Reeds Is there a worse reed than Rico orange box ??

[Brendan]

OK .. so I only bought them because someone said Ronnie Cuber uses them .. and that for bari, they're actually pretty good.

I bought a box of ten - and every one is soft, lifeless and lasts about an hour. (I have 2 left)
I'd been using Rico Royal previously and still have one left that I've been nursing along until this garbage box is finished. (I'm too cheap to just move on !! :shocked: )

Never again !

 

[Colin the Bear]

Orange rico are american cut and rico royal are french cut. Different reed. Get yourself a clipper. When they go soft take 0.1 mm to 0.5mm off the tip and away you go. Alternatively buy a harder reed and play it in.

A cordier clipper will cost less than a box of Bari reeds and pay for itself many times over.

Woodwind and Brass Ltd Saxophone Reed Cutters

 

[Justin Chune]

When I bought my baritone from a friend it came with a couple of boxes of orange box Rico reeds strength 2.5, and 25 reeds per box. I played them for years and never had a problem. When they ran out I changed over to the Royals only because that's what I use on everything else. Did you buy the right strength?

Jim.

 

[kevgermany]

I don't use them anymore, cos I prefer the RJS, but never hada problem with the orange box.

 

[Brendan]

Orange rico are american cut and rico royal are french cut. Different reed. Get yourself a clipper.

I hadn't noticed this until now ! I've got one of each in my hand .. I guess I prefer the French cut !
I'll look into a trimmer too, thanks Colin.

Did you buy the right strength?

Probably not .. I was using Rico Royal 3, but found some of them too stiff. But these Orange 2.5s are just too soft.

I'm picking up a new box today (back to the RR3s) and will post an exciting update.

 

[Humbardi]

My experience with Vandoren Java blue box is that I ca not use ANY of the box ( #2 ). Very bad quality. Bt the way, I have used Rico Royals without problem.
Best wishes
Humbardi

 

[TomMapfumo]

Orange rico are american cut and rico royal are french cut. Different reed. Get yourself a clipper. When they go soft take 0.1 mm to 0.5mm off the tip and away you go. Alternatively buy a harder reed and play it in.

A cordier clipper will cost less than a box of Bari reeds and pay for itself many times over.

Woodwind and Brass Ltd Saxophone Reed Cutters

Only the guy is in Vancouver so they may cost more to import them!

 

[Brendan]

Only the guy is in Vancouver so they may cost more to import them!

Plus, they're probably 220 volt ... and left handed !!

 

[saxnik]

Orange Ricos apparently work well with Otto Link STM mouthpieces (I've not really tested this theory though).
Cut/Strength/Brand differences are more apparent depending on the mouthpiece you're using. I tend to find Hemke are the most reliable of the Rico range I've tried for Bari - on both the Yanagisawa and Berg Larsen mouthpieces I have.

Good luck, Nick

 

[Colin the Bear]

I use the Vandoren classic blue. Have done for decades. I use a 4 on a selmer S80 C*. They last for years with a little adjustment.

 

[Brendan]

I've tried the Vandoren classic - didn't like them either !
I guess it's all down to personal preference ... but since the orange box seems to be the cheapest reed available, I was thinking that their quality control might be lacking.

Anyway I went back to my RR3 and the first one out of the box was great - so personal crisis over !! :welldone