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Reeds Chinese plastic reed - awful

altissimo

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I ordered one of those "Durable Transparent Resin E Flat Alto Saxophone Reeds" off ebay a while ago and it finally arrived.
Tried it one several mouthpieces and it's virtually unplayable.
Closer inspection revealed that the bottom of the reed isn't flat, but slightly concave. A few minutes with some wet and dry paper flattened it out and it's still unplayable in the low register.
I'l persevere with sanding it - I succeeded in getting a wonky Bari* reed into playing condition, but this one's more of a challenge.
If you're tempted to try one of these things - DON'T BOTHER - unless you've got the time and inclination to tinker with it until it might be playable
oh well, £2.77 down the drain :(
 
Much what I`d expect, if they can`t get mass-produced real cane reeds (which they invented) to play without needing work , what chance does plastic stand .
 
I ordered one of those "Durable Transparent Resin E Flat Alto Saxophone Reeds" http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281396985853?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
off ebay a while ago and it finally arrived.
Tried it one several mouthpieces and it's virtually unplayable.
Closer inspection revealed that the bottom of the reed isn't flat, but slightly concave. A few minutes with some wet and dry paper flattened it out and it's still unplayable in the low register.
I'l persevere with sanding it - I succeeded in getting a wonky Bari* reed into playing condition, but this one's more of a challenge.
If you're tempted to try one of these things - DON'T BOTHER - unless you've got the time and inclination to tinker with it until it might be playable
oh well, £2.77 down the drain :(
Comeon and put some effort in! All you need is a table sander! Colinthebear gets them working!
 
the problem with making reeds out of plastic is that the Young's Modulus and other mechanical properties of wet cane are different to a homogenous polymer. Therefore they require a different approach and have to be cut differently - thinner and flatter with less core, like a Fibracell or Hahn
You'd think the ingeneous chinese could've sussed this out, after all, they figured out how to make fake eggs
Dunno if Colin uses these chinese plastic reeds, I've got it playing better now - a little more work and it'll play ok-ish and at least it didn't cost what a Bari plastic reed costs.
If I get good at this I could sell them to John Zorn fanatics and other tone deaf noise perverts like myself..
Altissimo 'Super Screamer Select' Individually Hand Filed Reeds - get'em in time for Halloween..
 
.. actually, since I'm redecorating the kitchen this week, I think I'm going to put it on my Metalite M11 and use it for stripping paint
 
I think you`ve found a worthy use for those reeds, as mini scrapers for getting into tight corners
nah, five minutes of my playing and the paint will curl up and fall to the floor, leaving a smooth sandblasted surface...
>:)

a little bit more fettling and it'll be ready to go
 
I got two boxes of White Crane free with a £2.99 reed cutter. Nice packaging and they play fine. About the same as a Rco orange 3/3.5. I had one on the D'adds. Just a bit stiff for them. I do wonder why all the chinese reeds I've seen are stamped 2.5.

I've been looking at those synth reeds. Perhaps the marketing strategy is make em cheap enough and lots will try them. I'm still wondering if the black one will play better
 
Why dont you buy one of those Chinese ebay mouthpieces (jolly sun) to go with it it will probably be quite good then...

I have one of those Chinese mettle (sic) mouthpieces and it is pretty good with cane, plasticover, and fibracell reeds. And I can even get a tune out of it with a BARI clear plastic reed, which is more than I can manage with more expensive mouthpieces.
 
I've not tried the black or red ones - or those 3 for £23 Korean black plastic reeds - this was the cheapest at £2.55 including postage. Makes you wonder whether the postage and packing cost more than the reed.
The problem with this particular reed is that there's been some warping and shrinkage in or after the moulding process, so the flat side of the reed has gone a bit concave, more so at the thick end, creating an air leak under the table which required a bit of sanding to flatten out.
There's also no choice of strength, so they all come in medium hard - more sanding to get it thin enough to blow.
A plastic reed will never play the same as a cane reed, but that's not what I wanted. I like the fast, lively response of thin synthetic reeds on a wide tip opening high baffle Lawton. Cane reeds feel sluggish and dull in comparison. Of course it's a bit bright, but the Martin takes the edge off that nicely. I find it easier to brighten up a dark sounding sax than darken a bright sounding horn.

So anyway... as it came, this thing was terrible, but if you want a cheapo plastic blank to tinker with you may find it ok, if a little bit narrow - some mouthpieces with thin side rails may not work with these things..

I'm going to order another Fibracell and maybe try one of the black Forestone resin and bamboo fibre reeds.. or a Hartmann hemp fibre.... maybe that bloke at Absolute mouthpieces will perfect his synthetic reeds.. the quest goes on...
 
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Just ordered one of these. I bought a £3 ligature form the same seller, it's actually quite good.
 
Lemming....I'm just a lemming....I've ordered the black one lol

I ordered one of those engraved ligatures for about £3 a while back. It got very badly squashed in the post and they sent me another free of charge. The metal is so malleable I eventually straightened out the squashed one and it moulded itself to my my clarinet mpiece.
 
Lemming....I'm just a lemming....I've ordered the black one lol

I ordered one of those engraved ligatures for about £3 a while back. It got very badly squashed in the post and they sent me another free of charge. The metal is so malleable I eventually straightened out the squashed one and it moulded itself to my my clarinet mpiece.

I got one of the fabric ones, the bar that goes over the reed seemed a but narrow, but so what? It works.
 
if you've ordered one of these plastic reeds, you'd better get some 400 and 600 grade wet and dry paper as well and be prepared for disappointment..
nb - wash thoroughly after sanding
 
I've had a couple of those fabric ones. One is in the ligature/spare part tin. The other I deconstructed and put it back together to fit an odd size and shape mpiece. I wouldn't have dared with a Rovner or such like.
 
if you've ordered one of these plastic reeds, you'd better get some 400 and 600 grade wet and dry paper as well and be prepared for disappointment..
nb - wash thoroughly after sanding

Winter is coming and I'm stacking up little projects. I recently bought a multi pack of wet and dry. 2000 to 100. It should be interesting for the price of a pint.
 
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