This is the best, most honest, and certainly most through synthetic reed discussion & comparison on UA-cam. Thank you for your comments about how they rate in your opinion, and how they stack up against each other.
At 7:03, I play the Forestone White Bamboo #3.5 reed. Not shown in this video was the White Bamboo #4.0, which I tried a few days ago. It played exactly like the #3.5. I sent an email to Forestone, venting my disappointment. Today, Forestone replied to my email, offering to send me more of their reeds to try. I will post another comment when this story continues.
@@MarkPeotter I've been playing Plasticovers since Middle School and I had no idea whatsoever that they went back to the early days! I might have to look more into this Mr. Rico.
Thank you for the synthetic reed reviews! Most of the videos online focus on one brand or kind of reed. I am browsing synthetic reeds because of the cold conditions I play in sometimes (Canadian winter), and it can be frustrating to compare which reeds react like mush vs which ones are decent.
Thanks for the review and the info. I have tried several synthetic reeds on alto sax and soprano sax. I started learning with Legere Signature alto reeds as I wanted to eliminate natural cane reed issues when I first started playing so that I knew my sound issues were not the reeds fault. I went back and fourth between those and Legere Studio cut for 2 years on my alto sax as I preferred the resistance of the Studio Cut over signature reeds as at the time, I felt I needed a strength inbetween what I could get with Signatures even though I preferred the sound a little more. I then tried the Legere Classic in 1.5 and 2 strengths for alto sax and found them too hard. I tried Fibracell but found them a bit too bright and buzzy for my taste. I have also tried Forestone Hinoki reeds and they were too soft at any strength for me, so had to pass on them. Now I play on Legere Signature on alto sax and on my straight soprano, I play Legere European Cut clarinet reeds as they are slightly wider than standard reeds and fit the window of soprano mouthpieces better. They also give me a more centered tone with a bit of resistance which I like. I have tried Legere American Cut reeds with mixed results. I found I liked them on my modern Selmer Soloist E as I found the Signatures were just slightly too resistant on it, especially playing low notes, but on other mouthpieces, I don't like them so much.
Thank you for watching. I have more comparison videos like this one, plus videos on many other topics. Please subscribe? You were fortunate to begin with reeds that worked well for you. This is truly one of the hardest parts about learning to play a reed instrument. The question "What's wrong? Is it me or is it the reed?"
Thank you much. Some of the reeds I hadn't even heard of, but was wondering if there was something out there to give me a useful number comparison. I think you could strap a 2x4 piece of lumber on your mouthpiece and make it buzz a delightful tone. So the number comparisons were definitely helpful.
The company Forestone ("forest tone") did send me more of their reeds to try out! They did a good job of guessing which strength I prefer for my Tenor Sax. Although I usually prefer a med-firm 2.5 cane reed for tenor, with Forestone I need their Medium Hard or Hard. Watch the Forestone Comparison Video here ua-cam.com/video/ldA8dOGSkDY/v-deo.html
Thanks for making this video, good stuff! I just wanted to point out that Fibracells are closer to $15 price point. I’ve been happy with their sound and playability for almost 20 years! Before that I used Plasticcovers, but even they were not durable enough for me. Wondering if anyone else has the same problem as me, I basically cannot use cane reads for my saxophones because the tip chips after one or two sessions. Fibracells last me for months. I’ve been meaning to try a Legere but haven’t wanted to spend 30 bucks yet and chance getting the wrong strength. The sound difference seems minimal as demonstrated in this video, but I will try one out of curiosity. Again thanks for making such an informative video!
Personally, I never have problems with the front edge chipping away. However, some of my students do. I suspect they are letting the reed touch their clothes, when not in playing position. I know 3 professional players who love Fibracell Reeds! Hopefully, this video will help you choose the proper strength for your purchase of LeGere Reeds. Lately I have been trying 3 Silverstein Ambi Poly Reeds. $39 each. They are different than the other brands, for sure!
@@MarkPeotter cool, thanks for the response and suggestion! I had not heard of the Silverstein reeds. I mean, though I am satisfied with Fibracells, I can also try other options and even use those options interchangeably like mouthpieces, right? 🙂
@@peedrowchan-man102 Reed and Mouthpiece combinations can easily become a deep rabbit hole! If you have a reed you really like, you are lucky, because now you can use that type of reed on any mouthpiece and figure out your best combination much faster! One important caution is to make sure your reed is new or nearly new when you try out other mouthpieces. Every reed develops a matching curve to the mouthpiece that it spends 15 to 45 minutes upon.
Yeah I have already gone down the mouthpiece rabbit hole because it’s kind of fun, but I don’t really feel like throwing a whole other factor of different reeds for different mouthpieces into the mix. I am glad though that synthetic reads have gained much acceptance though because it does give us options. I do sometimes wish there was a Fibracell 3.25, so again I may try a Legere because they have those quarter strengths. Cheers!
Hello Mr Potter- tanks for the test, wich moutpice du You use for this test.? I also like the fiber onyx on a VandorenT6 moutpice. I also like leger studio cut I have the Alta Silverstein nr 2 which is Way to hard to blow. Thanks
The Mouthpiece in this video is a Brillhart Level Aire #8 (Unlike other "8's", this tip opening is only .097). Your Van Doren mouthpiece should be fairly similar. Regarding the Silverstein reed, I have noticed that if you let it dry out, it is very hard to blow, so put it in water for about 30 seconds and try it again? They are very flexible.
I should make another comparison video to include the Le Gere American Cut reed. It was too new when I made this video. The American Cut has a slightly higher center, than the Signature, allowing it to respond even better to big range leaps. I prefer the American Cut on all my saxes and Clarinet!
@patrickmarino8110 After playing various LeGere reeds for a year, my rating is - firmest to softest: Standard (Classic) , American Cut , Signature , Studio Cut.
This is the best, most honest, and certainly most through synthetic reed discussion & comparison on UA-cam. Thank you for your comments about how they rate in your opinion, and how they stack up against each other.
Thank you, Keith! If you haven't seen it yet, I also made a follow up Comparison Video just for Forestone Synthetic Reeds.
Hey Mark! I really enjoyed the Rico Plasticover 2.5 I was just wondering where I can find them thanks!
Rico Plasticover Reeds are sold in many music stores and online. About $20 for a box of 5.
At 7:03, I play the Forestone White Bamboo #3.5 reed. Not shown in this video was the White Bamboo #4.0, which I tried a few days ago. It played exactly like the #3.5. I sent an email to Forestone, venting my disappointment. Today, Forestone replied to my email, offering to send me more of their reeds to try. I will post another comment when this story continues.
I really appreciate all the history tidbits you included! I love learning stuff like that. Keep it up!
Good to have you aboard, Joseph! Take a look at my "Jazz Mouthpiece" and "Auld Lang Syne" videos for more history trivia.
@@MarkPeotter I've been playing Plasticovers since Middle School and I had no idea whatsoever that they went back to the early days! I might have to look more into this Mr. Rico.
Thank you for the synthetic reed reviews! Most of the videos online focus on one brand or kind of reed. I am browsing synthetic reeds because of the cold conditions I play in sometimes (Canadian winter), and it can be frustrating to compare which reeds react like mush vs which ones are decent.
Greetings from the mild Phoenix desert!
I played on Harry Hartmann Fiberreed Mediums throughout highschool in marching band they were pretty great
Thanks for the review and the info. I have tried several synthetic reeds on alto sax and soprano sax. I started learning with Legere Signature alto reeds as I wanted to eliminate natural cane reed issues when I first started playing so that I knew my sound issues were not the reeds fault. I went back and fourth between those and Legere Studio cut for 2 years on my alto sax as I preferred the resistance of the Studio Cut over signature reeds as at the time, I felt I needed a strength inbetween what I could get with Signatures even though I preferred the sound a little more.
I then tried the Legere Classic in 1.5 and 2 strengths for alto sax and found them too hard. I tried Fibracell but found them a bit too bright and buzzy for my taste. I have also tried Forestone Hinoki reeds and they were too soft at any strength for me, so had to pass on them.
Now I play on Legere Signature on alto sax and on my straight soprano, I play Legere European Cut clarinet reeds as they are slightly wider than standard reeds and fit the window of soprano mouthpieces better. They also give me a more centered tone with a bit of resistance which I like. I have tried Legere American Cut reeds with mixed results. I found I liked them on my modern Selmer Soloist E as I found the Signatures were just slightly too resistant on it, especially playing low notes, but on other mouthpieces, I don't like them so much.
Thank you for watching. I have more comparison videos like this one, plus videos on many other topics. Please subscribe? You were fortunate to begin with reeds that worked well for you. This is truly one of the hardest parts about learning to play a reed instrument. The question "What's wrong? Is it me or is it the reed?"
Thank you much. Some of the reeds I hadn't even heard of, but was wondering if there was something out there to give me a useful number comparison. I think you could strap a 2x4 piece of lumber on your mouthpiece and make it buzz a delightful tone. So the number comparisons were definitely helpful.
@jamestaylor7746 I also have other videos where I reviewed even more types of synthetic reeds.
The company Forestone ("forest tone") did send me more of their reeds to try out! They did a good job of guessing which strength I prefer for my Tenor Sax. Although I usually prefer a med-firm 2.5 cane reed for tenor, with Forestone I need their Medium Hard or Hard. Watch the Forestone Comparison Video here ua-cam.com/video/ldA8dOGSkDY/v-deo.html
Excellent review!!
Thank you, Bob!
Thanks for making this video, good stuff! I just wanted to point out that Fibracells are closer to $15 price point. I’ve been happy with their sound and playability for almost 20 years! Before that I used Plasticcovers, but even they were not durable enough for me. Wondering if anyone else has the same problem as me, I basically cannot use cane reads for my saxophones because the tip chips after one or two sessions. Fibracells last me for months. I’ve been meaning to try a Legere but haven’t wanted to spend 30 bucks yet and chance getting the wrong strength. The sound difference seems minimal as demonstrated in this video, but I will try one out of curiosity. Again thanks for making such an informative video!
Personally, I never have problems with the front edge chipping away. However, some of my students do. I suspect they are letting the reed touch their clothes, when not in playing position. I know 3 professional players who love Fibracell Reeds! Hopefully, this video will help you choose the proper strength for your purchase of LeGere Reeds. Lately I have been trying 3 Silverstein Ambi Poly Reeds. $39 each. They are different than the other brands, for sure!
@@MarkPeotter cool, thanks for the response and suggestion! I had not heard of the Silverstein reeds. I mean, though I am satisfied with Fibracells, I can also try other options and even use those options interchangeably like mouthpieces, right? 🙂
@@peedrowchan-man102 Reed and Mouthpiece combinations can easily become a deep rabbit hole! If you have a reed you really like, you are lucky, because now you can use that type of reed on any mouthpiece and figure out your best combination much faster! One important caution is to make sure your reed is new or nearly new when you try out other mouthpieces. Every reed develops a matching curve to the mouthpiece that it spends 15 to 45 minutes upon.
Yeah I have already gone down the mouthpiece rabbit hole because it’s kind of fun, but I don’t really feel like throwing a whole other factor of different reeds for different mouthpieces into the mix. I am glad though that synthetic reads have gained much acceptance though because it does give us options. I do sometimes wish there was a Fibracell 3.25, so again I may try a Legere because they have those quarter strengths. Cheers!
Hello
Mr Potter- tanks for the test,
wich moutpice du You use for this test.?
I also like the fiber onyx on a VandorenT6 moutpice.
I also like leger studio cut
I have the Alta Silverstein nr 2 which is Way to hard to blow.
Thanks
The Mouthpiece in this video is a Brillhart Level Aire #8 (Unlike other "8's", this tip opening is only .097). Your Van Doren mouthpiece should be fairly similar. Regarding the Silverstein reed, I have noticed that if you let it dry out, it is very hard to blow, so put it in water for about 30 seconds and try it again? They are very flexible.
How about the Leger American cut?
I should make another comparison video to include the Le Gere American Cut reed. It was too new when I made this video. The American Cut has a slightly higher center, than the Signature, allowing it to respond even better to big range leaps. I prefer the American Cut on all my saxes and Clarinet!
@patrickmarino8110 After playing various LeGere reeds for a year, my rating is - firmest to softest: Standard (Classic) , American Cut , Signature , Studio Cut.