The biggest difference between the old Rico Orange (60s-80s) and the new ones is that they were actually hand finished by people. Nowadays, 9 of 10 in the box, come with convex tables that I need to flatten using sandpaper. The vintage ones vary too, but I don’t have to worry about the convex table, because somebody fixed it for me already.
As a beginner sax player. Your videos are so helpful. The most confusing part for me is definitely the reed. This video helped a lot. Thanks for an amazing informative video.
I like digging through a box of Orange Ricos rating each for playability and tone and searching for the raw reedy sound I love. Then going through the rejects sanding and/or trimming to see if I can rescue an acceptable practice reed. Whenever I've tried "better" brands they always seem to have thrown the lively babies out with the QC bathwater. I'll never be a virtuoso but I enjoy myself.
Thanks for another great video Jay! The Burnin' for tenor sounds amazing. I am not sure if this is possible, but are you able to make a video playing and contrasting the tenor Burnin to similar Jazz mouthpieces around that pricepoint? Personally, I would like to hear how dark/warm the Burnin' is compared to the V16 and the Jody Jazz HR.
I’ve been using Bari Reeds for over 20 years. They are amazing. Tried the other synthetics and would have to stop making my living recording sax if Bari no longer existed.
Mmm legére sounds plastic! Far better is fiberreeds carbon fiber reeds.. real sound and perfect response. BUT the warm sound quality of a few cane reeds can not be matched by any sinthetics..
@@HonestSaxSound-unEdited- It sounds plastic because you know it’s plastic. But plastic is not plastic. Legere s’ reed is polypropylene treated by a patented process. Fiberreed I have tried with no success.
I've mastered a 3.5 and ready to move up to a 4 but what still makes me think that some people stay with a 2.5 from 6th grade thru college. Why don't they improve. Just to tell you people when I moved up in reeds it's easier to play those low notes and higher notes better. For me it worked.
Because playing a harder reed doesn’t make a better player. You’re definitely amazing at sax I’m sure but reed hardness is determined on preference. Playing on harder reeds can makes the player work too hard jn some cases. MICHAEL BRECKER played on reed number 2’s.
Rigotti must be making a killing with all these rebranded Golds. 😂 Boston Sax Shop, RW, et al, and now SYOS joins the party. I’ve had great luck with D’Addario Jazz Select.
Hey! I love your videos! I’ve been playing Alto sax for a few years and I’m planning on buying a soprano. Would you have a suggestion for a starter soprano for an experienced player? Thanks!
How can you determine which reed is best for you? The soft reeds are easy to get sound out of, but it is very hard to hit high notes on those reeds. The harder reeds are harder to use or get sound out of, but they make it easier to play higher notes.
You think hard reeds make high notes easier? That's not true. Harder reeds take more embachure, which is what is required for altissimo and high notes. And requires more air.
Thanks Jay, as usual there's some great info. Quick question: Can you tell me about the panels you have in your studio? Do they make your studio soundproof? Or do they just help with the echo? Thank you Joe
If a reed is a little too “thin”, or puny..you can clip the tip with a reed trimmer, getting back into the meatier part, making it a bit more robust in performance.
I wonder if it would be a better method on rating reeds to do them by year and region like we do with wine! The 2015 reeds from South France are spectacular…the 2021 not so much…
Yes I have thought about this too. Doubt anyone reed brands would like he idea though. They don’t even tell you where they are made on the box usually.
One days i play the 5 of blue vandoren, what a hard reed hahahah. I play now with rigorti gold jazz 3 and the a55 mpc on the alto, a Grassi profesional hehe, i don't know but that sax sound me better with big mpcs, the Meyer 6 sound good but some days for me is not the better, maybe i have to play more and try only hehehe.
Wow! I recently was thinking about if you can create Burnin mouthpiece for tenor! I am planning to buy both for alto and tenor! Love the sound! Amazing videos! Thank you so much! Hello from Boston!
So that measurement device (7:15), are they flexing/bending the reed then? For a while I thought the # was reflective of the thickness of the tip. Thanks Jay! Great video as always.
Yes they don’t use that old thing anymore. The actual device is more precise and can be seen in my how reeds are made video. They bend the tip slightly and measure the resistance.
For the reeds it’s mostly the kind of cane you buy (I play high double reeds) and there are A LOT of inconsistencies with it even if you buy it from the same company (ie Gonzalez Cane) and some pieces are perfect and others are just more bendy than the oboe d’cacaccia.
👍🏽 I just reached out to Pauline the other day about getting a 5 pk of these Arcane reeds to try out unfortunately, it’s $25 dollars just to ship them to the states I’m told. I still enjoy the Rigotti reeds that I can buy here. Hopefully, they will be available in the states soon. Thanks for the video👍🏽✌🏽🎶🎵🎷
So many of the reeds you feature aren't available (that I've found) in the US without ridiculous shipping charges. $25 shipping for a box of SYOS reeds. What do you think of the reeds that are more available to the US market?
One question, is there any such thing as an unused reed being too old to play? I occasionally end up with boxes of reeds that haven't been opened but could be decades old. I throw them in a drawer unsure if I want to use them. Probably stupid on my part, why not try them, right?
I don't really get why syos decided to release their own brand of reeds. I mean the packaging looks cool and I'm sure they're not bad because they're made in the same place as bss and rigotti but I'd think syos would have been a lot better off trying to sell reeds with some sort of customizability, like their mouthpieces. For a company focused on "Shaping Your Own Sound" it's strange that they released a general reed that doesn't really seem specialized. 🤔 the only thing they say is that the reeds are flexible and have volume but like ok there's tons of reeds like that already
Hey I know you probably won't see this, but I've been having problems marching with my bari sax with back pain as well as it not being comfortable to play and march at the same time. Do you have any suggestions? Or know of a good neck strap to help? And also, keep up the good work!
I am the section leader of the alto sax section in my schools band. My band director told me that we need to work on getting better sound projection for both marching and concert band. Do you have any suggestions on how I can get better sound projection?
You may want a mouthpiece with more baffle. Most HS students are playing a classical style mouthpiece that does not project well. But you probably just need to put more air through the horn.
you write the reed number on the flat part of the reed, then you shave it away with the reedgeek? isn't it better to write the number on the bark instead?
I am a sax beginner and I have spent a fortune on mouthpieces and reeds including legere signature and still not sure what is the best for me as a beginner , but I keep going back to the legere. Only thing I can suggest is keep trying.
Just some feedback: I liked the thumbnail and the blue yellow theme for text and other things, but too much of it on the screen makes it look like an old kids toy commercial imo. Especially the circle thing counting reed numbers at bottom left the way it fades out just gives me vibes of of an old nerf commercial with everyone saying ‘wow look it’s cool!’. I don’t know if that’s the aesthetic you’re going for but that’s just what it looks like to me.
It’s also important to note that the first couple boxes of any new reed brand probably won’t have stellar consistency, as it’s the first time that particular cut is being sold. Things might be tweaked in the process later on.
When I was in middle school I picked up a reed of the ground and I didn’t know what it was so I asked the band director and he said “are you stupid? Go throw it away and go wash your hands now” now that I teach music I realized my mistake.
What is the glass you're putting the reed in? What's in the glass? Are you filing it too? I'm other words, explain everything you're doing here please 😂
The biggest difference between the old Rico Orange (60s-80s) and the new ones is that they were actually hand finished by people. Nowadays, 9 of 10 in the box, come with convex tables that I need to flatten using sandpaper. The vintage ones vary too, but I don’t have to worry about the convex table, because somebody fixed it for me already.
Scrape flat side of reed flat with single edge razor blade.
I also find that the new ones aren't as consistent. Most of them have one side of the reed thicker than the other, while the old ones are more even.
I love orange box and old brown box rico
As a beginner sax player. Your videos are so helpful. The most confusing part for me is definitely the reed. This video helped a lot. Thanks for an amazing informative video.
The resistance is caused by density. The closer the cane is to the ground, the more dense and resistant it will be.
Uncle Jay I need that jazz sound for myself it just gave me goose bumps.... I love reed number 2
I just got a job at Music and Arts here in Dallas. I’m primarily a guitar player but videos like this have helped me immensely with product knowledge.
I like digging through a box of Orange Ricos rating each for playability and tone and searching for the raw reedy sound I love. Then going through the rejects sanding and/or trimming to see if I can rescue an acceptable practice reed. Whenever I've tried "better" brands they always seem to have thrown the lively babies out with the QC bathwater. I'll never be a virtuoso but I enjoy myself.
Big love from Wales, UK x
Thanks for another great video Jay! The Burnin' for tenor sounds amazing. I am not sure if this is possible, but are you able to make a video playing and contrasting the tenor Burnin to similar Jazz mouthpieces around that pricepoint? Personally, I would like to hear how dark/warm the Burnin' is compared to the V16 and the Jody Jazz HR.
Yes I’m planning to make a video like that for both the alto and tenor.
Love the new tenor Burnin mouthpiece. Rich, thick, and buttery.
Hanks Troy
Im coming back into playing the sax after not playing since high school I'm loving all your video and they are so helpful thank you
Great to hear welcome back!
Same here, hadn’t played in 50 years, bought a very inexpensive alto just to see if I still could. Using a Barri
Very good, Jay. Certanly we use to beleive a lot of wrong thinks, this video gave light about the reeds.
Cool video Jay ! I also dig the Blue and Yellow text . Have a great weekend , hugs from the Smith family
I congrat you by using courtins Blue/Yellow
I love reed number five the most!
I’ve been using Bari Reeds for over 20 years. They are amazing. Tried the other synthetics and would have to stop making my living recording sax if Bari no longer existed.
BARI reeds are awesome. I play BARI Stars with my Durga on Tenor. I like them a lot better than Legere.
Very great information to know about reeds! Thank you so much for sharing!
Your videos are always helpful. This particular one is the best advertising for getting away from the cane nightmare and switch to Legere Signature.
Mmm legére sounds plastic!
Far better is fiberreeds carbon fiber reeds.. real sound and perfect response.
BUT the warm sound quality of a few cane reeds can not be matched by any sinthetics..
@@HonestSaxSound-unEdited- It sounds plastic because you know it’s plastic. But plastic is not plastic. Legere s’ reed is polypropylene treated by a patented process. Fiberreed I have tried with no success.
I just wanna know if its harder to play on each reed because i dont wanna get my lip swollen up if its too hard
I've mastered a 3.5 and ready to move up to a 4 but what still makes me think that some people stay with a 2.5 from 6th grade thru college. Why don't they improve.
Just to tell you people when I moved up in reeds it's easier to play those low notes and higher notes better.
For me it worked.
Because playing a harder reed doesn’t make a better player. You’re definitely amazing at sax I’m sure but reed hardness is determined on preference. Playing on harder reeds can makes the player work too hard jn some cases. MICHAEL BRECKER played on reed number 2’s.
Rigotti must be making a killing with all these rebranded Golds. 😂 Boston Sax Shop, RW, et al, and now SYOS joins the party. I’ve had great luck with D’Addario Jazz Select.
(Man - I’m really jonesing for the bridge!)
Loved the “Five things”; really fun, Jay!
Thanks -
Haha
I love the song selection, everything happens to me is one of my favorite songs by bird.
Hey! I love your videos! I’ve been playing Alto sax for a few years and I’m planning on buying a soprano. Would you have a suggestion for a starter soprano for an experienced player? Thanks!
I mad e a video comparing 3 recently.
I love your song choice. I was just thinking to myself (might even have been this morning!) that I want to learn to play this song!
Jay, many thanks for your support from Ukraine!
Great video Jay, greetings from germany! :D
Thanks!
Hand hammer is a cymbal thing. It's hard to say about a sax neck... Is minute variance good or bad? It's working anyway.
How can you determine which reed is best for you? The soft reeds are easy to get sound out of, but it is very hard to hit high notes on those reeds. The harder reeds are harder to use or get sound out of, but they make it easier to play higher notes.
Yeah gotta find the ones in the middle which are just right
You think hard reeds make high notes easier? That's not true. Harder reeds take more embachure, which is what is required for altissimo and high notes. And requires more air.
Reed #5 sounded DOA. The others were all good to my ears.
Great vid!
Thanks, Jay - good, interesting information.
Is there a difference between your
Better Sax mouthpiece and the
Jody Jazz HR Star mouthpiece?
If so, please explain…you sound excellent!
Yes the Burnin is a different design. I’ll be making a video about I’m the tenor piece soon with all the details.
Thanks Jay, as usual there's some great info.
Quick question: Can you tell me about the panels you have in your studio? Do they make your studio soundproof? Or do they just help with the echo?
Thank you
Joe
I think Jay made a video about them a couple of years ago, you should search his video history. Iirc, they are for eliminating echo.
If a reed is a little too “thin”, or puny..you can clip the tip with a reed trimmer, getting back into the meatier part, making it a bit more robust in performance.
I wonder if it would be a better method on rating reeds to do them by year and region like we do with wine! The 2015 reeds from South France are spectacular…the 2021 not so much…
Yes I have thought about this too. Doubt anyone reed brands would like he idea though. They don’t even tell you where they are made on the box usually.
I just wondered: Syos says that their mouthpieces don't need a flat table - what about their reed; do they also play well without flattening?
Looking forward for the release of the Burnin' for tenor! I've been wanting to upgrade my stock mouthpiece for a while now...
Coming soon!
Why did you use sandpaper? I’d love to know. Maybe I should be doing the same 🤷🏻♀️
Really thankful
Another good video! -- is there, or will there be, a BetterSax Burnin' TENOR mouthpiece?
Yes coming very soon
Good one and please How can i get 4.5 reeds with saxophone 🎷?
One days i play the 5 of blue vandoren, what a hard reed hahahah. I play now with rigorti gold jazz 3 and the a55 mpc on the alto, a Grassi profesional hehe, i don't know but that sax sound me better with big mpcs, the Meyer 6 sound good but some days for me is not the better, maybe i have to play more and try only hehehe.
Why do you reed geek it before you play it? Thanks 🙏
Please start telling us what sax you are on . I want to know which one makes which sound
Wow! I recently was thinking about if you can create Burnin mouthpiece for tenor! I am planning to buy both for alto and tenor! Love the sound! Amazing videos! Thank you so much! Hello from Boston!
So that measurement device (7:15), are they flexing/bending the reed then? For a while I thought the # was reflective of the thickness of the tip. Thanks Jay! Great video as always.
Yes they don’t use that old thing anymore. The actual device is more precise and can be seen in my how reeds are made video. They bend the tip slightly and measure the resistance.
@@bettersax Thanks! And thank you for responding so fast (or at all), means a lot. You have a fanbase here at the University of Arizona!
For the reeds it’s mostly the kind of cane you buy (I play high double reeds) and there are A LOT of inconsistencies with it even if you buy it from the same company (ie Gonzalez Cane) and some pieces are perfect and others are just more bendy than the oboe d’cacaccia.
Thanks for sharing your play test and knowledge . I love those cool reed facts . 👍
Dear Sir 🙏from India
Which budget alto sax is best for beginners ?
Thank you
@@shobhitagrawal4802 I'd really be tempted by the BetterSax alto
👍🏽 I just reached out to Pauline the other day about getting a 5 pk of these Arcane reeds to try out unfortunately, it’s $25 dollars just to ship them to the states I’m told. I still enjoy the Rigotti reeds that I can buy here. Hopefully, they will be available in the states soon. Thanks for the video👍🏽✌🏽🎶🎵🎷
I didn’t know this about the shipping. Disappointing.
So many of the reeds you feature aren't available (that I've found) in the US without ridiculous shipping charges. $25 shipping for a box of SYOS reeds. What do you think of the reeds that are more available to the US market?
Vandoren and d’addario are good reeds. Try those.
I am very new to sax, what is that thing that you are rubbing the reed with?
That is the ReedGeek Geeklet. Check out my videos on this (link in description)
Im looking for a sax smartphone holder, which one do you recommend?
didn't know that was a thing until just now!
One question, is there any such thing as an unused reed being too old to play? I occasionally end up with boxes of reeds that haven't been opened but could be decades old. I throw them in a drawer unsure if I want to use them. Probably stupid on my part, why not try them, right?
Reeds age very well. Some people believe the older the better like wine.
Hi
Great tune wots it called ?
Nice Jay...
I don't really get why syos decided to release their own brand of reeds. I mean the packaging looks cool and I'm sure they're not bad because they're made in the same place as bss and rigotti but I'd think syos would have been a lot better off trying to sell reeds with some sort of customizability, like their mouthpieces. For a company focused on "Shaping Your Own Sound" it's strange that they released a general reed that doesn't really seem specialized. 🤔 the only thing they say is that the reeds are flexible and have volume but like ok there's tons of reeds like that already
Yeah, being a company that makes plastic mouthpieces,vit would be reasonable to think they would go with synthetic reeds...
They want a piece of the reed pie money wise.
It is interesting that reeds are assigned a number based on their resilience, not their thickness, only after they have been made. I never knew that.
Hey I know you probably won't see this, but I've been having problems marching with my bari sax with back pain as well as it not being comfortable to play and march at the same time. Do you have any suggestions? Or know of a good neck strap to help? And also, keep up the good work!
You will want some kind of harness. Check the ones made by BG.
@@bettersax Thanks so much, I really appreciate it!
I am the section leader of the alto sax section in my schools band. My band director told me that we need to work on getting better sound projection for both marching and concert band. Do you have any suggestions on how I can get better sound projection?
You may want a mouthpiece with more baffle. Most HS students are playing a classical style mouthpiece that does not project well. But you probably just need to put more air through the horn.
@@bettersax I had been playing on a Vandoren Optimum but I just switched to my other mouthpiece which is a Vandoren V16 A5.
Hey! I know that tune, isn't it Everything Happens To Me? I recognize it from Gerry Mulligan
Hi Jay... whays the name of that song you're playing sounds familiar
Everything Happens to Me
You live in France? How bout a video of how that came about? Curious!! :)
You should review the new DICKERSON RESONATOR LIGATURE for alto sax sold on EBAY
I would like to know how to avoid mold in the reeds. Thank you
Don't put them in an air tight container. Make sure there is some air flow.
Merci pour tes vidéo ! Serait il possible d’avoir les traductions(en français) en sous titre pour un nul en anglais comme moi ? 😉
you write the reed number on the flat part of the reed, then you shave it away with the reedgeek? isn't it better to write the number on the bark instead?
Thanks Jay! I'm guessing you used the blue & yellow as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine.
Thought so too
Yeah kinda weird color scheme if that’s not what it is
Yes, glad you noticed.
@@bettersax I lived in Ukraine for 11 years. That's where I bought my sax.
Great touch, Jay. Noticed it too.
I used to use the stiffest Reed I could get or they would chip all the time.
I’m going to order a box 📦
I thought #5 sounded the best. Maybe you were further into the warmed up zone by then :)
I am a sax beginner and I have spent a fortune on mouthpieces and reeds including legere signature and still not sure what is the best for me as a beginner , but I keep going back to the legere.
Only thing I can suggest is keep trying.
I don't get it. You live in France? I cannot purchase your alto since I do not live in the US? Please explain!
Yes, you can purchase the alto anywhere in the world. Please click on the link in he description or visit sax.co.uk
I’m in band class and this somehow in my recommendations
Can you make a reed out of Bambo?
“Reeds are kind of like a lottery.” Which is why I play synthetics now. You can’t afford to gamble on a gig.
Just some feedback: I liked the thumbnail and the blue yellow theme for text and other things, but too much of it on the screen makes it look like an old kids toy commercial imo. Especially the circle thing counting reed numbers at bottom left the way it fades out just gives me vibes of of an old nerf commercial with everyone saying ‘wow look it’s cool!’. I don’t know if that’s the aesthetic you’re going for but that’s just what it looks like to me.
I used those colors to show solidarity with Ukraine 🇺🇦
And there's me thinking that Panda's consistantly eat my potential reeds...
It’s also important to note that the first couple boxes of any new reed brand probably won’t have stellar consistency, as it’s the first time that particular cut is being sold. Things might be tweaked in the process later on.
The cut they are using is not going to be tweaked. That would be extremely unlikely.
What tune or melody are playing for the demo?
Everything happens to me
When I was in middle school I picked up a reed of the ground and I didn’t know what it was so I asked the band director and he said “are you stupid? Go throw it away and go wash your hands now” now that I teach music I realized my mistake.
hmm, I actually knew all 5 ones. Guess I'm a bit too sax nerdy :-)
2:47 thought this was going to be a rickroll
What is the glass you're putting the reed in? What's in the glass? Are you filing it too? I'm other words, explain everything you're doing here please 😂
Watch the gimmicky sax gadgets video for an explanation of the glass
Everything Happens To Me
Is Jay playing his own composition as he test the various reeds.
No that’s a jazz standard Everything Happens to Me
@@bettersax nice .
They all sound the same to my ears
Oh oh, breaking KB Sax cardinal rule! Never put MP on with neck on horn! Haha (I have one, wonderful neck)