PPT mouthpieces

Reeds i fancy a change of reed!

I bought my alto reeds direct from Lupifaro on Facebook, just the normal jazz ones though. I don't know anything about the Evo's but the normal ones are great reeds. Contact them on Facebook and send a paypal payment, job done.
I just received a pack of 5 Lupifaro EVO reeds in the 3 hardness for Alto that I bought from Amazon Spain. I have Prime so the shipping was free even though they came from England via Royal Mail and then Spanish Correos. The price was much lower than the cost of VDs, Rico (D'addario), Rigotti, etc.

I got the EVO because I wanted a darkish sounding reed but that still has some punch which I gather (correctly or incorrectly) that the Classic ones don't have. I didn't get the Jazz ones because I already have a tone of Marcas, Francois Louis, and ZZ reeds that all are bright to one degree or another with the FLs being the brightest on my altos.

Well, let me tell you that I am totally stoked by how great these reeds are. I had played some Lupifaro tenor reeds several years ago and really liked them. However, when I tried to buy more I discovered that they were no longer being made. That was disappointing so I forgot about them. Now however, they have come back with Rigotti making the reeds for them, and they are even better than I had hoped for.

I just picked one of the five at random, sucked it for 30 seconds, liked the table side and put it on my Super Session E. I rarely soak a reed, even a new one, anymore and the already used dry ones only if the tip is wavy. My normal procedure anymore is just to suck a reed for about 45 seconds or until I start to gag, whichever comes first, and then put it on and play it straight off. Anyway, this new reed was a bit resistant and wouldn't play the low notes, so I took it off and, having already noticed by touch that the table side was somewhat rough, I rubbed it for about a minute on a piece of paper. Actually, it was the backside of a piece of fine wet-dry sandpaper that I have right at hand, but it's the same thing as a piece of computer paper really. I then did the same for just a few seconds on the top side from the beginning of the vamp down to the tip. Back on the mpc it was better but still a bit resistant and needed more air support which could mean to some people that it was a half hardness too hard. Not me however. I knew that being a new reed it just needed to have the fibers opened up a bit and that is achieved by simply wetting your thumb with spit and pressing down fairly hard on the reed from the vamp down to the tip a couple of times, so it flexes.

After that I started to play, and Viola, it was magnificently free blowing from top to bottom with a dark tone that is to die for and just what I had hoped to have on my new Couesnon Metropole alto. What a wonderful match this reed is with the SS and Couesnon. A setup made in heaven. Darkish, but not murky, muddy, stodgy, or dead in the least, like with some traditional middle-of-the-road reeds. Yet they are also free of the often too-bight edginess that an alto can have when played with many reeds on the brighter side of the spectrum. This is especially true in the upper range of the instrument.

So I am very please that I bought them and recommend Amazon as a source because the price is really low especially if you have Prime. I have to say that since the pandemic has forced me to stay home most all the time, except for forays to get food and pharmaceuticals, Amazon is my source for buying all sorts of things we need simply because they deliver right to my door. Being an old guy and that as mobile as I used to be, that is a godsend too because getting the car out of the garage and then having to search for and pay for parking to go shopping is now a total drag. I no longer take public transport because my legs hurt too much to walk to the bus stop or to the stores, and it is not safe due to contact with a crowd of other people.

Life has certainly changed drastically in just 11 months from what it had been for most of my life. Who would have imagined this? Certainly very few of us I reckon.
 
In terms of dark to brightness, I would classify Marca Jazz as very dark and very spread, Rigotti Jazz (Gold) as medium-dark and quite spread, Lupifaro Classic as medium-medium-dark, focused and very smooth (think their Jazz is similar but less focused) and Francois Louis reeds as medium, focused, and quite smooth. I think I may hear 'dark' so my medium maybe be someone else's medium-bright. I was only very recently recommended to try Francois Louis and am very, very impressed. Lupifaro Classic was my favourite reed until now, but I think the FLs have more brilliance over a similar core sound. They are also (so far) more robust, as the Lupifaros tend to flake on the edges of the tip with time. Both these reeds are made in the Rigotti factory so the raw materials are the same. Strengths between these brands are very different so it's worth testing before committing to a box. For me I (on a 7* tip opening) I use Rigotti 3 Med, which is approx. the same as Lupifaro #2 (#2.5 is more like Rigotti 3 Hard), and FL 2.5 (on the soft side and needs slight clipping) or 3 (on the resistant side). I'd say Rigotti Gold 3 med is about the same as mid point between Java# 2.5 and #3. Rigotti #3 soft most like Java #2.5.
It's funny to reed other people's impression of the same reeds I play and find them to be different. For me, back when I played Marc Jazz in rock jams I found them to be quite bright compared even to Rigotti. They have a wonderful sound but definitely on the bright side in my experience which is why they were great for Blues, R&B and hard core jazz. However, we must realize that it all depends on the actual setup one plays, i.e. which mpc, tip opening, facing type, and baffle type, so it is really impossible to make a blanket statement about a reed unless we are all playing the same horn and mouthpiece with a particular reed. If I am playing the same reed as you are but mine is on a Brilhart Level Air and yours is on a Selmer Super Session, then it's impossible to compare the sound of the reed since the mouthpiece differences are factors that determine the output of the sax more than the type of reeds do.

For the past 3 months I have been doing tests with different reeds on my altos in order to compare thee mouthpieces of similar type. I played a Selmer Super Session D for about 12 years on alto and loved it. Then I discovered that although that model had been discontinued by Selmer back in 2013, there were still NOS pieces for sale on Ebay here in Europe, and I was able to get a E of the same mpc. A month later I found out that in 2012 or so selmer revamped the SS models with a slightly different configuration to the table and a steeper angle of the floor resulting in it being more bowl shape at the chamber. These models have the letter stamped on the table, and I was able to buy one of the same E size. That's why I was doing A/B tests, so I could settle on the one I prefer and sell off the other.

What I discovered is that FL reeds play quite bright for me when years ago I had thought them to be much more mellow. Marca reeds on the other hand are not as bright or jazzed up as I had previously found them to be. Gonzalez and Hemke are middle of the road, neither really dark nor bright, as is Vandoren Blue most of the time. I hardly play Java anymore so can't comment on them and Rico SJs are more or less in the bright side of the spectrum. This is why I find these EVO alto reeds so great. They are the first truly dark but alive reed I have played on alto out of all of those other brands. Wow!!!
 
Been playing on Java 2.5 green box for years, got a bit disgruntled with them recently, tried Rico Royals recently, not too impressed so did a search on a reed that might be favourable coming from the Java, ended up ordering some Rigotti gold jazz tenor saxophone 2.5 Medium's, seems that the medium is a tad harder then the Java 2.5? will report when i have given em a blast.
I found s couple of swipes with the reedgeek and a rub on some wet and dry and they soften up. Think ill need to buy the 2 1/2 soft next time.. nice reeds tho but the green javas i find cool too..
 
I’ve got a 2.25 but it’s a bit bright

based on my 2.25 a 2 would possibly be too soft but would definitely be too bright
weird isn't it I find the 2 quite deep with a lebayle 7 but I can clam it up trying to get the palm key notes out at times...
 
weird isn't it I find the 2 quite deep with a lebayle 7 but I can clam it up trying to get the palm key notes out at times...
It is weird, with the 2.25 my top notes have never been as good lol
 
Just had ten minutes practicing with my new mouthpiece using a slightly used java 2.5, I spent a couple of minutes making sure the flat side of the Reed was flat with my Reedgeek , not surprisingly this made all the difference to the reed responding properly and it was good, I’m convinced that everytime a Reed starts getting unresponsive it’s the flat side that is either going convex or concave
 
Convex most likely as it swells.
I agree, what I’ve noticed is that if the Reed has been flattened before with the reedgeek due to going convex then if you check it before playing next time it will sometimes be concave and you have to be careful not to go mad flattening it as it will then go convex again ! Or am I going mad?
 
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