The soprano reed champ’s sibling is destined to remain a contender on tenor
Written: Aug 11 '09 (Updated Aug 11 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: nice sound throughout the horn; ease of use; long lasting
Cons: not quite as vibrant as the Rico Jazz Selects I perform with
The Bottom Line: It's a quality reed and value and I will practice with it and use it as a backup on stage. However, the Rico Jazz Selects are slightly better for me.
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| Saxguy's Full Review: Legere Studio Cut Tenor Saxophone Reed #2 |
Kudo's to user Naphtalia, who came up with the idea of A Little Change Makes All the Difference Write Off, about separate reviews on similar products which have only a little difference.
This review, about the synthetic Legere Studio Cut Tenor Sax Reed strength 2 is pared with my previous review of the synthetic Legere Ontario Cut Clarinet Reed. That reed was the best reed I've ever player on straight soprano. It's caused me to rethink my long-held attitude that an optimal wood reed would slightly outplay a synth reed.
These products are more similar that you might think. First I am using the Legere Ontario Cut Clarinet Reed to play jazz on the soprano sax. I am using the Legere Studio Cut Tenor Sax Reed to practice and play jazz on my tenor sax. Even though the titles are slightly different, the manufacturer, Legere, described each with the words "free blowing" and "flexible". And, each meets that bill.
I bought the Legere Studio Cut Tenor Sax Reed, strength 2, when I found that the Ontario Cut reeds were the best I ever played on soprano. I have been using the sublime Rico Jazz Select File Cut Reeds, strength 2M since 1996, for both my Cds, and they have responded well. Still, I'm always looking to get better, so I bought the Legere Studio Cut Tenor Sax Reed, strength 2 from Music123.com for $15.89. For comparison, a box of 5 of the Rico Jazz Select, which lasts about as long and costs $13.79 The available reed charts showed the strength of the Rico and the Legere Studio Cut Tenor Sax Reed, strength 2 was comparable.
My setup on tenor is a Phil Barone Hollywood 7* mouthpiece, with aftermarket Paul Maslin gold-plated neck on a 1962 Selmer Mark VI.
From the start, I was pleasantly surprised. Like most good synth reeds, the reed played right away, requiring no warmup except to put the reed on the mouthpiece. I went through my typical warmup routine, with full range scales, scale patterns all over the horn. I was pleased to note that the reed worked well with the highest and lowest notes and at both loud and soft dynamic levels.
I've played the reed during several practice sessions now. It has responded well and is a quality reed. I liked the bright, vibrant sound. It is suitable for jazz and marching band/pep band/concert band section type work. For classical solo work, it might be a little too bright. Unfortunately, I have come to the conclusion that the Ricos are slightly better for performance as it has more vibrancy at high volumes and the high notes respond slightly better. However, I could bring one of these up on stage as a backup reed. Plus, they are great for rotating during practice sessions as they are likely long lasting (I get 9 months of regular practice out of the typical Legere clarinet reed) and require no warmup for using.
So, this reed is a quality addition to my equipment and is a strong reed contender. However, the Ricos are still champ.
Any reader who has questions about this epinion or saxophone and clarinet performance in general should contact me through my member page.
I have a new, live CD available. Samples are on my member page, including 4 tenor samples (all except for Fundamental Dreamer) where you can here me playing my tenor using the Rico Jazz Select reed.
Thanks for reading. God bless!
Please check out these related reviews:
Legere Ontario Cut Clarinet Reed
Rico Jazz Select File Cut Reeds, strength 2M
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Yes
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