[johnw]

Can anyone offer any help re Baritone reeds--i have just bought :
Rico royal 2.5
rico JSelect 2M--unfiled
rico JSelect 3S-- unfiled
This has has not been inexpensive!--I wouldnt have minded if i had found a few that worked-may 2 from the lot. I have found this very surprising cos usually rico royal or the 2m`s work. My set up hasnt changed-either a Durga 7* or Link HR slant sig 6*.
Has anyone got any suggestions re alternative reasonably reliable reeds --I have also tried Rico orange box but not sure about these--thanks

 

[pghsaxdude]

Re: Reeds

diggin' GIGLOTTI as of late. very consistent and good sound.

 

[bandmommy]

Re: Reeds

I love Rico Orange box for bari, but my mouthpieces are very different. Yamaha 5C and a Rousseau 5R that I haven't tried out yet. My 'son-in-law' currently has posession of my horn. He uses them on his Rico Metalite.

Another one that I like and find to be reasonably consistant are Hemke. Some say that they poop out faster than other brands, but I haven't found that to be the case.

 

[Metalflake]

Vandoren ZZ's have been working well for me for a while now...

 

[MyMartinTenor]

Reed selection is so personal. I play a Durga 10 on baritone with Rico Jazz Select 3Hs. I also use Rico baritone reeds on tenor -- I play Orange Box 4's on my tenor Durga 9. Of course, I don't really play at low volumes (I'm a blues/rock/funk guy, and play nonstop with loud f'in electric guitars). But I've always enjoyed the play between Ricos and Wanne pieces.

The other reeds that have worked well on my wanne's are La Voz.

 

[guido]

wow. It is highly unusual if I can't play 4-5 of 5 Baritone RJS filed 3M/3S on my link STMs (or more much more infrequently lately my FL SP or Soloist).

How are they failing? How are you preparing them? How are you storing them between sessions?

 

[Reedscraper]

It may be a question of reed adjusting. Do you balance reeds with a reed knife or similar tool? Do you break them in, 5 minutes a day for 4 days before making adjustments? There is much info on this on the Internet or many books have been published.

 

[johnw]

Thanks very much for helpful comments. My approach to the whole reed issue is that when i have a reed that works well usually leave it on the mouthpiece-so no storing; occassionally wet and readjust the reed before playing if it seems a bit stuffy and unresponsive. My mental aim is to have a reed that responds to me ie responsive in terms of speed of response , dynamics and produces clear not a woolly sound and is not too hard work. I tend to just use the one reed at any particular time that has " settled down " on the mouthpiece and i know how it respond. When i have a new box of reeds i try them all out and the first few notes usually tells me whether a reed is going to be OK,good or reject. If the reed works straight off i just leave it or sometimes smooth the top with reed rush/ sandpaper; i am aware of not hammering a reed too much at the beginning -allowing it to absorb moisture and generally settle down. The reeds that seem hard work-unresponsive etc i have tried soaking although have generally not found this very fruitful; I do try scraping the top/ side bit of the reed and making sure the table bit is flat-i use a swiss army knife to do this cos i can control it and its sharp--doing this does often improve and bring the reed to " life " but as mentioned i seem to have had some real duff reeds recently . In the past i have tried vandorens-ZZ-too hard and seem to just respond sort of independently of me ie i cant get much effect to change sound/dynamic etc--i think i tried the green JAVA vandoren-just OK. In the past when i was fed up with the reed problems i reverted to rico royals -usually( i dont like hard reeds so have gone for 2/2.5 strength ) but havent had much joy with these so am looking sideways to other brands. On alto and tenor i have no problems using vandoren JAVA-2-they take a few days to settle in but then last ages--it just seems with bari i have more problems--If anyone has other tips/suggestions then feel free to share them

 

[guido]

I think your treatment of your reeds is at least part of your problem. Consider the following reed management scheme

start with 5 reeds
repeat at least 3 times:
soak them about 5 minutes
with the reed on a flat surface, stroke the fibers from the vamp to the tip
play the reed about 5 minutes in the mid range of the horn.
dry and then store the reed on a piece of glass or other flat surface
wait a day.
repeat.
make no decisions about the reeds until the cycle has been done at least 3 times!
At this point the reeds will have started to settle in and you can start to think about adjustments and which ones are better or worse than the others. Play each reed for only one session then move the the next reed in the sequence.
after a few weeks start another set of 5 reeds for the next round. When a reed no longer plays well it can be discarded (or stored -- sometimes 6 months later it will play quite well again!)
With proper management are care reeds are quite consistent and last very well. This is a variation on the method advocated by Tom Alexander.

 

[Canadiain]

If you are not comfortable or consistent in fixing unresponsive reeds (using a swiss army type knife maybe isnt the most appropriate tool for the job), then buy the Ridenour "ATG" adjustment system and learn how to use it. There are very few reeds in any box that cant be made at least serviceable with it, and most are a lot better than that.

With the cost of Bari reeds in particular it will pay for itself in no time. Its always a good idea to have (at least) two or three good reeds played in and ready to go at any one time too I think.

There was another thread recently discussing problems with RJS consistency recently, but I cant say I have noticed a problem myself.

 

[SveinJo]

When practicing at home I use cane. I soak them, change them after 15 minutes and coddle them. At band practice or concerts I do not have time for that nonsense, so I play Fibracell.

 

[johnw]

Thanks for the very helpful suggestions , especially from canadiain--. I wish i had sought help/advice via SOTW before i might have saved myself a lot of ££ but more than that given myself some peace of mind from the frustrations of the reed / mouthpiece delemmas--its now so much easier to weigh up the pro and cons of mouthpieces knowing i have a reed or two that works-thanks again john

 

[RS]

One word: Rico plasticovers.

 

[Bari Sax Guy]

One word: Rico plasticovers.

That's two words One word is: Fibracell