Reeds Yamaha Synthetic Reeds

[David Roach]

I ordered some of the Yamaha synthetic reeds a few days ago on a whim; since I've been experimenting with Legere (mainly good) and Venn (very good) I thought I would try Yamaha's offering too.

Sadly I am very disappointed and consider that I have wasted my money. So be warned: they maybe cheap(er), but in my opinion the are useless.

Firstly, the Yamaha reeds are like planks: even on the closest facing alto piece I have (Vandoren AL3) the softest 2.5 felt very hard.
Secondly, the sound is exorable, probably worse than any synthetic I have played (and that's saying something).

The construction is weird. The part of the reed that would on a cane reed be under the bark is slightly raised, giving a small step into the part beneath the vamp (as you can see from the pictures in other posts here). This means that the reed cannot possible sit flat on the table of the mouthpiece at the point where it blends into the facing.

I cannot understand Yamaha's logic with these reeds and I can only surmise that this is a desperate attempt to get in on the synthetic 'act' along with Legere and Venn. It's very disappointing because I am a fan of Yamaha's instruments.

Call me 'Bewildered of East Finchley'

Turns out the Yamaha reeds are for use on their electronic wind instruments! Not a wonder they didn't work on a real saxophone. You would think the retailer would have know this!

 

[saxyjt]

Turns out the Yamaha reeds are for use on their electronic wind instruments! Not a wonder they didn't work on a real saxophone. You would think the retailer would have know this!

Are you serious?!

I ordered a couple last year, one for alto and another for tenor but didn't like them.

 

[dreadnet]

I don't think so check this link

TSR - Yamaha Synthetic Reeds for Tenor Saxophones

 

[greenstripe]

To avoid any confusion the ASR (Alto Synthetic Reed) and TSR (Tenor Synthetic Reed) reeds are designed for acoustic saxophones.

The Yamaha digital saxophones come supplied with a Mouthpiece Ligature and reed:

from yamaha.com —

"The YDS-150 is designed to work with its included mouthpiece, which is nearly identical to a Yamaha 4C Alto Saxophone mouthpiece. This means embouchure and articulation have the same approach, although creating a characteristic sound is going to take more skill on an acoustic sax. The YDS-150 mouthpiece is designed so that any beginner or pro can pick up the instrument and make a great sound right away. The reed on the Digital Saxophone, however, is not what generates the sound; instead, that’s the job of a breath sensor mounted inside its body of the YDS-150."

"When playing the YDS-150, you do not want the reed to vibrate, because doing so interferes with how the breath sensor detects your air and prevents the instrument from functioning correctly. The supplied synthetic reed is designed so that it does not vibrate under normal playing conditions. This means that for the sax player with boxes of reeds ready to go, you are better off leaving them for your acoustic horn. Likewise, swapping other mouthpieces onto the YDS-150 may not yield the same results as the included “DS” (Digital Sax) mouthpiece."

The digital saxophone reed is easily distinguished as it has a crescent shaped cut-out in the butt end of the reed

Model:	VDV848Z0
Manufacturer:	Yamaha

 

[greenstripe]

 

[David Roach]

I don't think so check this link

TSR - Yamaha Synthetic Reeds for Tenor Saxophones

Well in that case my review was correct, the Yamaha synthetic reeds were appalling!