[LostConn]

The obvious advantages and benefits of synthetic reeds already have been discussed here at length, so I'll limit myself to three points that are especially important to me personally:

1. Any time spent working on reeds to make them playable is time wasted, as far as I'm concerned. The fact that the task is neither arduous nor technically difficult (after practice) is beside the point. It's not too hard to inflate your tires, but I'd rather have tires without slow leaks than tires that I have to "work on" before driving anywhere.

2. Not having to wet reeds is a boon for doubling. It also means that a reed's playability changes less while I am playing it. On occasion, I've had problems with a cane reed's partially drying out even while I'm playing; i.e., just having it in my mouth is not enough, and it needs a resoak. Of course, this never happens with synth reeds.

3. Reduced day-to-day, and week-to-week, variability in a reed's sound and response is very welcome.

I have sometimes imagined how cane reeds might have been marketed if synthetic reeds had come first, and had reached a high level of quality and refinement before someone tried using a grass-based material instead:

New Artisanal Saxophone Reeds

• All-natural -- made from the finest organically grown and sustainably harvested music cane!
• Compostable!
• Every reed is different, stimulating your creativity!
• Works with your body's natural fluids!

 

[LostConn]

Plastic or sythetics reeds are great for general practice or hobbyist musicians. ...

Cane reeds are for performances and advanced musicians. The tone is better and more natural than a synthetic reed.

This perspective is about 20 years out-of-date. If anything, I think there is a big top-down impetus associated with switching to modern synthetic reeds, especially Legeres. Have you seen their list of endorsing artists? These guys are not fooling around.

Today, the conventional wisdom among "advanced musicians" is more that "cane is a preference" than "cane is better."

 

[LostConn]

Nobody has said, so far, that they play better than cane reeds - to me, at my state of advanced age-induced stuck-in-the-mud-ness, that's enough not to consider them.

(Post #71)

I have tried all of the brands out there today and it's the Hartmann Fiberreed that I dig the most. They just play better for me than any cane reeds.

(Post #63)

It does help that I've found some synthetics that I feel really speak 1000 times easier than most cane reeds (Forestone Hinoki and White Bamboo especially, but the American cut is close.)

(Post #61)