Jim plays the current D'Addario tenor saxophone reed range and compares them against each other. Click here to browse our range of saxophone reeds - sax.co.uk/collections/saxopho...
The best reed comparison i have ever seen......! Congratulation. Greetings from Germany. 👍🇩🇪 My most favourite reeds are: Hemke, Boston Sax Shop, Pilgerstdörfer from Austria and Marca from France.
I've always loved D'Addario guitar strings and now that I'm picking up the saxophone once again, it's kind of a nice surprise that my favorite guitar string company is now making reeds. I haven't tried their Select Jazz yet, but looking forward to them coming in the mail later this week.
Interesting. In the first part with the talk about every reed I could hear the difference in the sound they produce. Maybe because then you’re then lending you’re playing a bit to where the reed wants to go. Wich quality it has. Dark or bright etc.But when you played them one after another and playing the exact same phrase it was much more difficult too hear any difference! Many of them sounded almost the same to my ear. This show that it has a lot to do with how comfortable you as a player are with a particular reed. That it has a lot to do with the resistance, or lack of resistance you preferring . And as you mentioned, maybe most of all, how the reed works with you’re mouthpiece. So; choice of reed is all a VERY personal thing! But since there actually are all those different types and brands out on the market I think these videos are really good and thorough. Thanks!
The Royals have always been my go to reed ! I never adjust them and they work right out of the box ! Lately I’ve been trying out the Select Jazz reeds and so far I like them very much. Sometimes I use La Voz which have a different response. I use to use the Plasticcover on Bari sax for years but more recently switched to the Select Jazz
Thank you for this series of videos. Your reed comparison and the advices you give are very informative and helpful. May I ask which instrument you are playing here? Maybe it's somewhere in the descriptions, but i missed it.
I use La Voz reeds on my JodyJazz HR* 5M alto mouthpiece. I find the darker sound and resistance balance nicely against the brighter sound and free blowing feel of the mouthpiece. I think Jody Espina also plays on La Voz reeds. I have used Select Jazz filed and unfiled reeds on a Vandoren V16 A5 M and I prefer the filed reeds on it but I like the unfiled reeds on the HR* mouthpiece as well as the La Voz reeds.
I have started playing on them with my Selmer Claude Delangle mouthpiece and Wood Stone solid silver ligature on my Yanagisawa AWO2 alto sax with a Yany BooStar heavy mass neck screw. I used to use Legere signature reeds and liked the brighter sound I got but not the feel or response I got after a while of playing on them, so I stopped playing on them. I find I like the slightly brighter edge of the Reserve when pushed which gives me more flexibility in my tone compared to other classical reeds which are usually a bit darker sounding. I have only played on 2 Reserve reeds so far and what I do is I soaked them in water for 5 minutes before playing, after playing I put them in the case and let them dry out flat, then soak them again for 5 minutes the next day of playing and so far I found both reeds consistent and low notes came out well. I may have to try a harder strength as I felt the reeds I tried might not have enough resistance for me and I had previously tried Vandoren Traditional reeds and at the same strength I thought the Reserve would respond similarly since reed charts show them to be the same resistance at the same strength. I found the Traditional felt more resistant to me, or at least the 4 I tried were. You just have to try them for yourself if you want to know.
Thank you for your thoughtful comparison of all the saxophone reed models D'Addario manufactured then. Over decades I've played all but the Reserve on saxophone. It may be time to give it a go. Plasticover reeds continue to be popular with the jazz saxophonists. Alas the taste remains something very special.
I would advise any sax student to include this knowledge of sound, particularly a anyone going from beginner level to the next step. My personal experience with these reeds over 50 years of playing is quite similar.
I personally feel Rico jazz select reeds were outstanding performing before D'addario starting their cut of the reed's. Rico jazz select back with pink blue and black box , played like a dream ...it's not the same with the new whatever D'addario is doing 🤔
The Plasticover has a hidden problem nobody speaks of: I used them on a Baritone with a (Geoff) Lawton 7*B and they actually DON'T last twice as long as the regular ones! Being Plastic-covered all round the cut parts of the reed they deny cane soaking any moisture into the grain. Now - it's absolutely true they instantly and consistently play immediately, but no moisture makes them less flexible then the normal reeds, so they tend to wear in fact faster in the area where the most stress occurs. You'll know where it is exactly as the black plastic tends to flake-off first in those spots. This brings the squeeking problem relatively fast, at least on the bari. Worst of all I just could see the rest of the reed is up to more use, but this particular area being ruined affects the performance beyond use... I suppose the smaller reeds may last longer, but no way near a double the life of a regular reed. That all is just my reflections based on using the Plasticovers through two full boxes. After the second reed in a third box I just gave up, still have those three unplayed in a box. Gave them a fair chance, but with me they just don't work.
This AKG 14 series mic is clouding the sound; it is far from flat in response. Reeds that sound bright here might actually be just right, and "warm" reeds might end up too muddy. It is also significant that the mic is pretty wonky in the upper midrange, which is where the sax sound LIVES. Mic technique also may lead to divergence from actual perception. Good as it can practically get, though, thanks.
I love your guys videos, but your intro has this "ZZZZINNNNNGGG" that always freaks me out a little bit since I wear headphones. "Is that my doorbell? Who's calling me? Is that my fire alarm?"
Yep, the mouthpiece does make a big difference with the reeds - Jim here is playing on a Theo Wanne Slant Sig model, I believe a size 7* unless I mistaken (0.105” tip opening (inch)).
Good afternoon. Here in Brazil they are selling the Rico Royal Reeds as if D'Addario had bought the Rico Royal factory. What is D'Addario's relationship with Rico Royal? Are you the same manufacturer of Reeds?
Zachary Shepard I’ve been playing Rico’s for 12 years, it ain’t the reed it’s the player. Tried other brands, is there a difference? Sure. But is it better or worse? Neither.
From my experience and what pretty much all saxophonist and band directors will say, is that the standard Rico's in the orange box are cheap and give a very splatty duck like sound. Sure, a really good player can make a RICO sound better than a 6th grader can. And a 6th grader with Vandorens is still not much better than with a Rico , but in general, Rico’s give a noticeably worse tone, and the control is harder to manage. What type of mouthpiece do you play On? Cause, even tho reeds are very very important, mouthpiece chocei make more of a deference. Did that help?
Zachary Shepard the only mouthpiece I’ve played that I didn’t like was a newer Otto Link rubber one, don’t remember the exact name off the top of my head. I don’t normally play cheaper mouthpieces though so that’s definitely a contributing factor even if I never really get attached to just one. I’m not sure what you mean by duck though, I haven’t run into that problem, yet anyway. I usually use the Rico’s for Sax Quartet style pieces where I need a more whimsical, bouncy tone, but it’s still just a tad warm and woody if that makes sense. Somewhere in between classical and rock I guess. For classical I use V-12s mostly but sometimes the Rico, anything goes for Jazz, and for Rock I like Legere Studios for there over the top brightness.
I don’t know, I guess if it works for you that’s fine, but in general it’s harder to get a consistent quality tone out of them. Rico royals aren’t that bad though, and neither are D'Addario reeds. I play Vandoren's and Riggitoni Queeens, but it’s all preference I guess.
It's sort of famous for younger and older players alike to make fun of orange box ricos cause there is a certain amount of cheapness in their production compared to other reeds on the market, but it doesn't matter nearly as much as you'd think. They aren't made of different woods than other models (I could be wrong), it's just a different cut. It really just depends on the preference of the player. I play on hemkes for alto, my private teacher dislikes hemkes, but my band director (and I) really like the consistency.
Many sax mouthpieces are made of hard rubber, why aren't you concerned about that? Do you never use plastic utensils? Most plastics are biologically neutral and all plastics used in products meant to be put in your mouth are absolutely safe and biologically neutral. Also, interestingly, since plastics are cross-linked polymers, there are't any "molecules" in it that could come off into your body. Rather, the entire piece of plastic is basically one huge molecule since all of the mer units are connected together. That being said, little bits of it could flake off and potentially get in your mouth, and while that wouldn't affect your health, it might be annoying.
@@SamChaneyProductions I can confirm that if you use the plasticovers on smaller reeds like Clarinet or soprano sax, they are flaky. I play bari sax primarily though, and I have only found 2 little spots where the plastic has come off, and even then I think it was from putting it too far back into the reed case, so none in the body.
