Reeds Reed Gouging.

[PigSquealer]

I was waiting for that post!
I mean, just as an encouragement to open mine up, too! To an 8* or so
🙂

I have a T & A 3 on my bench for sanding / fitting neck corks. Maybe I should use ones of lesser value ??

 

[LostCircuits]

I have a T & A 3 on my bench for sanding / fitting neck corks. Maybe I should use ones of lesser value ??

Are you sanding the cork? Or reaming the MPC? 😀

 

[PigSquealer]

Are you sanding the cork? Or reaming the MPC? 😀

Sanding the cork and using the MPC an engineers caliper.

 

[Tonehole]

I'd suggest to choose from amongst

Vandoren standard
Vandoren Java
Rico/La Voz
Rico Jazz Select
Rigotti
Rico Royal

and learn how to adjust reeds to make whichever is closest to what you want, exactly what you want.

I would NOT commit to any oddball brand that you can't lay your hands on quickly. Think of driving across country in an Alfa Romeo versus a Ford F-150. Which one can you get serviced in Podunk?

Nah.. never going to get stuck, you give me a reed and I will play on it.
I was content playing Rico Orange box until "he who shall not be named" suggested I try Synth reeds for consistency.

Do I think the Alto Forestone I am using is the best choice for me? No! Am I still playing it? Yes ... until it dies. I will try the Onyx on my C Melody as I am playing a MeYer metal alto piece.

skeller047 gave me some tips on cleaning up reeds but I am not that anal nor do I fetishize over my reeds. Give me a reed friendly mouthpiece and a lig that holds the reed solid with no side movement and I may not be happy but I can play.

Exploring synthetic reeds seems to be very rewarding at the moment, just trying to do it with the least expense as possible. I haven't bothered with reads for years the quest is driven more by cost and consistency than reed angst.

I agree on your Ford F150 analogy, why I am content with Orange box Rico.

 

[turf3]

The Goldentone, as far as I can tell (and I don't have mine with me, it's 1700 miles away at the moment) is essentially the same thing as a Brilhart Ebolin with a different shank shape.

I predict that, just as Mexi-Conns and King Clevelands are having a resurgence of interest amongst the not so well heeled, those el cheapo PMMA molded mouthpieces with generic branding are poised for the same kind of thing. I believe most of them are essentially off the same core as the Brilharts.

 

[turf3]

I have a T & A 3 on my bench for sanding / fitting neck corks. Maybe I should use ones of lesser value ??

A WHAT???

 

[LostCircuits]

A WHAT???

T*t & A*s --- I think

 

[Tonehole]

I have a Goldentone I am willing to part with!
Would asking $250.00 USD be out of line as I will reface it to whatever size desired. Never refaced a piece before but I do have a belt sander and a grinder. 😎

 

[PigSquealer]

A WHAT???

T*t & A*s --- I think

 

[turf3]

I know what T and A means in general conversation but I'm having trouble figuring out what it means here in the context of a mouthpiece for refacing.

It's like the currently popular bean bag toss game, for crying out loud do you people know what "CORNHOLE" means????

 

[Targa]

I know what T and A means in general conversation but I'm having trouble figuring out what it means here in the context of a mouthpiece for refacing.

It's like the currently popular bean bag toss game, for crying out loud do you people know what "CORNHOLE" means????

If you really are having trouble with T and A then try adding BS.
On the cafe A&T referred to something completely different.

 

[JSL]

I haven't yet read the entire thread (I will do, eventually), but just to answer the question posed in the OP:

So how are you weathering the price hikes

For once, I exercised some foresight. Back when I first heard about the upcoming tariff insanity, I immediately ordered about half a dozen boxes of Rigotti Gold tenor reeds to add to several more boxes I already had. Now I'm all set on reeds for a long time, and I avoided having to pay the much higher price they are going for now.

 

[AlonW]

I think I'm going to try Rigotti reeds. I like Vandoren Javas but they are not so consistent. At $7 a reed, I can't afford to throw any away.

 

[Tonehole]

I am impressed with the Carbon Onyx alto reed that I have received. It is a M/H 2.75 and seems to hit the sweet spot on both my alto and C Melody which is where it will stay. As others have stated the consistency is it's greatest selling point, that and lack of maintenance. It allows me to totally shred in the altisimo with ease. A much better playing reed than the Forestone I have been using. It plays well but I choose the Hartmann Carbon Onyx hands down.

Here is an informative video on them, and he explains why some players traditional reeds will last longer than others. I always attributed a short reed life to how hard one blows or aggressively plays but he states it is playing altisimo that will kill the reed. Playing House and DJ sax is not easy on a reed.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYPp2mif2SA&t=17s

 

[skeller047]

I think I'm going to try Rigotti reeds. I like Vandoren Javas but they are not so consistent. At $7 a reed, I can't afford to throw any away.

Do you balance your reeds? If not, try that before you give up on a reed brand you like.

Jamie Anderson (Get Your Sax Together) recently posted a video on how to do this, my only quibble with it was that he didn’t take the reed off the mouthpiece when sanding it. Otherwise, it’s spot on. Simple to do, and in my experience makes it possible to play almost every reed in a box.

 

[Tonehole]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuJJC9zKWyQ

 

[JSL]

Jamie Anderson (Get Your Sax Together) recently posted a video on how to do this, my only quibble with it was that he didn’t take the reed off the mouthpiece when sanding it. Otherwise, it’s spot on. Simple to do, and in my experience makes it possible to play almost every reed in a box.

Yes, but with one minor caveat, at least in my experience. As you say, "almost" every reed. I usually find at least one, maybe two, reeds in a box of ten, that is just a complete dud, no matter what I do to it. The other caveat is that while I can get most of the reeds to play fairly well, some will still be better than others. I could use any of those playable reeds on a gig, but I prefer to save the best four or five that play great for gigs and use the others in the practice room. Sometimes, one of those others will rise to 'gigable' playability.

That said, it's totally worth learning to adjust reeds using this method (maybe, as you say, aside from sanding/scraping them on the mpc).

 

[thomsax]

I like Jamie Anderson but ...

I work on cheap reeds and makes them play better or reeds that I would like to "revive". To buy expensive reeds and then start to work on them ???? Send them back if they are not good. An expensive reed tool , and blunt as well, is just too much. It's like to operate with boxing gloves.

 

[Tonehole]

You gotta be able to afford this - HHIP 2000-0071 1/4 X 4 Inch HSS Extra Long Square Tool Bit : Amazon.ca: Industrial & Scientific
As good as a Reed Geek as per skeller047 's recommendation. I posted this mod earlier in the thread.

I don't get that intense on my Rico Orange box reeds. I now give a simple scrape to clean the reed on a glass plate and then play. But to each their own.

 

[LostCircuits]

You gotta be able to afford this - HHIP 2000-0071 1/4 X 4 Inch HSS Extra Long Square Tool Bit : Amazon.ca: Industrial & Scientific
As good as a Reed Geek as per skeller047 's recommendation. I posted this mod earlier in the thread.

I don't get that intense on my Rico Orange box reeds. I now give a simple scrape to clean the reed on a glass plate and then play. But to each their own.

It is actually much cheaper than the Grainger "Cleveland" steel (doesn't let me put the link here).