Reed test: Vandoren V21, V12 and Blue Box for saxophone

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The sound is recorded on a Zoom H2.
V21 at 1:27
V12 at 2:38
Blue Box at 3:57
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[@jamescps8799]

V21 timbre is excellent at high register and beautiful warm solid at low notes. Good for classical.

[@ernietollar407]

great playing! I wish I could get more stability. Switching from years on metal alto link to something easier (for now med meyer 7). Cannonball didn't play too open, hmm maybe i should go 6 or 6*, What kind of opening are you playing hear? .. it's modern wet, but totally full and stable.

[@brianwhite22]

I really LOVE Vandoren products! I've used Vandoren Traditional 2.5 reeds for 20-years and they always deliver the tone I hear in my head and heart. I haven't tried the V12 or V21 reeds yet...I might have to get a box of each for my soprano and alto saxophones and clarinet and see which one works best... Really hard for me to let go of the Vandoren Traditional reeds though lol

[@juancardona2948]

you made that mouthpiece?

[@StephanKammererMusic]

@@juancardona2948 Hi Juan! Yes, you can have a look over here: www.skmouthpieces.com/

[@marcogue_]

OMG MAN WHAT A SOUND, WHERE CAN I BUY A MOUTHPIECE LIKE THAT?!

[@StephanKammererMusic]

Hi Marco. Thank you! You can have a look at my mouthpieces here: www.skmouthpieces.com/

[@Zxx459]

Haha is not the mouth piece....

[@TWO20]

@@Zxx459 mouthpiece makes a pretty big difference

[@davideichler5105]

Interesting. Would be useful to hear the comparison with a very standard type of jazz mouthpiece, such as a Meyer, just for reference. Curious how much resistance there is in the mouthpiece you are using for this comparison, relative to a Meyer, which is a very common alto mouthpiece. Haven't tried the V21 on sax. My experience from trying them on clarinet is that they feel considerably heavier than the V12 and standard blue box Vandoren reeds, but then different instrument from sax, and I am using a very classical type of clarinet mouthpiece.

[@rrgaming8248]

Hello I have a question I’m A size 3 reed player I used rico and now want to switch to these reeds? Are these too hard? Do I have to downsize or is my normal size ok?

[@StephanKammererMusic]

It depends on which cut you want to try. Try to google >reed comparison chart

[@rrgaming8248]

@@StephanKammererMusic I did some researched and winged it, I switched from unfiled Rico 3.0 reeds to vandoren V12 2.5 filed and it was the correct transition and upgrade. the reeds are excellent quality and play like no other. If switching from unfiled to filed I recommend to downsize by a half for other people wondering.

[@Ithirahad]

Am I the only one who actively dislikes the blue-pack Vandorens? I do not play jazz, I do not even listen to that much jazz, but V12, V21, and even the Java Red not featured here just sound so much more lively IMO.

[@jmwoods190]

Playing both tenor sax & bass clarinet myself, I've always found the Blue Box bass clarinet reeds to play much better than their tenor sax counterparts. That said, V12 & V21 reeds for both horns are almost the same.

[@wz_lx24]

1:27 2:37

[@yokoyamanaka-x7k]

3:56 blue box

[@orzanoap]

Great video. I’ve always preferred blue box reeds to “jazz” reeds even though I’m a jazz player. I recently switched to a 3 because 2.5 was a little too thin in the upper register. Some of the reeds play right out of the box but most require some breaking in. It would be perfect if they had a 3 light like some other brands. Would you say though that the v12 or v21 are similar but slightly softer? It looks like that on the reed comparison charts.

[@thomascarter8833]

I’ve seen the reed charts that say they’re softer but all the reviews I’ve heard on v12 say it’s harder

[@samgarewal]

Holy shit your good

[@StephanKammererMusic]

Thank you!