Reeds Opinion on reeds

M

Musicrocks

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Hi,

I practice normally with Rico royals or vandoren blues and now that I had to stop for more than a month, am just getting back in to learning from the beginning again, so don't ask me what happened to part 2 & 3 for Autumn leaves. That said, am trying to figure out which reed sounds better and have attached clips of me playing Rico royals 2.5 and Vandoren 2.5's. Ignore my rhythm and focus on the sound/tone being produced. And please don't ask me what I am playing as I will feel really bad then cause I thought it sounded almost close (reasonably) for a beginner.

The V's are harder I think but somehow find them easier to move around the notes, Could be because I started off on the tenor with those.

So if any one has any free time, listen to both, won't mention which clip is which, so that there are no biases. Thanks for all your help. Will also be getting input from my wife in the evening and will then decide with which to continue.

https://soundcloud.com/musicrocks-3/video0080

https://soundcloud.com/musicrocks-3/video0081

Thanks again
 
I preferred the second as well - had a more characterful sound.

To the trained ear of my wife, her comment was "...gosh that sounds flat....."

Both the reeds are "French Cut". You could always try a "Jazz Cut" reed for a bit of fun!
 
Thanks for all the replies guys/gals.

Wife also agrees on No.2 (0081) which is the Rico Royals 2.5 (sorry Mloosemore). The Vandoren 2.5 (80) which is supposed to be thicker is actually easier to blow and slur across notes however noticed that the RR requires more embouchure control but sounds a lot sweeter.

I am one of those tone deaf beginners who would normally rely on wife for tone and quality but now with more free time in the mornings, have to rely on myself as I practice alone or post here for feedback.

May sound flat at the moment but this was my second session after starting practice on Monday (after 2 month break) and I could only play scales and that too only the G scale as I had trouble moving from C to D (most probably due to overblowing as I found it easier to do it on the V2.5's) Practicing it didnt work and only reducing the breath/power helped.

Should I try out RR 3's (like buy 1 to see if it works like the 2.5v's but might give a sweeter tone) or continue with my 2.5's (of which I have another 9 more) as I believe these are supposed to be a bit thick for a beginner like me as per past threads but I find it easier to blow .
 
Musicrocks, as a beginner it is not always about ease of playing or 'sweet' tone.. More about being able to play the full range of the horn.. Harder reeds can make the top end easier and sound fuller. But, that can be at the expense of being able to play the bottom end well, think low 'D' and below..By all means try different reeds to find one you like..Find one that lets you control the horn..

Chris..
 
HI Chris,

Thats the sort of the decision that I am stuck on. The Vandoren 2.5's are letting me play the full range of the horn a lot more easier (by that I mean I can go low and high with not much squeaking/squealing) as compared to the RR's which punish me for any errors immediately and then I have to practice a few basic excercises to get back in the game. Now that I have started practicing simple songs, the sound of the RR's tend to be sweeter but it's making me practice the basic notes a lot more as compared to the V2.5's which I feel comfortable with quickly.

Both aren't that bad as such, just don't know whether I should take the easier route (and darker sound) or go for the harder route which will require me to practice basic's a lot more but give a brighter and cheerful sound.

Hope I understood your point clearly. It's 1am here and a bit drowsy.
 
Chris said:
Musicrocks, as a beginner it is not always about ease of playing or 'sweet' tone.. More about being able to play the full range of the horn.. Harder reeds can make the top end easier and sound fuller. But, that can be at the expense of being able to play the bottom end well, think low 'D' and below..By all means try different reeds to find one you like..Find one that lets you control the horn..

Chris..
Click to expand...

Started playing lower notes but it sounds like a fog horn on one of those big ships. MOst probably would hear me all the way over there if I played at the beach here in Sydney. The whole horn vibrates and I feel like it will just jump up and away from me. Am sure am going to have some hearing loss if I keep playing those low notes. Thought that low should have been only for a bari and not for something like a tenor. Learning breath control and embouchure technique (as stable as possible whilst letting my throat and diaphragm do the talking) to help me control the RR's the same way I manage on the V's. It's getting to be a lot more fun now that I can play some simple melodies (not perfect mind you but enough to sound like something)

It's 3 in the morn and for the heck of me, just can't get to sleep.
 
I recently got some green Vandoren Java reeds and they seem to be good (for me) for getting the low notes at (for me again) relatively low volume. Mine are 2s. The only other reeds I have tried are Vandoren blue box (2s) and La Voz medium soft. I think the traditional Vandoren reeds are generally half a grade harder than the Java. The La Voz are about the same as the Java, I think.
 
Agree on the lower vol's available on the Vandorens but finding them a lil thin in the higher register(Octave + A, B or C). Will be shifting to 2's for a week to try and see if they are better suited to me for the moment.
 
I'll have to do a side by side test of the blues and Java and see how they compare in the higher register. There seem to be so many variables that are beyond me. I try not to worry about the equipment, which is partly a financial necessity.
 
Add a +1 for the second piece (0081)
To me it had a much smoother tone.
Or put another way, 0080 sounded really rather harsh.

And pleased to see they were Rico Royals - as you can see from my signature, I am a bit of a Rico Royals groupie!
 
I think Rico Royals might have to be the next ones I try, but I'll try to get used to the Javas first.
 
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