Learning to play a reed

[Tiberius]

I play mostly fibracell now, I like the sound, definitely different to the cane reeds I've tried, much brighter. Main issue is the variation in them, the number is just a guide...a rough guide.

Basically need to have a few and then find out which one wants to play today, there's always one that plays ball, but it's a different one each time.

 

[jazzdoh]

I used to play mainly fibracell for years the older ones were the best, these newer ones are all over the place size wise the last one i bought was a 41/2 and it was still too soft, and when fibracell start to wear out they sound awful and give you no warning when this is going to happen.

 

[trimmy]

but it's a different one each time.

When I arrived for rehearsal I discovered that my new, supposedly identical, reed was so hard that I could barely get a note out of it,

Don't assume that one plastic reed will be the same as another of the same make and nominal strength.

One of the main reasons for using plastic is reliability (so the advocates say) atrange that both Richard and yourself are having reliability issues !

Seems the same problem as cane users, although i have been rather lucky with my brand of reed and don't have any issues

 

[altissimo]

I have an embarrassing owning-up to make: last night I got caught out by my plastic reed.

I spent most of yesterday blowing the same plastic reed that I'd been using for the last two months with no problem. However while I was putting my sax in its case ready to go out I noticed that my reed was getting rather frilly at the tip. By this time I was running late so I simply put on a new plastic reed straight out of its box and set off without trying it. I expected my new reed to be identical to the one I'd been playing.

When I arrived for rehearsal I discovered that my new, supposedly identical, reed was so hard that I could barely get a note out of it, and I hadn't taken a spare. Of course I learned to play it and enjoyed the rehearsal but I was glad to be with a very loud band! After that I went on to sit-in with another band for a couple of numbers and didn't do so badly (although @Colin the Bear may disagree) but I've learned two lessons:

1. Don't assume that one plastic reed will be the same as another of the same make and nominal strength. They usually are but there are exceptions.

2. Always take a spare.

On a different tack, after experimenting with a couple of other brands I've been using Legere reeds for over a year, mainly because they play well straight out of the box. However they don't last anywhere near as long as other players say Bari reeds do. After a couple of months or so Legere reeds go frilly at the tip. They've become very expensive so I'm going to try Bari again, although other users say they need filing to get them to play well.

Yet another different tack: I'm a morning person and that's when I play my best. However most bands play in the evening. By then I'm tired and ready for bed so my playing suffers. Colin the Bear advises learning to go to bed very late (so that I can go to the late-night open mic after the Forest New Orleans band has finished) and having a lie-in the following day. Considering that for most of my working life I got up at 4.45am, that will involve a major adjustment to my body clock!

some types of synthetic reeds get gradually softer with use, so a new one can be harder than the one you've replaced. It's possible there may be some variation in hardness, just like cane reeds.

Bari plastic reeds are made from a harder type of plastic, so sound brighter. I started filing them because the first one I got was cut off centre and I emailed Bari to tell them about it and suggest that they check their machinery. They replied the next day and said they'd send me a replacement, so I set about filing the faulty reed to see if I could get it into shape and I got it to play quite well. A week later 3 replacement reeds arrived in the post, but I preferred the now heavily modified one I'd been working on because it was a lot thinner and more flexible and it was a lot easier to play on my large tip opening 8* Lawton - soft reeds on a large tip opening work well for me and what I want to do and I find that synthetics are good for this purpose since they don't go soggy like a 1 1/2 cane reed would.
The reeds they sent were a lot better than the faulty one, but there was a bit of variation between them, so I only filed them a little bit and I left one alone because it played ok as is. Bari reeds are cut a bit differently to cane reeds, but that's to do with having to deal with the different mechanical properties of the plastic they use. Any modifications I've made are for my own experimental purposes and nothing to do with any inherent failings of Bari reeds themselves. I've not read about anyone else getting a faulty Bari reed, so must've been a rare case of one that didn't get rejected on the production line.
I like synthetic reeds because they're not like cane - I wanted something different... I've tried a few different brands and am using the Bari's because it's what I've got. I'd like to try Forestones and the new Ponzol synthetics. Claude Lakey haven't said any more about the synthetic reeds they were developing a couple of years ago..
Listening to recordings of my playing I can't tell the difference between what type of reeds I was using, I sound like me and there's nothing I can do about that.
The music you make is the only important thing and the less the instrument impedes the creative process the easier it is to create interesting sounds. The reeds I use just help make that task easier. I hope that whatever equipment you use serves a similar purpose.
Almost everyone has a different opinion about reeds, as we do about most other things. Our embouchures are all different and our musical needs aren't all the same, so sometimes it takes a while to find what works best for you.

 

[Tiberius]

One of the main reasons for using plastic is reliability (so the advocates say) atrange that both Richard and yourself are having reliability issues !

Not sure that reliability is the right word. I've never thrown a Fibracell reed away because it wouldn't play at all, and I've certainly done that with cane reeds. Rather variance, the current atmospheric conditions, or maybe just how I feel, today it's usually a different Fibracell to last time.

 

[David Dorning]

When I arrived for rehearsal I discovered that my new, supposedly identical, reed was so hard that I could barely get a note out of it, and I hadn't taken a spare.

I think variable hardness is a known characteristic of Legere synthetic reeds. I seem to remember at one point they were prepared to exchange a new reed if it turned out to be significantly harder or softer than expected.

 

[Jazzaferri]

That is not my experience with Legere Signatures. The ones I have used (mostly tenor) but I play them on all 4 saxes have been very consistent. They are definitely on the traditional side of the reed hardness charts. Legere used to change a reed if one needed a softer or harder reed. Don't know for a fact that they still do but they are pretty good about customer service