LEGERE French Cut REEDS Review | Sax & Clarinet | First Impressions...

The Legere French Cut reeds are now available for Alto/Tenor Sax and Clarinet. These are the latest release from Legere and in this video we got the thoughts of professional player Alastair Penman who'd been trialling some of these for a few weeks.
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[@billducker7404]

Another great video from you Alastair. I started playing Legere a couple of years ago having b been prejudiced against them having tried some very bad synthetic reeds in the 60s. I have been using European Cut for a little while and have grown used to them and it’s also great if you like them that you end up playing the clarinet more that spending a lot of time adjusting reeds. Recently I’ve played The French cut which is narrower and feels more like a Traditional French cane Reed I agree with you it’s a bit softer than The European Cut so I’d probably go 0-25 harder in strength it works well for me on 1010s , Buffet and Selmer clarinets. I’d give one a go. As you say Alastair it’s a good idea to keep one in your case as a “ stand by”. It may seem an amazing price for one Reed but how many have you wasted over the years. If you like them then you’ll save money because you’ll use fewer reeds. I am sure Dawkes will give you great advice. Thanks Alastair, God bless. Bill. Uk

[@seandennis3148]

Well-played and eloquently spoken, thank you Alastair! I’m much more familiar with Legeré’s American cut, so I thought #2 of each play through was the Legére. I’m glad to discover that there is significant difference between those two reed cuts. That certainly gives us players more choice.

[@joannemead1065]

On the sax, I’m finding the Legere French Cut really good, with the added advantage that they don’t irritate the lip. The low notes are so much more reliable, and the dynamic range is just perfect for me. On clarinet - I was between strengths on the cane reeds and driven mad trying to individually adjust every reed. That frustration has gone. Tuning is more challenging on the synthetic reed on clarinet, but not an issue on sax. They get the thumbs up from me. The only other brand of synthetic reed I tried (which shall remain nameless), I did not like at all on either instrument. My guess as to which one was which - first was the Legere and second was cane (both instruments).

[@thebenman7291]

I feel like the muting qualities of the french cut work very well for saxophone and harm the clarinet a bit.

[@ianelsley71]

The first reeds were very clean. I liked them.

[@DynamixWarePro]

I may be wrong but was B on the alto sax the French cut? It sounded slightly thinner than A with more buzz. I preferred A. I have two French cut alto saxophone reeds. I tend to have a bit of a brighter sound which I don't always like. I have played on Legere Signature, American Cut and Classic and I find the French cut my favourite so far as I find especially the American Cut, while easy to play on, they are too bright sometimes for me. The French cut is darker than the other 3 reeds I have played on. They are even sounding throughout the registers. I had to put a BG Reed performer patch on the reed to make it more stable to play since they are slightly thinner on the table than cane reeds and need raising up to fit ligatures perfectly as otherwise I find some notes can squeak or not come out properly. I compared the French cut 2.5 I have to my Classic 2.5 reed and the Classic has more resistance for me.

[@josieroad5774]

What kind of metal clarinet is that behind you? Conn 524N?