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Rico Jazz Select reeds

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What has been your experience with Rico jazz select reeds? What is the difference between the filed and unfiled in terms of tone, response, durability and longevity?
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Rick Adams said:
There was a thread a monthish ago about the difference between filed and unfiled - might be worth a search to find it if you're interested.
Check these out. It becomes a very subjective issue. Gray area topic.

http://www.saxontheweb.net/vbulletin...=filed+unfiled

http://www.saxontheweb.net/vbulletin...=filed+unfiled

http://www.saxontheweb.net/vbulletin...=filed+unfiled
I heard a rumor floating around that these reeds are being discontinued. Anyone know if this is true?
jdocsax54 said:
I heard a rumor floating around that these reeds are being discontinued. Anyone know if this is true?
If they are it would be one of the stupidist things Rico could do.
Has anyone gone through the hassle of ordering reeds online?

Do they come intact without cracked tips etc? If so, which site offers best prices?


By the the rumor may pertain to the fact that Rico's putting out something new. The new box reads that Rico Jazz Select has a new reed holder. I'm not sure if the reed is new but the former black writing on the reed's is now a brown color.
Those kinds of changes are pretty common. They change those things every few years.
Wailin' said:
Has anyone gone through the hassle of ordering reeds online?

Do they come intact without cracked tips etc? If so, which site offers best prices?

By the the rumor may pertain to the fact that Rico's putting out something new. The new box reads that Rico Jazz Select has a new reed holder. I'm not sure if the reed is new but the former black writing on the reed's is now a brown color.
Yes but I'm not sure it's going to be any use to you as I'm in the UK.

I've ordered from www.reedsdirect.co.uk and also from good old www.sax.co.uk and I've always had everything arrive very quickly and with no damage whatsoever from both shops.

Incidentally I discussed the difference between the RJS filed and unfiled with the sax.co.uk guys and they said they'd asked themselves the same question so they'd done a lot of empirical testing to see if they could tell any difference and the only thing they noticed was that the filed reeds were slightly easier to subtone with.
Yea Rick. It's like sanding a reed's vamp to one's suit one's personal feel!

My next question is this before I go out and spend money for the next RJS strength higher.

Is the 3M filed harder to play than the 3S filed. Currently, I'm ok with 3S but sometimes they tend to feel and little soft.
It's been years since I last played RJS but I remeber thinking they were pretty good.

How do they compare to LaVoz - edgier and brighter, or darker and more lush?
docformat said:
It's been years since I last played RJS but I remeber thinking they were pretty good.

How do they compare to LaVoz - edgier and brighter, or darker and more lush?
They're more manageable, maintaining a big sound, brighter, more edge. They come filed and unfiled.
Wailin' said:
Yea Rick. It's like sanding a reed's vamp to one's suit one's personal feel!

My next question is this before I go out and spend money for the next RJS strength higher.

Is the 3M filed harder to play than the 3S filed. Currently, I'm ok with 3S but sometimes they tend to feel and little soft.
Funny, I've just gone in the other direction from 3S to 2H because my new mouthpiece had a chamber the size of a football stadium and hence takes a lot more chops than my previous piece. I'm hoping to get back up to the 3S soon though, because I can feel the thinner reed bowing inwards as I blow and it doesn't feel right at all like that, plus I'm pretty sure the tone will be more what I'm after.

Actually let me just check... yes I have a couple of unused 3M filed reeds still in the box from a while back when I used piece with a smaller tip opening. I'd like to keep one just in case, but I'll happily post you the other one if you want it, then you can try for yourself without spending anything.
I have always played vandoren javas for just about all my years of playing. I just recently switched to RJS. It wasn't an easy switch for me because I am very familar and comfortable with javas. However, the quicker response of the Rico Jazz was too significant to pass up. That and the fact that they are cheaper and contain more reeds that work well on my mouthpieces.

They work especially well with my STM and just recently I've switched to RJS on my alto morgan, as well (RJS 3S on my tenor STM8 & RJS 3S on my alto 7e).

The RJS seems brighter than my Javas but I believe that it's really due to the lightening fast response of the RJS.

I like the design too. It has a really long vamp to make it bright and responsive but also has a significantly thick heart to add depth.
Rick Adams said:
Funny, I've just gone in the other direction from 3S to 2H because my new mouthpiece had a chamber the size of a football stadium and hence takes a lot more chops than my previous piece. I'm hoping to get back up to the 3S soon though, because I can feel the thinner reed bowing inwards as I blow and it doesn't feel right at all like that, plus I'm pretty sure the tone will be more what I'm after.

Actually let me just check... yes I have a couple of unused 3M filed reeds still in the box from a while back when I used piece with a smaller tip opening. I'd like to keep one just in case, but I'll happily post you the other one if you want it, then you can try for yourself without spending anything.
Rick, I sent you an email about the reeds. Sometimes my RJS 3S tends to close meaning that that size may be a wee bit too soft. If the 3M is too hard then I'll have to lessen my emboucher bite.
Due to the inconsistency of the reeds in both the filed and unfiled boxes there is no discernible differences between them. That is the conclusion after trying RJS 3S filed and RJS 3S unfiled. One reed played straight from the box while the others needed work.
Wailin, your email address is bouncing back as "unkown address", so just to let you know they're packaged up and I'll post them next time I go to the post office.
Wailin' said:
They're more manageable, maintaining a big sound, brighter, more edge. They come filed and unfiled.
Thanks wailin'

I notice they're also nearly twice the price - La Voz for me!
wailin', I've purchased reeds over the internet from Discount Reeds, and they arrive in good shape. They come in the manufacturer's box with their packaging, so there's no problem with breakage.

sinkdraiN, I'm in the same spot. I've played Javas for years, now they are way too soft. What do you find as far as matching up the strength between the two? I played 2.5 on the Javas, do I want a 2H or 3S on the RSJs?
I don't know what's with the Javas. They are stuffier now but if anything maybe tehy are harder. Lately I'm finding what seems at first to be a good Java will blow well for about 5 minutes, then get increasingly stuffy and unresponsive. It's very frustrating on a gig. I end up having to blow my brains out until I get a chance to change it.
Am I the only one that likes Unfiled? :( Every 2M UF I pulled out so far have worked perfectly...no work needed...
CountSpatula said:
Am I the only one that likes Unfiled? :( Every 2M UF I pulled out so far have worked perfectly...no work needed...
Unfiled for me, always. Unless the store is out of unfiled. Then I get filed. They play pretty much exactly the same. Almost all RJS in a given strength play pretty much the same for me. I used to be able to use all 5 in a box. I recently switched to LaVoz Mediums from RJS 2H. The LaVoz have a thicker sound, a little less focused, with a tendency towards "woofiness" that, when I can get it under control, makes for an amazing low end.

LaVoz is a lot like RJS, but a little thicker sounding. They're both great reeds, and at least one million times better than Java, which, IMO, are overpriced and inconsistent.
dirty said:
I recently switched to LaVoz Mediums from RJS 2H. The LaVoz have a thicker sound, a little less focused, with a tendency towards "woofiness" that, when I can get it under control, makes for an amazing low end.
Sounds interesting, which would you say is less buzzy?
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