[DChalo]

Hi, im a Sophomore bari player in my top jazz ensemble and im starting to make the transition back to jazz bari as i have been working on region for a while (btw i made 1st in the region!!!) and my director wants me to have a nice recognizable jazz bari sound. I've tried legere, fibracell and rico jazz select and i kinda wanna try Plasticovers. Do you guys know what size would be good for an Otto Link 7?

 

[Stephen Howard]

As a rough guide they're half a strength harder than an equivalently numbered plain cane reed - so if you're happy on a plain 3, a Plasticover 2 1/2 is the way to go.
However, I find that I get the best results from them by using a half or a full strength harder than I would normally use and letting them wear in. This takes advantage of their increased resistance to wear and I got more gigs out of each reed than I would if I'd used a softer one.

Regards,

 

[Chris Peryagh]

One thing to be wary of Plasticovers is they aren't always flat on the underside, so they can leak at the side rails (just above the base of the window) which will make your bari feel unresponsive as if it has a leak at the top end somewhere, or they'll squeak uncontrollably. And as they're plastic coated, they won't absorb moisture like a plain cane reed so they won't conform to the table and rails of your mouthpiece as fast as a normal cane reed will.

You're still best wetting the underside of the reed before playing to ensure it seals well against the table. When you get a good one, you should look after it well, but you can leave it on the mouthpiece after playing so it conforms to the table and side rails so it seals better and is ready for use. Check the flatness of both your mouthpiece table and the underside of the reed as that will ensure the best playability.

I had a Plasticover bari reed in full time use for around 4 years, but it did gradually lose its strength over that time.

 

[mrzel]

I had issues with Plasticovers and sealing as well. I had to tighten the ligature tighter than usual to ensure a leak free table seal.

 

[Buescher27]

Just been trying Forestone reeds on both my barytone and sop... A little embouchure sensitive ( read: whatever you do wrong you will be made aware of immediately)... but when you get the hang and once you find how to place the reed on your mpiece, they're just great
Sorry for bumping, but as far as synthetic reeds go, they're by far the best I've tried.

 

[Souportwenty]

I've used Plasticovers for years and always found them just a bit more resistant than a regular cane reed of the same number (Rico). However, I do find that once they "break in" they are only slightly more resistant (3= 3.25). In order to really get that "Rock and Roll" sound, I find they like you to put lots of air through them. I've recently been using a Vandoren V16 75 and am finding my plasticover 3's just a bit hard in that the lower pitches seem to need too much air. The 2 1/2's let the low notes speak easily but seem lacking when I play with more aggressive accents and volume. I suspect a slightly worn three is the magic for me but time will tell.

 

[littlewailer]

Honestly I've found plasticovers tend to run softer....


Maybe it's just me but when I was using them on my Otto Link 6* 3.5's work very well for me when any other reed I really couldn't play on anything higher than a 3.

This is Tenor though.

Although I don't see why it should matter.

 

[DChalo]

Im probably gonna try 3.5s. I hope they work well with a 7* opening