Reeds Legere vs Forestone?

[saxmaster]

I've been a happy Legere customer (still no signs of wear after about 3 months of daily use of at least 1hr and 15mins a day) and am wondering how Forestone reeds hold up to Legere.

I am waiting for my new PPT 7* mouthpiece so I'm waiting for that to come in before I start purchasing a lot of reeds. So I guess my question is what size of Forestone matches up to a Legere and more importantly,


How does a Forestone sound compared to a Legere?

 

[Jazzaferri]

Check the reed section in saxontheweb forum use the search function there will be several threads

keep in mind that everyones setup ...embouchure, mpce, desired tone is such a personal thing the second part of your question is not really answerable in any meaningful way. What may work for me may have a very different response with you, evenon the same mpce.

you will find some ..including Pete and myself prefer the sound of the Legere signature (not regular or studio) some prefer the sound of Forestone or some of the other synths.

the Legere sounds really good on y Brilhart Personaline. on y Phil Tone Solstice the palm notes are fussy and there is an annoying honkiness on low A - C# that needs a substantial change in embouchure to eliminate.
h
ope this helps.

 

[rhysonsax]

These two brands are my favourite synthetic reeds and I have owned and played a lot of others (Fibracell, BARI, BARI *, Harry Hartmann, Hahn). They can both sound like the sort of cane reeds I prefer (Rico Jazz Select or Vandoren Java).

A few thoughts:

• Legere seem to have more body to the sound than Forestone, which seem to lack a bit of projection especially in the second register
• Legere seem to be quite fussy about position on the mouthpiece or which mouthpieces they suit
• Forestone play softer for me than the strength number suggests
• Legere have varied more from reed to reed than I expect

Rhys

 

[Jazzaferri]

I have found that Legere are fussy on location... Even a few tenths of a mm seems to make a noticeable difference on some mpces. My Brilhart isnt too bad fore and aft but even the tiniest bit side to side and I am not happy with something.

i am a recent convert to the legere both the 2 1/2 s I have are pretty much the same stength. One seems to be a tiny bit brighter to me. Doubt audience would notice. The 2 3/4 which I am just trying out now seems to be just perfect on the Brilhart and is just a bit firmer than the 2 1/2 s.

easy control on the overtnes and good low note initiation even at pp.

 

[jrintaha]

I'm still using my Legere Signature 2½ I've owned for 4 months or so as my main reed on my tenor (Vandoren T27 MPC). I also have a Fibracell 2½, and while it is about as easy to play as the Legere, I don't like its buzzy sound. I sometimes use Rico Plasticover 3's as well, but once again they feel a bit buzzy.

On the alto (Yamaha 4C MPC), I very strongly prefer the Legere Signature 2.25 over the Forestone 2.5 I have. They sound quite similar, but the Forestone feels much stiffer than the Legere. The Forestone is extremely slippery and it's a pain to get the ligature right with it.

On the clarinet (Vandoren B40 MPC), I'm currently using Rico Plasticover 3's. I also have a Forestone 3, and once again it feels way too stiff and slippery, even though their chart places it as softer than the Plasticover 3.

I don't like Forestones I have at all. It seems they're the most expensive, least practical (I don't know what type of ligature would hold them), strengths way off what they show on their charts, and the tone is not so special that it would justify the difficulty.

I suppose it's still worth a try though, as I know some people do like them. I would advise, based on my experience, that you pick a reed slightly (perhaps 0.25 or 0.5) softer than the Legere you're comfortable with. I you have just a basic ligature like I do, you may have to invest in a new ligature as well.


Cheers,
Jori

 

[TimC]

Hey Jori, I'm curious as to when you bought your Forestone alto reed? I got mine about 2 months ago, and found that the 2,5 is about 0,5 softer than a Rico royal 2,5. I'm very happy with my forestone 2,5 for alto and was just thinking about getting one more, so would be good to know if they've become firmer recently or if they used to be firmer before.

Personally I haven't had trouble with fitting the reed on my mouthpiece. It's true it's slippery so you have pay attention to hold it firmly while attaching the ligature, but once on it stays there whether with my standard Jupiter or Rovner 1RL ligature.

 

[TomMapfumo]

Firmer before!

 

[TimC]

Thanks Tom, good to know I can still go with the 2,5 strength as it really suits me great.

 

[jrintaha]

Hey Jori, I'm curious as to when you bought your Forestone alto reed? I got mine about 2 months ago, and found that the 2,5 is about 0,5 softer than a Rico royal 2,5. I'm very happy with my forestone 2,5 for alto and was just thinking about getting one more, so would be good to know if they've become firmer recently or if they used to be firmer before.

Personally I haven't had trouble with fitting the reed on my mouthpiece. It's true it's slippery so you have pay attention to hold it firmly while attaching the ligature, but once on it stays there whether with my standard Jupiter or Rovner 1RL ligature.

I got my clarinet Forestone about 3 months ago, the alto one perhaps a month ago. But no telling how old the stock the music store had was. I still have the original packaging from both, but there's no date or serial number.

I have a no-name "Alto Sax USA" lig on my alto, and the original Yamaha lig on the clarinet, so they're very basic. However, I've never had trouble with other synthetics. On the alto, I often knock the reed out of alignment when adjusting the mouthpiece, so it's quite annoying.

Perhaps it's possible the ones I have haven't been kept appropriately in the music store, since they're both from the same store and both are very stiff. I think the Plasticovers are already pretty stiff compared to other Rico reeds of equivalent strength number, and the clarinet Forestone is quite a bit stiffer than the Plasticover 3, maybe equivalent to a Plasticover 3.5 or 4.

 

[TimC]

Thanks for the info Jori, I didn't consider the shop you bought it from might have had them in stock for a long time. I ordered mine directly from Forestone's website so they should have the "freshest" stock. You're right about the reed can move if you adjust the mouthpiece after you've already put on the reed, especially if your mpc sits quite tight on the neck. I don't do that at all since I don't like how the reed will be grinding against the table of the mouthpiece as you twist it. I just imagine that will affect how long the reed/mpc will last, so I tend to place the mpc just at the angle I want on the neck before putting on the reed.

 

[saxmaster]

Thanks to all who replied!
I'll just be staying away from Forestone then and continue purchasing my Legeres.

 

[jrintaha]

A better ligature (Rovner-like leather lig) just arrived, have to test the Forestone with it today if I have the time. I'll post here how it goes.

 

[TomMapfumo]

Never had a ligature problem with a Forestone - you may have a mouthpiece which does not have a perfectly flat table, or just use poor quality ligatures.

Have a good Christmas anyway!
Tom