Plastic reeds

[AntiStuff]

I think they're kinda messed up. I have a Bari one and it sounds really crappy. Has anyone had any good expierices with them?

 

Trying to get some OT action goin on this thing. haha

[Jazz Ad]

Never tried them. Not that I'd be good enough to tell what they're worth.

 

I like what Charlie Parker and Cannonball Adderley got out of them though.

[guitarman]

I used plastic reeds with a Dukof (sp?) metal mouthpiece on a Yamaha professional tenor while I was in a US Army band. The tone sucked but the sound 'carried' out in the parade field.

 

When I played sit down gigs, we broke out the reeds.

 

 

BTW, my chops were at it's peak while I was in the Army band. My sight reading was phenomonal and I had @ 25 marches commited to memory. Sousa really had a knack with counter melodies.

[catalinagooseV2]

I tried plastic reeds on my clarinet. Hated them. I guess they last a long time but they feel so stiff to me.

[Mike_E_McGee]

I like that they don't warp. I was playing tenor on three or four songs in my last band and spending the rest of the night on guitar. A reed would have warped badly during the downtime, where the Bari "reed" was always ready to be played.

 

The tone was okay to my ear. It took some getting used to, but I found the benefits to outweigh the detriments. At this point I'd probably still use the plastic even if I were playing a whole gig on the horn.

 

Did they have plastic reeds in the days of Bird and Cannonball?? I know Bird played a plastic alto for a while, but I thought they were all about cane for reeds. I think of the plastic reeds as an 80's invention, but I honestly don't know.

[Jon Hiller]

I have no idea how long the plastic reeds have been around, but in general a plastic reed will cut better, although as mentioned, they generally are bright sounding in the tone department. Not the best if you are looking for a mellow tone. Rico used to have a synthetic reed, I don't know if they still do or not. I'm familiar with the Bari ones, and also with the Rico "Plasticover", which is a cane reed, but dipped in plastic so it's more durable.

[Mr. Botch]

When I started learning sax three years ago I intentionally started with plastic and plastic only. I primarily play keys on stage, and the idea that the plastic reed didn't need to be kept wet is a major advantage (especially here in the dry West). I'm glad to hear they're a bit "bright", as that's what you need in a rock & roll setting.

 

Now for a question for those of you who do use them: Do they wear out? If so, how can you tell? I'll actually admit that I'm still using the same damn reed I started with three years ago! I've been lucky in that I've never damaged it, but does the tone eventually give out on them?

[Jazz Ad]

 

Originally posted by Shamuspizzbutt Did they have plastic reeds in the days of Bird and Cannonball?? I know Bird played a plastic alto for a while, but I thought they were all about cane for reeds. I think of the plastic reeds as an 80's invention, but I honestly don't know.

Hohner made them in the 60s and I'm positive that Adderley used them for the whole Accent on Africa album to get a quicker, percussive tone. I remember an interview about it.

As for Bird, he used a plastic alto but yeah, I'm not sure it had plastic reeds.

[blackba]

I used to use a full plastic reed and a plastic coated reed on my bari sax in HS band in the early 90's.

 

The plastic reeds last a long time and have a really harsh bright sound. I used it for playing at HS football games.

 

The plastic coated reeds were more mellow than the full plastic reeds, they lasted a long time. Definetely a harsher more bighting tone.

 

These days I just use a standard reed on my alto with the rock band I play with.

[ryanizzle]

i used full plastic reeds for marching. like the posts above, it did cut better but it had a terrible, honky tone. that wasn't a problem since the durability was what mattered. and who needs tone when all you play is quarter notes?

[Mr. Botch]

On the first plastic reed thread I posed the question about true life, how long before these things wear out? Didn't get any kind of an answer, so at great personal expense I bought a second replacement reed and replaced the reed I had been using; this was my ORIGINAL reed, I'd been playing the same LeGere #2 reed for over three years!

 

Well, in a nutshell, yes they wear out! I could hardly play the need reed, hard to hit low notes and lotsa squeaks, BUT the notes I got had incredible tone compared to the worn out reed. I'm currently trying to redevelop my embouchre to adapt to the new reed, meanwhile I used the old one at the gig last weekend to avoid the squeaks.

 

So, to answer my own question, yes plastic reeds wear out... sometime between one week and three years! I'll be experimenting a little bit more in the immediate future, and let you know what I find out.

 

The consensus from the last thread was that plastic reeds don't sound as good as cane reeds; I can accept that as I need a reed that will be ready to go (I'm primarily a keyboard player, with just an occasional 8-bar sax solo, in the high desert of Utah (dry)). Someday I'll probably try a cane reed, fall in love with the sound, and refuse to go back to the plastic reeds.

 

But not just yet...

[AntiStuff]

I still like LaVoz #2 as far as cane reeds go. Do yourself a favor and try one.

[Cmogi10]

I used plastic reeds on bassoon when I first started...

 

 

god those sounded like rubbish.

[Timothy Scags]

In the past I have used both but for different reasons.

 

When you are playing a show indoors, it is best to use a cane reed.... for outside events I used plastic.

 

When in the elements for even a short amount of time, I found that cane reeds had a tendency to warp, dry out and possibly split rather quickly and retuning often left me with that "unprofessional" feeling of constantly adjusting pitch. Sure, it only takes a quick twist of the mouthpiece but I felt that with plastic reeds it was not as often.

 

With plastic, to me it seemed as though you had to tighten your embouchre a bit throwing your tone off slightly.

 

As for quality...cane...hands down.

[plastictrophy]

I've found that, at least for me, plastic reeds are only good for marching band-type playing where you're trying to get the sound to carry. And since I don't do marching band, plastic reeds are usless to me. I hate the way they sound. Plus, they taste funny.

[Dogfur]

I also double on keys and only play limited saxes on a rock gig, so a more stable and consistent reed would certainly be a great help. Back in the day I tried to use the synthetic Bari brand and couldn't really make it work. Recently I've tried a couple strengths of the Legere brand on both alto & tenor and, while improved, I still couldn't quite make it work right for me. It is interesting that we recorded the gigs and noone could hear a tone difference -the problems were all in the feel and response for me. I think if I resigned myself to it I could make it work, but I just don't have the patience...

[Timothy Scags]

If you aren't playing sax all night long use a bit of a softer can reed...1 1/2 Lavoz would work. The moisture will stay a bit longer with a softer reed.

 

If you are going to be honkin' straight trough, go to a 2 LaVoz... durable, excellent tone and faithful.

 

Plastic....nah.

[GZsound]

I just discovered we actually had a woodwind forum.. go figure.

 

I have been unable to play a regular wood reed since I was in high school.. Way long ago.

 

I started using plastic reeds back in the 60's. Fibercane. Cut the dog poop out of my lip, but held their tone.

 

I now use BARI synthetic tenor reeds and find that they work great (In fact I just ordered ten more tonight). They last a long time and the tone is consistant from reed to reed.

 

I tried a Fibercell soft reed last week at my local music store and it sucked.

 

A wood reed lasts me about thirty seconds. I have used Rico Plasticover reeds in the past and they worked pretty well, although I found a brand new box in a drawer in my studio that has been there for ten years and tried one last week... not good.

 

I'll stick to the BARI synthetics for now. They last me for several months and I'm playing rock and roll, R & B, Blues, etc. pretty much every weekend.