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Re: Legere reeds - thoughts on synthetics

Author: sfalexi
Date: 2017-03-08 07:56

Quote:

Played in a chamber music rehearsal yesterday, felt good and sounded good. No one said anything like "hey you sound different" so that was good. But at a church gig this morning, the flute player said "Are you playing a synthetic reed today? It just sounds so different than a cane reed." Freaked me right out because I honestly don't think it sounds different.

So the questions here are:

Do you play them all the time? If yes, do you find that you have to mess with the strengths?

I use them all the time in MY job (Army Musician). Clarinet, Tenor Sax, and I need to order some for my Alto Sax. I also have one for oboe as I MIGHT start seriously working on that in August.

Quote:

Are the pro players listed on Legere's site really playing them as their reeds all the time?

Definitely using them for rehearsals, lessons, and it'll be person to person as to whether they use them in performances. But there are DEFINITELY some that use them 100% of the time (rehearsals and performances).

Quote:

If you play them, has there been any adjustment period between switching from cane to synthetic?

Yes. It's a different feel. And do your best to shift the reed EVER so slightly up, down, left or right as small shifts on the mouthpiece make BIG differences in the sound and response.

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Has anyone offered their opinion on your sound?

Most have liked my sound. Not said, "Wow you sound different" or anything like that, but rather have simple said that I have a nice sound.

Quote:

I'm going to blind test with another musician tonight to see if he notices anything.

Blind tests are tough. Do a lot of tests (not four, but 10+ tests) randomly. The more tests, the less likely that them picking the cane or synthetic would be likely due to guessing right. If they pick it right 9 times out of 10, it's likely there IS a pretty audible difference.