Thank you, very much for such a wonderful review of synthetic reeds! Missing now the Silverstein Alta reeds to the comparison! It would be great! Happy New year!!!
Alta is my go-to for tenor and alto- quite consistent and play well. I tried three strengths of soprano and they were all awful. I prefer Alta and Fibracell to any of the Legeres. I’ve had an Alta alto last 18 months!
Thank you, Richard, for such a wonderful review of synthetic reeds. I have been watching a lot of UA-cam videos on this topic to decide which one to try first. Your comparison was so helpful because it compared against your normal cane reed, which most do not do. Very helpful! As well as the key moments where I could more easily skip around the video and compare. Bravo!
Well ironically, Venn withdrew their reeds and came out with a completely new, revamped reed shortly after I did this video, so they're very different now. The old ones were really hard. I've only tried the clarinet reeds in the new format, and they're about the same strength as Vandoren.
@@richardcraigwoodwind6087 Thanks for the reply. Since I asked I've had a good look around and it seems Venn are indeed harder than Legere's. Some say by '1' and others by '1//2' so I guess it's just a raffle like always.
If you're testing reeds, why not run a test using Plasticover reeds to Venn or Legere!! My Plasticover reeds last typically 6 months to a year before needing to be replaced!! And the nice thing is that your Plasticover reeds start at $18 a box for Soprano up to $35 a box for Bari Sax!! And that's 5 reeds, not one like Legere!!!!
@@richardcraigwoodwind6087 And if I was playing a Sopranino Saxophone, then I might try Legere! But am in the process of rebuilding my Saxophone collection that I lost most of 5 years ago when Hurricane Harvey hit Houston!! But I will say this!! I am totally sold out on Yamaha professional saxes because of their easiness to play and reaching the upper or lower register with ease, and the saxes staying in tune across the board. I play with metal mouthpieces because you get a brighter clearer and crisper sound from your instrument and squealing the altissimo is easier or dropping down into the basement and crawling out slowly is just more fun and energizing with an Otto Link *8 metal mouthpiece than a hard rubber. And when you have learned how to master and create the type of sound you want to produce for certain styles of music, and you don't need to change your mouthpiece to achieve it, then you are truly a professional saxophonist!!!
Thank you for this test. My Venn reed arrived yesterday.🍃For me it's the best synthetic reed because it sounds like wood at most.🪵You can play a proper piano and even the high notes come.👍
Thank you, very much for such a wonderful review of synthetic reeds! Missing now the Silverstein Alta reeds to the comparison! It would be great! Happy New year!!!
Alta is my go-to for tenor and alto- quite consistent and play well. I tried three strengths of soprano and they were all awful. I prefer Alta and Fibracell to any of the Legeres. I’ve had an Alta alto last 18 months!
Thank you, Richard, for such a wonderful review of synthetic reeds. I have been watching a lot of UA-cam videos on this topic to decide which one to try first. Your comparison was so helpful because it compared against your normal cane reed, which most do not do. Very helpful! As well as the key moments where I could more easily skip around the video and compare. Bravo!
Where is Studio Cut?
So the Venn has to be 2 strengths softer than Legere?
Well ironically, Venn withdrew their reeds and came out with a completely new, revamped reed shortly after I did this video, so they're very different now. The old ones were really hard. I've only tried the clarinet reeds in the new format, and they're about the same strength as Vandoren.
@@richardcraigwoodwind6087 Thanks for the reply. Since I asked I've had a good look around and it seems Venn are indeed harder than Legere's. Some say by '1' and others by '1//2' so I guess it's just a raffle like always.
If you're testing reeds, why not run a test using Plasticover reeds to Venn or Legere!! My Plasticover reeds last typically 6 months to a year before needing to be replaced!! And the nice thing is that your Plasticover reeds start at $18 a box for Soprano up to $35 a box for Bari Sax!! And that's 5 reeds, not one like Legere!!!!
True! But we don't have plasticover in the shop, and Venn and Legere are more of a direct comparison. Fair point though!
@@richardcraigwoodwind6087 And if I was playing a Sopranino Saxophone, then I might try Legere! But am in the process of rebuilding my Saxophone collection that I lost most of 5 years ago when Hurricane Harvey hit Houston!! But I will say this!! I am totally sold out on Yamaha professional saxes because of their easiness to play and reaching the upper or lower register with ease, and the saxes staying in tune across the board. I play with metal mouthpieces because you get a brighter clearer and crisper sound from your instrument and squealing the altissimo is easier or dropping down into the basement and crawling out slowly is just more fun and energizing with an Otto Link *8 metal mouthpiece than a hard rubber. And when you have learned how to master and create the type of sound you want to produce for certain styles of music, and you don't need to change your mouthpiece to achieve it, then you are truly a professional saxophonist!!!
Thank you for this test. My Venn reed arrived yesterday.🍃For me it's the best synthetic reed because it sounds like wood at most.🪵You can play a proper piano and even the high notes come.👍