Reeds Struggling with synthetic reeds on soprano and alto but not tenor

[aardvark]

I know there are already several threads on here about synthetic reeds, so apologies for starting another one but my topic didn't quite seem to fit with previous ones. I've recently been experimenting with Bari (star) reeds. On the tenor, the Bari plays quite nicely but when I try a Bari on alto I really struggle to make a decent sound.
As for Bari on soprano, I literally can't get any sound at all! I'm not kidding - I can blow until I nearly keel over and absolutely no sound comes out at all! I don't understand this because the sax (Packer curved soprano) plays very nicely and relatively easily (for a soprano) with normal reeds (Marca Jazz 2 to be precise).
I'm attracted to synthetic reeds mainly to avoid messing about pre-soaking and also for consistency - but if it's going to make my playing consistently silent, I'm somewhat less enthusiastic! 🙁
Has anyone else had a similar experience with synthetics?

 

[Jazzaferri]

What strength of synthetic. If it wont vibrate then either your embouchure is not correct or you have a board in there.

 

[aardvark]

What strength of synthetic. If it wont vibrate then either your embouchure is not correct or you have a board in there.

Good point! I should have said the reeds are all Bari* soft.

 

[TomMapfumo]

Stick with Marca Jazz reeds on soprano - they are superb (I use MJ 3's) - excellent sound and quality. Joe Giardullo plays and recommends them (Soprano Planet mouthpiece manufacturer and soprano player of note!).

Having tried them on both Alto and Tenor I think the Bari* reeds worked better on Tenor too

 

[aardvark]

Stick with Marca Jazz reeds on soprano - they are superb (I use MJ 3's) - excellent sound and quality. Joe Giardullo plays and recommends them (Soprano Planet mouthpiece manufacturer and soprano player of note!).

Having tried them on both Alto and Tenor I think the Bari* reeds worked better on Tenor too

Thanks Tom. Good to know it's not just me! I shall probably stick with the Marca Jazz reeds as they sound pretty good and play fairly easily.

 

[jthole]

In my limited experience, synthetic reeds work better on the bigger saxes. That may be my lack of experience with the smaller saxes as well, though ;-)

 

[Nick Wyver]

I used to use synthetics on all my saxes. I don't remember any particular trouble on soprano.

 

[Wade Cornell]

You may want to try another brand of synthetic like fibracell. I use these for all saxes, but not necessarily in performance.

 

[jthole]

A late reply; synthetics are great for me on bari, good on tenor, and unsatisfactory on alto. Maybe it has to do with the amount of surface or the vibration characteristics between the saxes?

 

[TomMapfumo]

I know there are already several threads on here about synthetic reeds, so apologies for starting another one but my topic didn't quite seem to fit with previous ones. I've recently been experimenting with Bari (star) reeds. On the tenor, the Bari plays quite nicely but when I try a Bari on alto I really struggle to make a decent sound.
As for Bari on soprano, I literally can't get any sound at all! I'm not kidding - I can blow until I nearly keel over and absolutely no sound comes out at all! I don't understand this because the sax (Packer curved soprano) plays very nicely and relatively easily (for a soprano) with normal reeds (Marca Jazz 2 to be precise).
I'm attracted to synthetic reeds mainly to avoid messing about pre-soaking and also for consistency - but if it's going to make my playing consistently silent, I'm somewhat less enthusiastic! 🙁
Has anyone else had a similar experience with synthetics?

http://www.sopranoplanet.com/learn/about-soprano-reeds/

 

[jazzdoh]

I use synthetics on all my saxes and have done for about 10 years.
I use Fibracell on alto and sop and Legere signature on tenor and Legere on nino.
I have tried most of makes but find these best for me,Hahn's and Fiberreed's are also good.