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by g400martin
(4 posts)
14 years ago

Reed thoughts

Lately I've been become a little more curious into experimentation of other reeds. I play tenor sax and am not completely satisfied with my tone as far classical style goes(going for a darker, more focused tone across as much of the range as possible). For starters, here's my setup: -Inst: Yamaha yts-62 (5-7 years old) -MP: Vandoren TL3 ...and reeds are the reason I'm writing this(and I don't have much reason to believe that the mouthpiece or sax is causing me to be unsatisfied). Many of the players I work with are supporters of Vandoren. I use them too. Currently going between Vandoren blue box 3 1/2 and 4's. So my question is: Are there any other reeds that you may strongly suggest for a "classical" tone? A few that I've been reading about but have yet to formulate an opinion of of my own on are the Rico Grand Concert Selects, Rico Reserves, or the Vandoren V12s. Any thoughts on those would be helpful also. Thanks, -Martin

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  2. by SuperSax875
    (55 posts)
    14 years ago

    Re: Reed thoughts

    I've certainly been in your shoes before! I've tryed Hemeke, Alexander Classique, Gonzalez, Zonda, and the Rico Grand Concert Select, even some vintage reeds I found in a old music store, but I've always come back to the blue box vandoren. I've come pretty close to what I was looking for with the Alexander, but they are not very consistent and the tone does not stay focused or pure at loud volumes. If you feel like you need to experiment, try the Alexanders or the Grand Concert Select. In the end it has always been me just needing to put a little more work into my tone. Overtones, long tones, and lots of listening to my tonal idols. Also, when you play, pay extreme attention to how your lips, throat, cheeks, tongue, etc. are placed. This will make it easier to replicate it later. Hope this helped, Brad

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    1. by g400martin
      (4 posts)
      14 years ago

      Re: Reed thoughts

      ...And my amount of practice is always something I consider. haha. I was a bari player (and only bari) before I switched to tenor, so I suppose I could still be struggling embochure, air speed, etc. But thanks for the recommendations and advice. I'll look more in to those. Much appreciated. -Martin

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