[tjontheroad]

I received my Lamberson Fmaj7 alto piece last week. I like it But, like many of Fred's alto pieces, it's more resistant than most (more so than his tenor or soprano pieces too). Nothing wrong there. I kinda expected that. I thought I'd might go down a reed strength from a Roberto's 3 soft to a 2.5 hard. Before I make my order, I was just wondering if you all thought it would help free up the piece? Or, maybe I should just take more time with it and get use to it?

Thoughts...

 

[docformat]

I've heard conflicting advice on this, but my feeling is that its worth going down half a strength. Why make life hard on yourself?

 

[Jonathan C.]

I agree with Doc.

 

[Seasax]

yep, same here

thats what i did for my adjustatone, and it plays great now

 

[Canadiain]

Use whatever works best:?

 

[milandro]

try to get used to it first and if you see you get bad habits from doing this such as biting or tightening your embouchure too much, step down a notch or two.

 

[Jonathan C.]

Or just go ahead and step down a half size, and then work your way up.

 

[tjontheroad]

Thanks for the replies. You guys are thinking pretty much what I was too. That is, I'm inclined to give it some more time first. Then, I'll still try to go down one strength. That way I can get a better feel if it's me or the piece/reed combo.

 

[Mike Cesati]

When I switched to my saxscape I went down to a med from med hard and it really has been the best move I made in a while. It loosened me up and my sound is just as full and I am not working hard at all.
I was concerned I would burn out the reeds quicker or choke up but that hasn't been a problem.

 

[Saxland]

I used to own a Lamberson 6M alto and I found that on my 3.5 vandoren blue and V16's it was a struggle. I went down to 3's and liked it, but it was a Rico Royal that really sang out. It was all of a sudden transformed into the responsiveness of a Morgan.

I think what happens is that in order for all the full sound of the tones to come out, the throat must be relaxed, and is therefore better able the phrase as well. Its better to take in more mouthpiece like Phil Barone suggests in his Tone Production thread. So playing for a full tone like on other mouthpieces with responsiveness lagging behind is not an option on the Lamberson. At least that was my exerience.

 

[tjontheroad]

I've been getting more use to the Fmaj7 with the same reed. It's still feels more resistant than the M.C. Gregory Master Model I'm now familiar with. But, not as much as my first impression. While I am going to try a to go down a reed, I hope it's not going to negate the very full tone I'm getting.

 

[Mike Cesati]

I've been getting more use to the Fmaj7 with the same reed. It's still feels more resistant than the M.C. Gregory Master Model I'm now familiar with. But, not as much as my first impression. While I am going to try a to go down a reed, I hope it's not going to negate the very full tone I'm getting.

You might get a bigger sound. This has been my experience going down a 1/2 strength.

 

[tjontheroad]

Could be Mike. I just ordered 2.5 hard reeds. I'll report back when I get 'um

 

[tjontheroad]

Well, I just got the 2.5 hards in and it's like playing a whole different mouthpiece. Amazing how much just a 1/4 strength can do. It's now more punchy and brighter yet still full sounding. Much more easy blowing. Downside is that both the top and bottom of the horn are less responsive. Low end at B and Bb have a slight gurgle. The top end from the front E up have become a greater challenge. So, It's still a work in progress. I have faith in Fred. Now I need some faith in myself

 

[MM]

My advice is

1. For a mouthpiece that is harder to blow because it is has a more open tip, use a softer reed.

2. For a new mouthpiece that is just "different," use a softer reed to get used to it for a month or three. Once it feels comfortable, if the reed continues to close up when playing high or loud, try increasing reed strength.

NOTE: I edited item 1. Sorry for the typo.

 

[RootyTootoot]

My advice is

1. For a mouthpiece that is harder to blow because it is has a more open tip, use a harder reed.

I find this odd advice. I'm not saying you;re wrong but could you explain the logic behind this? I mean, "common sense" would say "harder to blow, go softer". I don't quite understand what going harder would achieve. It's entirely possible i've missed a trick here and i'd just like a little more explanation.

 

[chops2200]

I would say, pick whatever you want and just stick with it. I kept telling myself that I was going to "work up" to a harder reed on one of my mouthpieces last eyar, and I never did because any time i would go up a strength I wouldn't like the sound and would end up dropping back down.

However, a few months ago I started using a Otto Link HR 8* mouthpiece, and I started using hard reeds on it almost immediately (4M rico jazz) and it was hard for the first week or two, but I certainly made much faster progress than I would've if i had changed reed strength constantly.

 

[milandro]

My advice is

1. For a mouthpiece that is harder to blow because it is has a more open tip, use a harder reed.
.

It very possible that you possess an ability that I've never knew about but I guess this isn't the normal situation.

If I have a mouthpiece hard to blow I HAVE to go down a notch with the reed strength, otherwise I cannot play. For sure I wouldn't be able to play the low notes otherwise. It is perhaps a good thing to practice on a harder reed every now and then to build up muscles strength and stamina but be weary of practicing with reeds too hard to play all the time (and mouthpieces) because some players will turn to biting which is hardly a desireable practice. Don't use a reed which is too weak because you will suffer intonation problems (besides closing it while blowing hard).

 

[rogerb40uk]

How diplomatically phrased, Rooty Tootoot!

I had a 6M, too, and found it noticeably more resistant than the RPC 80B I have now, which is allowing/requiring me to play a slightly harder reed.
I didn't realise at the time that it was 'resistant', and I liked the tone, but the RPC was a revelation.

 

[tjontheroad]

I have to agree that I would want to go back to the harder reed. If only because I like the deeper and rich tone I was getting with it over the softer one. So over time, I may end up going back where I started.