Reeds What CANE reeds are your favourite?

[Ivan]

'I find it's better that way than shorter'

The Café AI bot makes the following correction:

'I find it's better than Wayne Shorter'

 

[Dr G]

Does it matter what mouthpieces are used and what genre is played?

I posit that most Vandoren bluebox users are either playing classical music or performing in community bands.

 

[PigSquealer]

The Café AI bot makes the following correction:

??? The Café is bot free best I know of.

 

[mrblackbat]

??? The Café is bot free best I know of.

That’s what you think.

 

[SageSmith]

D'Addario Select Jazz (2 soft) is my main squeeze for warm trad reeds. I do like the Legere American Cut 2.0 though - they're just so reliable.

 

[cappers]

Since starting fifteen months ago, on tenor I've tried Vandoren Blue, Rico Royal original and D'Addario RR, Alexander DC, Selmer Classic, BSS Black and Blue. The Alex DC are my favourite, followed by BSS Black. The original RR blue are quite good, better than the D'Addarios. I'm aiming for a warm full tone on my tenor with a Soloist E and these seem to help.

Alto - D'Addario RR but not been playing much so might change as I develop.
Edit. Just ordered some Alex DC for alto to see if they are as good for me as the tenor ones.

 

[mpj.brennan]

Gonzalez have been a favourite for a long time, though recently having a spell on rigotti gold blue box, as the tips are a bit thicker and they last a bit longer.

👍

 

[MD0483]

Rigotti Gold and Legere Signature.

 

[Jimmymack]

I seem to be stuck with BSS Black Box these days. I've tried the Gonzalez which were pretty good but either too soft or too hard and died too quickly and the the BSS give me a fuller sound. The one thing I can say is that compared to other reeds they are no longer so much more expensive.

 

[wakyct]

I've been playing exclusively Vandoren Trads since I started 2 1/2 years ago (on an S80 C*), but just tonight I ordered a couple each of Vandoren ZZ, Java Red, V16, and some more Trad.

 

[progger]

Depends on the horn for me:

Tenor – Rigotti Gold (jazz), 4M
Alto – Vandoren V16 3.5
Soprano – Vandoren blue box 3.5

I've always preferred reeds on the harder side... too much orchestral clarinet in my youth, I guess. But I just like how they sound, most of my favorite recordings are of players on harder reeds (Mark Turner, golden age Wayne and Trane, etc).

 

[cappers]

I seem to be stuck with BSS Black Box these days.

I really like them so tried a box of the tenor BSS Blue. Slightly warmer/deeper but seem less vibrant, but I got 2s rather than 2.5s so maybe too soft.
It's a toss up between the BSS Black and Alexander Superial DCs; I find the latter pleasantly livelier.

 

[Zasterz]

Java Red on alto and tenor. Occasionally I experiment with something else but nothing ever beats them. Every reed in a box plays for me on day 1 with no adjustment/prep, just slap it on. Hard to ask for more than that.

 

[Wonko]

I have used Rigotti gold on tenor and baritone for a couple of years. I was very pleased with the consistency.
The last 2 years or so I noticed that the tip of the tenor reeds was not as traight as it should be. I had to angle the reed a bit to get them to align properly with the tip of the mouthpiece (with several mouthpieces).
Last summer I got a new tenor mouthpiece (Philtone Onyx) and the Rigotti's didn't work as well with that one. I got a couple of different brands of reeds to try out. I ended up with D'addario Select Jazz reeds that worked best for me with that mouthpiece.
Too early to say if I will stay with that brand, but so far I like them.

Update:
The Select Jazz reeds didn't survive, I found them verry inconsistent.
I went for the Marca American vintage reeds, I like them, but in every box I have a few that are not so good or even plain bad.
I have tried one of my old Rigotti reeds recently, and they worked very well now. Seems like I have addapted to this new mouthpiece.
I think I'll be going back to Rigotti ......

 

[Dr G]

Update:
The Select Jazz reeds didn't survive, I found them verry inconsistent.
I went for the Marca American vintage reeds, I like them, but in every box I have a few that are not so good or even plain bad.
I have tried one of my old Rigotti reeds recently, and they worked very well now. Seems like I have addapted to this new mouthpiece.
I think I'll be going back to Rigotti ......

+1. I have found Rigotti reeds to work very well with Phil-Tone tenor ‘pieces (3M on 0.105).

 

[wakyct]

Does anyone keep multiple brands/cuts of reed in rotation for the same instrument?

I've been on Vandoren traditional since I started, and got an order of a variety of Vandoren cuts that I'm trialing now. There are subtle differences but it seems the overall hardness of the reed is most noticeable. In any case I don't see why I couldn't keep all these varieties in rotation -- silly idea?

 

[lig]

I've been playing Ishimoris on alto (2.5 - hand finished Guardala Studio / 10mFan Showboat metal #8) for years now. Tried so many other reeds but none I like better.

Similar story on tenor. Ishimori 3.0. Various mouthpieces over the years. Most recently 10mFan Robusto 7** and Chameleon 7**. I rotate a bunch of tenor pieces though.

Lakshmi 7* for acoustic/jazzier sets.

Just picked up a piece from Mojo. The Vortex II tenor. It's bright but controllably fun.

 

[Targa]

Does anyone keep multiple brands/cuts of reed in rotation for the same instrument?

I've been on Vandoren traditional since I started, and got an order of a variety of Vandoren cuts that I'm trialing now. There are subtle differences but it seems the overall hardness of the reed is most noticeable. In any case I don't see why I couldn't keep all these varieties in rotation -- silly idea?

Of course it’s not a silly idea, it’s OCD.

 

[hedgehog]

Gonzalez Local 67, 2.5 with a 6* mpc or 2 with a 7* mpc. Hard rubber mouthpieces. The 2/7* combination makes subtone so easy but has maybe less, what, depth(?), sounds a little thinner in the upper register. But they are consistent.

 

[turf3]

Does it matter what mouthpieces are used and what genre is played?

I posit that most Vandoren bluebox users are either playing classical music or performing in community bands.

Most, probably yes. But then there are weirdos like me.

I have never found that there are "classical" and "jazz" reeds, just reeds that help me do what I want and reeds that don't. Usually, "don't" has to do with QC (off center cuts) or cane quality. I picked Vandoren blue box reeds some 30 years ago or so, because the cane seemed to be of reasonably consistent quality and the cuts were accurate and repeatable. It took a while to get used to the thick spine and thin tip, but that was a matter of a small amount of practice.

If I were to get a classical gig (ha ha!) I'd pull out a Selmer C* and my same Vandoren reeds; when I get a jazz gig I pull out my Meyer (at least on alto, tenor and baritone) and the same reeds; if I were to get a rock and roll gig (on tenor) I'd pull out my Dukoff and the same reeds.