Of of the most common miss-understanding we see in our store is:  The longer you play, the stronger the reed you'll need.

More often than not, I see high school freshman trying to comete with the seniors, so they come in and ask me for a Vandoren #4.  I've been playing sax for over twenty years, and I use a 2-soft Rico Jazz Select.  Why?  I use a mouthpiece with a fairly open tip.

Rule of thumb -
1)  The lower register plays easy with a soft reed -  Too soft, and the tip will tend to close, and make the the upper register sound thin.
2)  Stiff reeds make the upper register play free   -  Too hard, and ALL registers have more air than sound.

Rule #1 - The ENTIRE reason we play music is to create a beautiful sound.  Playing sax isn't like a bench press.  While weight lifting, you want to get up to 200 pounds.  While playing the sax, your goal is to have the best tone.

Rule #2 - Stiffer reeds don't make you play louder.  I know some are saying "Yeah it does!"  You can get a great tone and the most volume out of the PROPER size reed.  The reason why I need to say this is, once again, a high school freshman comes in wanting a #4 reed because the Drum Major wants him to play louder.  I'll see the veins  in his neck, and his jaw muscles bulding, but there's so much air in his tone he sounds more like a leaking tire.

Rule #3 - Reed stregth has absolutely NO relation to any measurements of size.  It's not a size 2, it's a strength 2.  When the factories run the machines down the reeds, they take over 40 measurements of stregnth.  It does NOT measure the length, width, or thickness of the tip.  Since it's cane, you can have a thinner reed, but has real dense fibers, so the tip is stiffer than a reed with a thicker tip.

Rule #4 - Between the different manufactures, there's no standard of measurement of reeds - Every manufacturer's measurements are different.  If I take a #2 1/2 reed from the Rico Factory California, and fly to the Vandoren factory in France, they'll measure it a #3.  Why?  Call it Metric vs. Standard, but the true reason is all their machines are different.  They measure at different points, take all the numbers, put it into an equation, and burn in the number in the back of the reed with a laser.  I hear TOO many times, "Vandorens are harder because they have better cane."  That's absolutely ridiculous!  Both companies harvest their cane from both Argentina and Var Valley France.  In fact, a lot of their fields are right next to each other!  The origin of this urban legend is because we all started playing with those horrible Rico "orange box" reeds.  Vandoren only makes pro reeds.  If it's not up to their specs, they throw it in the stove that heats up the factory...no joke!  Rico's "non-select cane" is used for brands like Symetricuts, and nova packs (orange box).  Rico's professional reeds like La Voz, Jazz Select, Grand Concert Select, and Hemke (to name a few) are every bit as good as Vandoren.  Yes, the pro Rico reeds last just as long as well.

Rule #5 - Know what your band director plays before you take his advice - Oops...I might get in trouble for saying this, but let me explain.  Once again, I own a School Band & Orchestra store (not a guitar shop).  I'm also a professional sax player & repairman.  Every single high school student that comes in asking for a reed that's too stiff for them, does so because their Band Director (who plays trumpet) told them to.  Remember, it's you playing the sax; not him.  Chances are, he's only played the sax for 2 weeks to pass his basic proficiency.  This means, on this particular subject, you know what's best for you more than he does.   Always listen to and respect the advise of your elders.  Anytime someone's advice makes your lip bleed though....

All this to say, if I'm against selling hard reeds, why do they make them?  There are a lot of great players who legitimately need hard reeds, and they sound great.  Alot of them are classical players who use professional mouthpieces with a small tip opening (like a Selmer C*).  There are some, however, with "Iron Chops" who have a 120 tip opening, and still use a Vandoren 4...and they play 4 hour gigs every other day!  This brings me to my final rule...

Rule #6 - Just choose the reed that makes you the most comfortable - Always remember, we play the sax because it's fun!  There's always going to be inherit  difficulties playing the sax.  Don't complicate it and purposely make it harder!


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