I changed over to Legere Signature reeds on tenor last year,and I have been very impressed by the amount of time they last,also they are not effected by temperature,humidity and each one plays straight out of the box.
I’m ashamed a little bit but I’ve been playing on my synthetic forestone reed for 1.5 years now. It still works fine just a little sharp and that’s about it
I play on Legere Signature reeds and a Yanagisawa AWO2 alto sax with a Yany BooStar heavy mass neck screw that adds resistance. I have noticed on soft reeds, the low notes don't always come out or warble if they do and high notes tend to sound thin and if I am playing on a Legere reed and its starting to go a bit soft, I can physically feel the reed is softer in my mouth, before I get a sound. If the reed is too hard, I get an airy sound and struggle to make a sound and if the reed is just slightly harder than I can play, I do get a sound but it tends to go muffled and has a dull buzz after a few minutes and I can feel the resistance in my embouchure. What I have noticed recently is that I bought a Selmer S80 E and I tried a brand new Legere Signature 2 reed on it with a Wood Stone solid silver ligature and when I played it, I immediately felt no resistance at all and got a over buzzy sound and it was too soft. I noticed with the 2 reed, for the first time playing an octave A it split and I have never had that happen before on the higher notes. Its the first time that has happened to me on that size of tip opening as a few months ago I tried a Soloist E and a 2 reed and found it a bit too resistant but I guess playing every day for several hours a day really helped my chops and stamina. I then tried a 2.25 and I got better control, especially on the low and higher notes, but it was a bit airy but I would have preferred a similar resistance but without the air so may have to try different reeds to see what works with the mouthpiece. I have found that Wood Stone solid silver ligature is more free blowing than I am used to also.
Sorry to ask a really basic question, but how much damage to the end of the reed is ok? If there’s a half mm missing off one side of the end of the reed is it to be discarded?
It really depends where it is and how much difference you notice. To me, I'd discard it, but I've had students playing reeds that I can't understand how they are able to make a sound out of it!
I changed over to Legere Signature reeds on tenor last year,and I have been very impressed by the amount of time they last,also they are not effected by temperature,humidity and each one plays straight out of the box.
What is your opinion on synthetic reeds?
I’m ashamed a little bit but I’ve been playing on my synthetic forestone reed for 1.5 years now. It still works fine just a little sharp and that’s about it
I play on Legere Signature reeds and a Yanagisawa AWO2 alto sax with a Yany BooStar heavy mass neck screw that adds resistance. I have noticed on soft reeds, the low notes don't always come out or warble if they do and high notes tend to sound thin and if I am playing on a Legere reed and its starting to go a bit soft, I can physically feel the reed is softer in my mouth, before I get a sound. If the reed is too hard, I get an airy sound and struggle to make a sound and if the reed is just slightly harder than I can play, I do get a sound but it tends to go muffled and has a dull buzz after a few minutes and I can feel the resistance in my embouchure.
What I have noticed recently is that I bought a Selmer S80 E and I tried a brand new Legere Signature 2 reed on it with a Wood Stone solid silver ligature and when I played it, I immediately felt no resistance at all and got a over buzzy sound and it was too soft. I noticed with the 2 reed, for the first time playing an octave A it split and I have never had that happen before on the higher notes.
Its the first time that has happened to me on that size of tip opening as a few months ago I tried a Soloist E and a 2 reed and found it a bit too resistant but I guess playing every day for several hours a day really helped my chops and stamina. I then tried a 2.25 and I got better control, especially on the low and higher notes, but it was a bit airy but I would have preferred a similar resistance but without the air so may have to try different reeds to see what works with the mouthpiece. I have found that Wood Stone solid silver ligature is more free blowing than I am used to also.
Sorry to ask a really basic question, but how much damage to the end of the reed is ok? If there’s a half mm missing off one side of the end of the reed is it to be discarded?
It really depends where it is and how much difference you notice. To me, I'd discard it, but I've had students playing reeds that I can't understand how they are able to make a sound out of it!
Dan Forshaw thanks Dan :)
What app do you use when tuning? Also, love your editing skills when you put the reeds in the water!