Playing the saxophone Issues with shopping for or playtesting mouthpieces - new reed every time?

[Pete Thomas]

I think many of us are aware of the usual advice given that you must not use a reed to playtest a mouthpiece if it has been used on another mouthpiece. This is sound advice when a reed has been well "bedded in" to another mouthpiece especially if (a) the facing curve is a smaller radius and/or (b) the tip opening is wider.

HOWEVER

Many of us find this totally impractical because you want to level the playing field, ie see how the new mouthpiece compares with as many common denominators as possible - otherwise the different reed could be skewing the results of your testing.

So here a a few tips (pun intended) on how to proceed

• Avoid using a reed has been played a lot on one mouthpiece, although if you know the facing is very similar it may be OK. (That does not just mean the tip number is the same, you have to be sure both tip and facing curve are the same).
• Using a new reed that you may have only played for a minute or so should be OK. If you have several mouthpieces to try don't play on one of them for long than a minute or so.
• Have a few reeds lined up ready that have only been played a minute and make sure they all had the same sound and response. If you believe a reed needs a lot of "breaking in" this method may not be a good one for you.
• "Level up" a test reed by bending it the opposite way to the curve it has adopted. This can work with synthetic reeds if warmed up in hot water. Beware doing this more than a very few times as it may well degrade the reed.
• If all else fails and you only have one reed try the above , just go for it. Even if the used reed may give you a false idea, often you can just tell by intuition that in spite of the used reed, the new mouthpiece is either a dog or a holy grail. The worst that can happen is you buy the mouthpiece and no return policy.

 

[jazzdoh]

I don't change mouthpieces that often but i have never used a new reed to try them, usually take 3 -4 reeds that i know play well on other mouthpieces, and usually know within a minute whether a new mouthpiece is worth buying or not.

 

[Pete Thomas]

That’s basically what I have done mostly. But maybe we might get some anecdotal evidence that does support the conventional advice. Ie has anyone test played on a previously used reed and later found it to have been a problem?

Is it possible that we might be finding a myth to bust?

 

[turf3]

I always just grab a reed out of my group of ready to play reeds, all of which will already be well used, and adjusted as needed to my preference. Otherwise you're adding reed variation to mouthpiece variation.

I can see a theoretical justification for requiring a new reed, but I very much doubt it really matters in the real world unless there's an extreme difference in the mouthpieces. You're going to have to PRACTICE with the new MP and get genuinely familiar with it before you can tell how the reeds should be to work best on it.

This question as so many others seems to drive from a mindset of constant gear swapping, where people spend a few minutes with a piece of kit, and quickly decide yes or no, and then at the first difficulty with it, they go hunting a new piece of kit. Maybe the fundamental question shouldn't be "how can I best evaluate this first date to decide if I want to have an affair" and rather "how do I learn to get the most out of a long term marriage?"

 

[cappers]

It helps to have the horn in tip-top playing condition!

When I first got the alto PPT I was squealing and squawking and thought it was me not being used to the new mpc and not having played alto for several months. However it did the same with the old 4C and a quick check revealed a few leaks. Once the sax was repaired the PPT is a joy to play. I tried both a new unused reed and a newly played-in reed (Alexander Superial DC 2) and didn't notice a difference except the new reed was a bit harder. Will take some time and practice to get the most from it but so far so good.

 

[Jimmymack]

I've always been sceptical about this and will use a reed that's broken in but not over used. Using either a new reed or one that been well played are both liable to give you problems assessing a new mouthpiece, you need to play a reed that you know is good. In any case you can take some old ones and new ones as well and cover all bases. And what's to be gained by playing a new mouthpiece for only a minute?

 

[JayeNM]

I reuse reeds on different mouthpieces all the time. Never had heard of this 'rule' but I guess I can understand it in theory....

 

[skeller047]

Evidence against using new reeds

I recently tried a few mouthpieces in a store, and used a reed that had been adjusted for, and played on a couple practice sessions with, a particular mouthpiece. The mouthpieces I tested were a similar tip opening, but I don’t know about the facing curve differences. The reed worked fine and I bought 2 of the pieces I tried.

Evidence for using new reeds

I gave a mouthpiece to a friend. I know the kind of pieces he likes, and this was something he might not try but I thought he might like. He liked it enough to play it i on a gig, Next day he complained to me that it was “out of tune”. I asked him if he had used a new reeds. Answer was “no”, so he tried that and the problem was solved.

Bottom line - it depends….

 

[lig]

I always have a couple reed holders set up with reeds that I know are good players.

I don't think using a reed that works on one mouthpiece is a problem on another as long as it hasn't spent hours on a particular piece.

The biggest change for me on the reed front is switching to Ishimori reeds. They are consistently all good players for me.

 

[thomsax]

Testplay???? When I got a mouthpiece out of my preferences (big and edgy) I started to try differnt reeds (brands, strength, cut ....) to get the tone I like. I got advices from more advanced/experienced player (better than me). Then I started to practice.

 

[mark_addy]

Maybe the fundamental question shouldn't be "how can I best evaluate this first date to decide if I want to have an affair" and rather "how do I learn to get the most out of a long term marriage?"

It's the hours and hours of repetitive practice with something old and familiar that put me off, grasping vainly for a new angl...oh, sorry 🙂

 

[davidk]

Would using synthetic reeds for play testing get around this issue?

 

[jazzdoh]

Would using synthetic reeds for play testing get around this issue?

Not sure on that, but i always take a synthetic reed with me along with cane when trying a new piece.