so much experimentation.