Reeds synthetic reeds

robaldo · Feb 11, 2007

Linky_Lee wrote:
Anyone would get through more than 1 reed a month doing that!

I don't; not even when I belt it out with my brilhart on the alto.

You eating them?

griff136 · Feb 11, 2007

Linky_Lee wrote:
Do the gradings equate fairly evenly. I.e if you were on an RJS 2M you'd want a medium or do they come up harder/softer?

shops that sell fibracell should have a comparison chart that the company provides.
so if you play a Alexander Superial XX it will equate to a fibracell YY

lee_ · Feb 11, 2007

Here is a reed strength comparison chart. Also a statement below from the late Charlie A. which addresses some of the questions that have been asked here.

mfox · Feb 11, 2007

linkey lee must be eating them im sure.. i don't manage 22 hour a week myself but i do play about 8- 15 hours and a reed will last me up to 2 months if i look after it..

lock up your reeds guys if linky's around, he has a taste for wood..!

Linky Lee · Feb 11, 2007

I don't eat them 😛

I find they don't respond right after a while and I crack out a new reed. They're perfectly playable but I'd never manage to get 1 reed to last a month. I've had a few that stayed tip top for a couple weeks, but I'll change that after a few weeks, they just look and feel worn out.

Bobby G · Feb 11, 2007

Lee wrote:
You cane players keep playing cane reeds - please. Otherwise, all you're gonna do is drive the price of graphite way up. Jus lay down this circular way of thinking and maybe practice some more or something.

Indeed, greater demand might initially force the price up, but I'm sure the price would then plummet as the supply increased to meet the increased demand, thereby reducing unit production costs.

BTW, Bob, I presume you're quoting me as to the loss of tone on Fibrecells.

No. It's a point I've heard from other sources, and my questions about this I think reflect my possible doubts about whether this in fact true, or whether you just need to adjust to them. Look at it this way - say you use RJS and your store is out if them, you can spend a couple of quid on something reasonably similar, or even buy 2 or 3 reeds as an experiment. I'd be far more likely to do that than spend a lot more on something I might not like. And I don't recall seeing anyone who's mentioned them, and there've been a few, who've had a good word for Bari's.

What I actually said, during the other half dozen times we've had this conversation,

Don't you get snippy with me young fella-me-lad 😉, unless of course you are referring not to conversations between us personally, in which case you will be referring to the topic generally which has come up on numerous occasions in the past. Now you, me, and a lot of other people have been around these forums for a while, but other people dip in and out, sign up and only hang around long enough to participate for a short while, or only log on occasionally, in which case they may not be aware of the previous x-number of times any given topic has been discussed previously, hence they ask a question or continue a thread not knowing the topic may already have been the subject of previous discussion(s). This doesn't bother me, as any new participant in a topic that has already been discussed in a previous thread will have a valid question or opinion, and can send a discussion off into previously unexplored areas.

was that I detected a possible loss of tone compared to a cane reed in perfect playing condition; but how often and for how long do you have a cane reed in perfect playing condition?

Point taken, but as I have said I am generally not as exacting as many players - usually I will find only one, two at most reeds in a box don't work, anything else I can work around and get into; good or better is good enough for me, perfection just doesn't happen anyway.

(PS: I've been playing the same two Fibrecells, 1 on alto and 1 on tenor, since last June. Practice some every day, and play two or three 4-hr gigs each month).

I average about, ooh, 8-10 hours a week and have been rotating the same 4 Superials for a couple of months or more and they're all fine. It's apples and oranges really. Also, I think it depends on your playing, I can well see that during a four-hour gig a cane reed could break down, and a synth reed would just keep going which is an obvious advantage, but I personally don't do four-hour gigs.

My only real complaint against synthetic reeds is the initial cost of experimenting with something I may not like, I'm not a purist in any way. I'm not prepared to dislike or like them, which is why I ask questions about them including whether there is any truth in the view expressed by more than one person that they have experienced a certain loss of tone when changing from cane to synthetic reeds; in fact my mindset would be more 'this could be good' than 'oh yeah, prove it' if I did try a synth reed. As I say, I'm not a purist, for goodness' sake, I use (horrors!) Plasticovers on my soprano because I get the sound I want. I've experimented with othe reeds, and some I've liked, some I haven't, but at least it hasn't broken the bank. Not that a tenner for a reed would exactly break the bank, but you know what I mean.

Cheers, Bob

robaldo · Feb 12, 2007

Linky_Lee wrote:
I don't eat them 😛

I find they don't respond right after a while and I crack out a new reed. They're perfectly playable but I'd never manage to get 1 reed to last a month. I've had a few that stayed tip top for a couple weeks, but I'll change that after a few weeks, they just look and feel worn out.

Have you tried letting them dry out for a few days? I rotate a handful of reeds and they last ages.

Linky Lee · Feb 12, 2007

no, I guess I use them pretty intensively as I don't rotate them around. The only time they get to dry out is between playing, which could be a few hours or overnight.

I'll give it a go rotating a few.

Bobby G · Feb 12, 2007

Rotating works for me! I have between 4 and 7 reeds on the go at any one time. I don't quite understand why, but the playing life of a reed seems to increase if you let it dry out and rest for a while, it actually seems to recover.

I don't religiously play reed 1 on day 1, reed 2 on day 2 etc., but rotation is definitely a good thing. Disclaimer: personal view only 😉

Cheers, Bob

fecklesseric · Feb 12, 2007

For what it's worth, that works for me too.
I rotate to a different reed every couple of days and they seem to last better than if I use one to destruction.

Bobby G wrote:
Rotating works for me! I have between 4 and 7 reeds on the go at any one time. I don't quite understand why, but the playing life of a reed seems to increase if you let it dry out and rest for a while, it actually seems to recover.

I don't religiously play reed 1 on day 1, reed 2 on day 2 etc., but rotation is definitely a good thing. Disclaimer: personal view only 😉

Cheers, Bob

Bobby G · Feb 12, 2007

Do synthetic reeds last even longer if you rotate them, I wonder?

Cheers, Bob

robaldo · Feb 12, 2007

Linky_Lee wrote:
no, I guess I use them pretty intensively as I don't rotate them around. The only time they get to dry out is between playing, which could be a few hours or overnight.

I'll give it a go rotating a few.

Do we get commission on the ?10 you're going to save each month?

lee_ · Feb 12, 2007

Bob, I would say they would not last longer if rotated. They don't seem any weaker after a gig than before. They do eventually wear out, and sometimes even start scaling at the tip.

They also show no signs of "rejuvenation" after being set aside for awhile, as cane reeds do.

They are just graphite and resin, after all.

lee_ · Feb 12, 2007

Bob, how much do Fibrecells cost in the UK?

griff136 · Feb 12, 2007

in between 9 - 13 quid each
depending on SATB

lee_ · Feb 12, 2007

is a "quid" a pound? If so, you're saying they cost $18 to 26 US?

I can get them over here for less than $10 US, which I think is about 5 pounds. Course, I can also buy gasoline for $2 US per gallon (approx 3.8 liters).

Linky Lee · Feb 12, 2007

No commission, graphite is easily as tasty as wood. Yum Yum!

I don't think I could list all the negatives of living in the US in one post 😛

I think a lot of saxophone stuff over here is expensive as with most things because most of it has to be shipped in and the consumer base is hugely smaller (what a paradox!) than most other EU countries or America.

So.. would you spend $25 on one or buy a box of 10 cane reeds for slightly more?

mfox · Feb 12, 2007

not forgeting our tax.. its massive compaired to the ushay

lee_ · Feb 12, 2007

"I don't think I could list all the negatives of Living in the US in one post."

Not sure what you're driving at there. We do have our problems at times, but who doesn't? I don't see anybody trying to get out, for whatever that's worth.