Saxophone beginners Changing to harder reed

[altissimo]

Hi, I'm thinking of getting a pack of 5 Bravo alto sax reeds from Amazon. The music shops here don't sell synthetic reeds. Please, does anyone have any experience with these? They are about 1/6th the price of l`egere reeds . You get 5 for £21.29. The reviews on Amazon are good. I don't know what strength to get, but probably 2's.

I've not tried the Bravo synthetics yet, but they're on my list of things to try - eventually I'll work my way through every synthetic reed available..
It's a pity that Bravo don't sell them singly, so we could try a few different strengths and find the one that suits our needs
oh, hang on, just spotted a box of 5 mixed strengths so you can try out a 2, 2.5,3,3.5 and 4
Bravo Synthetic Reeds for Alto Saxophone - Box of 5 - Mixed Strengths 4710945148557 | eBay

a reviewer on the Dawkes website says that they're 'half weaker than the Vandoren Classic'

In general, I'd say that no synthetic reed will ever properly mimic the properties of a cane reed and they tend to take a week or two of playing to get used to. Some people will never like synthetic reeds, others are quite happy with them. I never liked cane reeds, so for me they're ideal, but I prefer my Bari Star to a Legere, so what would I know?

here's a review of the clarinet reeds - The $4 Bravo Synthetic Reed | Clarineat
and the sax reeds - Bravo Reeds: Is this the synthetic reed you have been looking for? » Best. Saxophone. Website. Ever.

 

[saxyjt]

I'm not sure what 'half weaker' means. Are Bravo 2.o like Vandoren 2.5?

If so, I guess the mixed strength is a good deal. I usually can't play a 3.5 or a 4.0 on alto. But it if they are half a strength down, then it would be in a perfect range to try with closed to open mouthpieces.

Unfortunately they are not (yet) available in France, at least in that mixed pack format.