[meven ASC]

Yeah, I've had the same. Rigotti reeds were great for me for ages but now they're just not sounding....
Been playing Marcas, and Alexanders which is guess is made by Marca, for much better results.

Which Marca model is the equivalent of the Rigotti Gold Jazz?

 

[John_Dikeman]

Which Marca model is the equivalent of the Rigotti Gold Jazz?

Shoot, I'm not really sure... I've been using the Superieure and American Vintage. Honestly, I haven't really noticed a huge difference. For me I just kind of grab one or the other until I find one that works and start playing. These days it seems like reeds just work or don't for me, I'm not getting subtle differences in timbre or response. Or at least, the difference between two models isn't more than between 2 reeds in the same box.
But then I switched around Rigotti's interchangeably also... Between Rigotti gold, wild, Queen... Even red, though those did have some sizing differences. They all worked fine for me so I tended to buy what was the cheapest.

 

[meven ASC]

Shoot, I'm not really sure... I've been using the Superieure and American Vintage. Honestly, I haven't really noticed a huge difference. For me I just kind of grab one or the other until I find one that works and start playing. These days it seems like reeds just work or don't for me, I'm not getting subtle differences in timbre or response. Or at least, the difference between two models isn't more than between 2 reeds in the same box.
But then I switched around Rigotti's interchangeably also... Between Rigotti gold, wild, Queen... Even red, though those did have some sizing differences. They all worked fine for me so I tended to buy what was the cheapest.

Thanks for the reply. It makes perfect sense to me. I have a similar approach. I don't have a favourite brand, I just tend to change depending on the mood, weather, music or whatever random factor I can think of! But recently, I stumbled upon a fantastic Rigotti Gold Jazz reed on tenor hence my question for the Marca equivalent. I never tried Marca's before.

 

[swperry1]

Shoot, I'm not really sure... I've been using the Superieure and American Vintage. Honestly, I haven't really noticed a huge difference. For me I just kind of grab one or the other until I find one that works and start playing. These days it seems like reeds just work or don't for me, I'm not getting subtle differences in timbre or response. Or at least, the difference between two models isn't more than between 2 reeds in the same box.
But then I switched around Rigotti's interchangeably also... Between Rigotti gold, wild, Queen... Even red, though those did have some sizing differences. They all worked fine for me so I tended to buy what was the cheapest.

Been loving the Rigotti reds. I spent the past six months or so playing everything else. I agree that the blue, wild, and queens are pretty interchangeable with the red being close. For me it’s what I like the best of the blue and queens in one reed. I also played all the Vandorens, some boutique Rigottis, and several D’Addario cuts. Was going to do a trial of Marca and Gonzalez, but upon returning to the Rigotti reds I’m just going to stay on them. 3.5 medium is my preference.

 

[JimD]

I've been thinking about trying Marca as I've also had a high number of stuffy Rigottis lately, but then they seem to liven up after I've let them lie around for a week or two. The Wild ones have performed better for me but I'm not totally convinced by them. I think this will happen with any brand and it's fine to switch and maybe find something you prefer but I bet that in a lot of cases people come back to where they started. Someone gave me a Marca reed to try, many years ago, and it was terrific except that by the end of the session the tip had completely collapsed, funny thing was that it still played.

 

[whaler]

I’ve been lucky with Rigott. They remind me of the old brown box Rico reeds.
I’ve never really cared for Vandoren for tenor bit I might try them again.
I can usually get any reed to work with some scraping.

 

[JimD]

Vandoren have never worked for me, either too hard, too dull or too bright, sometimes I’ve gone through all of these variations with the same reed over a couple of days.

One problem I have with Marca is that they have so many options I don’t know where to start, that and the fact that they don’t seem to have consistent strengths.

 

[zenden]

I mostly play the Rigotti Classic aka "the Red Ones" on tenor - that cut works great for me on the short facings often seen on vintage Links. I mostly play 3L but also keeps some 2.5H pending on humidity. That being said I find that the number one contributor to a consistent shift in reed apparent resistance is when an upper stack leak develops -bis, short tube C# or one of the palm keys being usual culprits.... Other than that the last 3 boxes of Rigotti purchased through the summer have been so far very consistent.

Good luck!

MG

How would the 2.5H in the Classic translate to the Jazz cut? Thanks.

 

[swperry1]

How would the 2.5H in the Classic translate to the Jazz cut? Thanks.

Light, medium, and strong are the correct subdivisions in the Rigotti Gold lines. They also use only the red one and the blue one for branding…no more jazz or classic names to confuse. Same cuts just different packaging/ branding. Changed in 2020 but there’s still old stock around in some sizes.

2.5 strong in the reds will be in the ballpark of 2.5 strong to 3 light in the blue. Reds are slightly stiffer followed by blue and queens with the wild cut being significantly softer in the boxes I tried. Weiner Music sells 5-packs of the Rigotti Blue if you’re looking to sample different strengths.

 

[Laggszboy]

Rigotti reeds giving me grief... Anyone got any advice?
Get even.

 

[mguevrem]

How would the 2.5H in the Classic translate to the Jazz cut? Thanks.

As far as I know all reeds produced at Rigotti are measured using the same deflection testing machine. So to the first order they all have the same strength and you can order the same strength number as you usually would. The red will feel maybe a tad more resistant than the blue due to their cut profile, but nothing near to going the next strength up (2.5 Strong to 3Light) If you like 2.5S stay with 2.5S

Cheers,
MG

 

[DTExpress]

I haven’t read all of the responses to the original post, but I’ve found the Ridenour ATG reed finishing system to be indispensable in getting just about every reed playable.

 

[noelpaz]

I'll also add that I have got a Reekgeek

Like you I was also hoodwinked into buying a Reedgeek last year, when the tried and true method of a paper pad and sandpaper of various grit technique has worked for me for years. Anytime I attempted to adjust the front and sides with the Reedgeek, I took chunks relative to what sandpaper's more subtle and gentle abrasions. And the back, a pad of paper seals and flattens much better. My friend cut himself with the Reedgeek.

 

[CatDuet]

I haven't recently bought a box. I love the 3L's. I hope they won't be messed up for me too.

 

[ROC]

Like you I was also hoodwinked into buying a Reedgeek last year, when the tried and true method of a paper pad and sandpaper of various grit technique has worked for me for years. Anytime I attempted to adjust the front and sides with the Reedgeek, I took chunks relative to what sandpaper's more subtle and gentle abrasions. And the back, a pad of paper seals and flattens much better. My friend cut himself with the Reedgeek.

It’s sharp. It may cut you.

It works well, as intended: a small, portable tool for a quick flattening of the back and removal of any obvious asymmetry. Especially while on a gig or at a rehearsal.

At home I might go the old school route, but I ain’t carrying a blade and sandpaper around with me.

Nobody got hoodwinked.

 

[skeller047]

I think the ReedGeek is an excellent tool. Too expensive, but excellent. My reed case holds 8 reeds. When I was gigging all the time, I used one of those slots for several pieces of reed rush. Reed back needs scraping? The edge of the mouthpiece table works great.

If I ever tour again (not likely) I would put a ReedGeek in the 8th slot of my case, along with some reed rush. Or maybe put some red rush in the ReedGeek case. I use a lathe tool bit blank to flatten my reed backs at home (Mr. Geek is safely tucked away in his case), because if it rusts or wears out, replacements are cheap. But the TSA would likely confiscate it; the end is sharp.

 

[Britsaxplayer1]

Since getting back from a two-month stint abroad (where I was playing soprano instead of tenor) I've really been struggling to get settled on the right reeds. Before I went, I was using Rigotti Gold 3L and was finding every reed out of the box was working pretty well. Since getting back I've tried 3L, 3M and most recently 2.5H but have been finding that almost all of the reeds in each box are really resistant. I've had my horn checked by a very good technician who said my horn is all working fine, and he also checked my mouthpiece table is level (which it is).

I'm just finding that none of my reeds are singing as I'd like them to and it's driving me crazy. I've found that with the 2.5H and also the 3Ls, the reeds are easier to play if I really focus on relaxing my embouchure an abnormal amount - it's almost as if I'm closing them off? On the other hand, though, the 3Ms are definitely hard to blow due to the thickness of the cane. Perhaps I'm not breaking them in enough, but I have showed a good amount of patience with them all up until now...

Has anyone else had any weird experiences with Rigotti Gold in the last couple of months? I actually bumped into another player at my technicians' workshop who said by chance that he had to go up two strengths in Rigotti as he felt his reeds were all feeling mushy.

I also don't think solely due to me taking two months off from playing tenor. I play for 3-4 hours every day and so my embouchure really shouldn't be the only thing causing this. On the few reeds I've had that have felt right - things have been feeling better than ever so I'm really not sure what's going on.

Thanks in advance for any help

Been playing sop, tenor and alto for over 30 years now. Found that while in the 2000's the different strengths of Rigotti reeds were actually very helpful, over the last 3 years or so that hasn't been the case. Yes, cane is a living organism, so variation is to be expected. HOWEVER, the wild variations I started to notice was increasing to the point that like RICO Clarinet reeds, the quality was decreasing at an alarmingly rapid rate. Only a couple out of a box were really playable without MAJOR adjustments. I'm sorry to those on here who say the equivalent of "it's a living organism, you need to do this or that or the other when you unwrap the reed"; WRONG! If Vandoren can get their process down to a fine art where 1, maybe 2 out of 10 reeds get tossed, then why can't the other manufacturers? 30 years teaching and STILL haven't found a reed manufacturer to match Vandoren in terms of both initial quality and overall consistency, across their ENTIRE product range. Yes, each reed may need a LITTLE bit of trimming or sanding or other adjustment to meet your specific needs, but as a starting point, or frequently straight out of the wrapper, Vandoren's consistency over the last 3 decades+ has no competition. Ask Euge Groove!!! "Smooth Jazz" sax professionals use Vandorans FOR A REASON!

 

[Britsaxplayer1]

It’s sharp. It may cut you.

It works well, as intended: a small, portable tool for a quick flattening of the back and removal of any obvious asymmetry. Especially while on a gig or at a rehearsal.

At home I might go the old school route, but I ain’t carrying a blade and sandpaper around with me.

Nobody got hoodwinked.

Yep, Reed geek cost me more reeds than it was able to fix! Waste of time and $. Went back to good old ultra-fine grain sandpaper.

 

[Sacks Of Phones]

You could make these:

or do this:

 

[JL]

The red will feel maybe a tad more resistant than the blue due to their cut profile, but nothing near to going the next strength up (2H to 3L). If you like 2H, stay with 2H.

Strangely enough, I find the difference between 2H (actually, it's 2 Strong, but 2S sounds like 'soft', so I'll leave it at 2H) and 3L (3 Light), to be pretty small. I can use them interchangeably, although I have a slight preference for the 3L.

Anytime I attempted to adjust the front and sides with the Reedgeek, I took chunks relative to what sandpaper's more subtle and gentle abrasions.

If that is happening, you're probably pressing down too hard when using the Reedgeek. When scraping with it, you hold it at an angle to the reed and simply allow its weight to do the job as you scrape forward. All that said, I agree with you that sandpaper does the job just fine.