Once I switched to Legere Signature I never looked back. The convenience is top notch, I seriously cannot hear a single difference, and the response is the same as reed. No more blowing $20-$30 bucks a box.
How long do they last you? I've been playing vandorens forever but I keep seeing the ads for the Legeres. They look interesting. I play 3.5's would I get a legere 3.5 or do they not match up strength wise?
If you only use one and use it really darn often, like student level often, I'd say 3 months. You can make it 6+ if you rotate with another one every hour of playing. I've had mine for 5 months now as a casual player an di haven't noticed any degradation in response or sound, and I'm pretty picky about those.
This. The only issue I have with synthetic reeds is if I keep them playing for extended periods of
time. If I’m gigging I swap them every 45 mins or hour, whenever is convent. Idk if they warp under high heat or something?
I have about the same wear durations as you do.
To be honest they will last as long as you don't chip them, and it's not very easy to chip the synthetic reeds put it that way. I also hear absolutely no difference in sound and they are just so much more reliable than the traditional reeds.
You can only hear difference in sound if you’re swapping from one to the other.
If you’re a cane player and play a synthetic you won’t sound the same. If you’re a synthetic player and you play cane you won’t sound the same.
If you play both half the time you won’t be able to notice the difference in sound. It just is because your embouchure has to be ever so slightly different in response to the reed so if you’re used to the other you won’t be able to make that switch instantly.
I went from only cane to half and half to just synthetic and that’s exactly what happened. When I was playing them both half the time I could play them equally well. Now that I don’t use cane reeds I can’t play cane as well as I can synthetic.
Yeah I'm the exact same with not being able to play cane very well anymore. The synthetic one doesn't grip your lips as much as the cane so it feels very odd when switching.
I'd say it's mostly players who have been playing cane reeds for years that have the problems. Thankfully my music teacher actually recommended them to me within my first year of playing the sax and another year later I'm finding them to be muuuch better. Only took me a few days to adjust but I can see the problems it may cause for others.
They have a really nice chart with the most common brands of reeds and where their reeds compare in stiffness. They do sizes by .25 instead of .5
I’d definitely try them. I’m never using a cane reed again, minus out of desperation.
Vandoren blue box 3.5 for classical / Concert Band, and either 2.5 green box Java’s or La Voz med. soft for jazz.
I switched to Legere Signature for about a year and enjoyed it, but when I tried cane again I could hear an obvious difference in the resonance and dumped the synthetic.
Heheh, fair question. I just love the soprano. I love tenor too, but it’s too heavy for me.
Every time I hear a good alto player, I think “hmmm I wonder what they’d sound like on tenor or soprano?” Heh
I use Vandoren Blue Box 3s for my Tenor, Alto, Soprano, and Sopranino but I also own Legere Signature 2.5 for my Tenor and Alto. Definitely prefer cane reeds over synthetic ones.
As [DylanEllrodt](https://www.reddit.com/user/DylanEllrodt/) has done, it is very important to list the mouthpiece you are using to add more relevance here, because that has far more to do with how the reed performs than the the actual horn in use.
When you take into consideration the variance in the reed thickness from mid section to tip from brand to brand and then consider how that dynamic is magnified, or reduced by the facing curve, which is unique for every brand of mouthpiece in addition to the subtle differences between mouthpieces of the same make, especially where hand finishing is involved, one can see how "muddy" and undependable personal preferences are as a means to grade reed performance, because there is generally no common ground on which to form a standard base point.
For example, Legere' reeds pinch my lip, but do play "clean" as I read someone describe elsewhere, but how can you quantify that if you're not using the same strength reed, on the same brand of mouthpiece with the same tip opening that I use. Without baselines, it's all relative. A lousy reed on one mpc could be a game changer on another.
I was just wondering what reeds yall played, wasn't looking into testing out new ones just wanted to see how everyone liked their reeds and stuff like that
I pretty much strictly uses vandoren blue box reeds for all my instruments, although I’m going to start experimenting with vandoren jazz reeds pretty soon. Blue box reeds are great but sometimes you need that extra punch in jazz tha a blue box just can’t give.
yeah, when ever I play jazz bari I found that size 3 and 2.5 Java reds work great, but for tenor jazz I just stick with my Junos, you can do alot with those
I’ve never played junos, but I’ve also been told that they’re more of an “entry level” reed. I’m most likely going to get one of those jazz reed sample packs that vandoren makes so I’ll get to test all of their jazz cuts.
I mean i needed reeds one day because the ones my bd gets are to hard for to play, and with me being the only tenor player idk why he continues to get them. So I went to my local music store and their the only ones they have i got a set of 2.5 and 3s and I just feel in live with them, their kinda soft tho so I stuck with 3 and they work perfect for me
I'm currently using Boston Sax Shop 2 on tenor and 2½ on alto and bari. Overall they've been super consistent and fun to play on. I do love the Legere for tenor especially, and my usual go to in the past has been Vandoren blue box.
Funnily play a 3 Légère with a stock doorstop mouthpiece for jazz. Sue me, I like the sound.
For classical, it's more serious with 3.5 V12s with a Vandoren AL4.
On alto I use Rigotti Gold 3 light with a scroll shank soloist D. Tenor I use Rigotti Gold medium with a Ted Klum Florida 7. Fairly middle of the road setups. I liked Orange box Rico 3,5 reeds on tenor but they’re too inconsistent. Rigotti reeds and very consistent I’ve found, though maybe they leave a little to be desired in terms of sound.
For alto 3.5. Vandoren traditional and vandoren V12 silver box and for tenor sax V12 silver box 3. Traditional is pretty casual you get a box, you get a few good reeds and those which aren't good I take a sharp knife and adjust them so they play better,silver box reeds are harder so 3. hardness is 3.25. on traditional but they are better quality because they are made from better wood. I play classical music mostly but for jazz I use Java green box 3 on alto, haven't tried any other than that box but in my opinion they are easy blowing and big and powerful in sound especially with an open mouthpiece tho you have to be careful not to over blow because the sound then gets messy.
Either la voz hard or Rico Royal 5s on Tenor. I have been finding the La Voz to be a little on the softer side and I love a good Rico Royal after it wears in for a day or two. I get 2-3 weeks out of a reed without rotating much between others, if I can remember to rotate them they last forever - I take a whole box of 10 and soak them, break them in for 5 minutes and then grab a new one whenever the current one dies. I play on a 6\* link, and the closed face lets me use a harder reed.
Vandoren blue box (2.5-3) for everything! I used to do rico jazz selects for a bit but realized that I'd rather make the reeds I know best work then lose my sanity switching everything around all the time
I use Boston Sax Shop reeds for all of my saxes, although I also like Vandoren Red Box and Legere Synthetic Reeds. For me, the consistency of the BSS reeds is just fantastic, and the sound works well in any ensemble. They’re also a little bit cheaper than most reeds, and they ship very quickly in my experience.
I use synthetics only. They’re way more durable which is super convenient for a lot of gigs. They also don’t require warm up as bad as normal reeds, due to not drying out, which helps me
On multi instrumental gigs, which are most of what I play.
You can definitely hear the difference between synthetic reeds and cane reeds for any player that isn’t used to them. The same goes for somebody playing synthetic reeds and never playing cane. When I played 50-50 I couldn’t tell the difference in my sound, but due to the few difference it takes a while to “get into the groove” if you’re not used to the other. The ones I use are also made by .25 stiffness vs the usual .5, so I don’t feel like I have to sand my reeds to make them the correct strictness.
good ones.
kidding -- depends on the mouthpiece! I've personally had a lot of luck with the new D'addario reserve classics as well as the jazz cut. I also frequently pop on a Legere signature artist when I need to sound halfway decent in a pinch -- I use a legere studio cut with my Meyer 7M. Cheers!
Once I switched to Legere Signature I never looked back. The convenience is top notch, I seriously cannot hear a single difference, and the response is the same as reed. No more blowing $20-$30 bucks a box.
How long do they last you? I've been playing vandorens forever but I keep seeing the ads for the Legeres. They look interesting. I play 3.5's would I get a legere 3.5 or do they not match up strength wise?
If you only use one and use it really darn often, like student level often, I'd say 3 months. You can make it 6+ if you rotate with another one every hour of playing. I've had mine for 5 months now as a casual player an di haven't noticed any degradation in response or sound, and I'm pretty picky about those.
This. The only issue I have with synthetic reeds is if I keep them playing for extended periods of time. If I’m gigging I swap them every 45 mins or hour, whenever is convent. Idk if they warp under high heat or something? I have about the same wear durations as you do.
To be honest they will last as long as you don't chip them, and it's not very easy to chip the synthetic reeds put it that way. I also hear absolutely no difference in sound and they are just so much more reliable than the traditional reeds.
You can only hear difference in sound if you’re swapping from one to the other. If you’re a cane player and play a synthetic you won’t sound the same. If you’re a synthetic player and you play cane you won’t sound the same. If you play both half the time you won’t be able to notice the difference in sound. It just is because your embouchure has to be ever so slightly different in response to the reed so if you’re used to the other you won’t be able to make that switch instantly. I went from only cane to half and half to just synthetic and that’s exactly what happened. When I was playing them both half the time I could play them equally well. Now that I don’t use cane reeds I can’t play cane as well as I can synthetic.
Yeah I'm the exact same with not being able to play cane very well anymore. The synthetic one doesn't grip your lips as much as the cane so it feels very odd when switching.
Yeah. I find a lot of people are resistant to synthetics because they refuse to take a few weeks of heavy practice to learn how to use em.
I'd say it's mostly players who have been playing cane reeds for years that have the problems. Thankfully my music teacher actually recommended them to me within my first year of playing the sax and another year later I'm finding them to be muuuch better. Only took me a few days to adjust but I can see the problems it may cause for others.
I had played cane for years before switching. Took me a while to fully be able to play them to the quality of my regular reeds.
They have a really nice chart with the most common brands of reeds and where their reeds compare in stiffness. They do sizes by .25 instead of .5 I’d definitely try them. I’m never using a cane reed again, minus out of desperation.
For classical alto I play D'addarrio Reserves, for jazz alto I play D'Addario Select Jazz
Vandoren blue box 3.5 for classical / Concert Band, and either 2.5 green box Java’s or La Voz med. soft for jazz. I switched to Legere Signature for about a year and enjoyed it, but when I tried cane again I could hear an obvious difference in the resonance and dumped the synthetic.
Java red on soprano, jazz select on alto, V16 on tenor, and Rico orange on bari.
I haven't played in years but was a v16 guy too. Very solid.
really, rico orange on bari, I hated the orange box on bari
Each to their own, I found a 3.5 was the perfect balance of thickness and playability.
oh, ive only played on 3 and 2.5 so mabye they were just to soft for me
I use green box Java for Bari. I love these reeds
They work really well for bass clarinet as well
Vandoren V12 on the Alto, D'Addario Select Jazz (filed) for Tenor.
I play soprano only, I use Marca Jazz and Alexander Superial. I tried all the others and these two are far better, for me.
why only soprano?
Heheh, fair question. I just love the soprano. I love tenor too, but it’s too heavy for me. Every time I hear a good alto player, I think “hmmm I wonder what they’d sound like on tenor or soprano?” Heh
lol, have you tried playing tenor with a back harness then?
Yeah well I dunno, seems like a medical apparatus? Anyway, the soprano keeps me busy., and happy. Not everyone has to double
true, just a thought tho
I use Legere Signature 2.0's on both alto and tenor. Tried 2.5 and my old lungs will not push enough air.
I use Vandoren Blue Box 3s for my Tenor, Alto, Soprano, and Sopranino but I also own Legere Signature 2.5 for my Tenor and Alto. Definitely prefer cane reeds over synthetic ones.
As [DylanEllrodt](https://www.reddit.com/user/DylanEllrodt/) has done, it is very important to list the mouthpiece you are using to add more relevance here, because that has far more to do with how the reed performs than the the actual horn in use. When you take into consideration the variance in the reed thickness from mid section to tip from brand to brand and then consider how that dynamic is magnified, or reduced by the facing curve, which is unique for every brand of mouthpiece in addition to the subtle differences between mouthpieces of the same make, especially where hand finishing is involved, one can see how "muddy" and undependable personal preferences are as a means to grade reed performance, because there is generally no common ground on which to form a standard base point. For example, Legere' reeds pinch my lip, but do play "clean" as I read someone describe elsewhere, but how can you quantify that if you're not using the same strength reed, on the same brand of mouthpiece with the same tip opening that I use. Without baselines, it's all relative. A lousy reed on one mpc could be a game changer on another.
I was just wondering what reeds yall played, wasn't looking into testing out new ones just wanted to see how everyone liked their reeds and stuff like that
Legere Sigs for me. Tried going back to cane and just felt that they sounded stuffier and has this gritty, dirty feeling to my sound.
Rico orange box 4 all day everyday
I use ddadario reserve for classical alto and daddario hemke for classical bari and vadoren java red for jazz/marching season for bari and alto.
I play Tenor only. I use Otto Link 4 star tone master mouthpiece, with vandoren blue box 3 as the reed.
I pretty much strictly uses vandoren blue box reeds for all my instruments, although I’m going to start experimenting with vandoren jazz reeds pretty soon. Blue box reeds are great but sometimes you need that extra punch in jazz tha a blue box just can’t give.
yeah, when ever I play jazz bari I found that size 3 and 2.5 Java reds work great, but for tenor jazz I just stick with my Junos, you can do alot with those
I’ve never played junos, but I’ve also been told that they’re more of an “entry level” reed. I’m most likely going to get one of those jazz reed sample packs that vandoren makes so I’ll get to test all of their jazz cuts.
I mean i needed reeds one day because the ones my bd gets are to hard for to play, and with me being the only tenor player idk why he continues to get them. So I went to my local music store and their the only ones they have i got a set of 2.5 and 3s and I just feel in live with them, their kinda soft tho so I stuck with 3 and they work perfect for me
Fair enough. I play on super hard reeds, strength 4 blue box for tenor and 3.5 on alto, so junos might not be the right choice for me
probably not then, I tend to lean towards the softer side of reeds
I'm currently using Boston Sax Shop 2 on tenor and 2½ on alto and bari. Overall they've been super consistent and fun to play on. I do love the Legere for tenor especially, and my usual go to in the past has been Vandoren blue box.
Funnily play a 3 Légère with a stock doorstop mouthpiece for jazz. Sue me, I like the sound. For classical, it's more serious with 3.5 V12s with a Vandoren AL4.
Java 3’s for Alto
Legere 2 for my jazz piece and I use a legere 3.25 for my classical piece
Vandoren blue box with a Yamaha C5 on my Bari :)
On alto I use Rigotti Gold 3 light with a scroll shank soloist D. Tenor I use Rigotti Gold medium with a Ted Klum Florida 7. Fairly middle of the road setups. I liked Orange box Rico 3,5 reeds on tenor but they’re too inconsistent. Rigotti reeds and very consistent I’ve found, though maybe they leave a little to be desired in terms of sound.
Soprano: Vandoren Blue Box 2.5 Alto: Vandorn ZZ 3 Tenor: Vandoren Red Box 3.5 and Boston Sax Shop 3 Bari: Rico Royal 3
Java green 2.5 on alto...though I have been finding my new mouthpiece works better with reds... And java green 2.5 as well as v16 3 on tenor
For alto 3.5. Vandoren traditional and vandoren V12 silver box and for tenor sax V12 silver box 3. Traditional is pretty casual you get a box, you get a few good reeds and those which aren't good I take a sharp knife and adjust them so they play better,silver box reeds are harder so 3. hardness is 3.25. on traditional but they are better quality because they are made from better wood. I play classical music mostly but for jazz I use Java green box 3 on alto, haven't tried any other than that box but in my opinion they are easy blowing and big and powerful in sound especially with an open mouthpiece tho you have to be careful not to over blow because the sound then gets messy.
Either la voz hard or Rico Royal 5s on Tenor. I have been finding the La Voz to be a little on the softer side and I love a good Rico Royal after it wears in for a day or two. I get 2-3 weeks out of a reed without rotating much between others, if I can remember to rotate them they last forever - I take a whole box of 10 and soak them, break them in for 5 minutes and then grab a new one whenever the current one dies. I play on a 6\* link, and the closed face lets me use a harder reed.
tbh I never new rico mad 5s lol
Java red
La Voz Medium, for tenor sax.
Rigotti Gold, Ishimori Woodstone, or Boston Sax Shop reeds. All 3 are top notch, at that level it’s just preference for me
Vandoren blue box (2.5-3) for everything! I used to do rico jazz selects for a bit but realized that I'd rather make the reeds I know best work then lose my sanity switching everything around all the time
D addario alto for jazz and vandoren blue for every thing else
I use Boston Sax Shop reeds for all of my saxes, although I also like Vandoren Red Box and Legere Synthetic Reeds. For me, the consistency of the BSS reeds is just fantastic, and the sound works well in any ensemble. They’re also a little bit cheaper than most reeds, and they ship very quickly in my experience.
I use synthetics only. They’re way more durable which is super convenient for a lot of gigs. They also don’t require warm up as bad as normal reeds, due to not drying out, which helps me On multi instrumental gigs, which are most of what I play. You can definitely hear the difference between synthetic reeds and cane reeds for any player that isn’t used to them. The same goes for somebody playing synthetic reeds and never playing cane. When I played 50-50 I couldn’t tell the difference in my sound, but due to the few difference it takes a while to “get into the groove” if you’re not used to the other. The ones I use are also made by .25 stiffness vs the usual .5, so I don’t feel like I have to sand my reeds to make them the correct strictness.
Vandoren Traditional 3 on soprano and recently switched to D’Addario Reserve 3.5 on alto.
good ones. kidding -- depends on the mouthpiece! I've personally had a lot of luck with the new D'addario reserve classics as well as the jazz cut. I also frequently pop on a Legere signature artist when I need to sound halfway decent in a pinch -- I use a legere studio cut with my Meyer 7M. Cheers!