VK1 Synthetic Reeds | Quick Review (honest)

[@danielstover5094]

Another rhing I noticed, upon returning to cane, was that I had gotten so used to the Legere always playing essentially the same that I lost the flexibility in my embouchure to compensate for the little changes from reed to reed and over the course of playing a reed for a length of time. That skill came back pretty quickly.

[@barryfleischer5167]

One more comment. Have you ever tried a Crystal jazz mouthpiece? I used to play on a Pomerico Jazz mouthpiece. Then I switched to the 5JB. Just for fun one day i dug out my crystal mouthpiece and tried the Synthetic reed on it. Boom! the crystal is back in business. Its perfect with the synthetic it projects and the sound is very smooth. (To my ears anyway) I don't get that " Must you?" look from my family when I take out my clarinet to blow some blues.

[@lyndafoster9437]

I’ll try one. I love the Legere reeds. Mine never moves around

[@AndyReeds]

From that brief comparison I think the cane reed sounded better. It was brighter and clearer. Although the plastic one was pretty good. It will be interesting to see how it is after you've played it some more. I have tried a few plastic reeds over the years, most were rubbish. The best up until this was the Bravo. (I've not tried this one) One advantage is they are consistent, so if you find a make you like, they should all be the same. You can tweak them with sandpaper etc., but you wil need to learn again as they don't behave the same as cane. They do change over time, but not as much as cane. They will eventually "fail" and you'll want start a new one. These ones sound expensive compared to others, so I hopefully they are a lot better.

[@j.r.1210]

The VK1 55 sounded a little too hard for you. It's usually necessary to try at least two different strengths of synthetic reed to figure out how they'll work on your mouthpiece. Don't rely solely on the strength charts. A 50 might produce a "juicier" tone for you. As it is, you sound great on the V12 and very good on the VK1.

[@lukeholladay9596]

A few thoughts. First, in my experience, synthetic reeds do blow in over the course of a few sessions. Once the reed adjusts to the mouthpiece and the way you play it, I think you'll be happier with it. Second, you can shave them. I've worked on synthetic reeds with a reed tool to open up certain registers or even out inconsistencies. Try it! Third, because it's a different material and it vibrates and resists differently, I think you'll like it more after playing it for a bit and getting used to the differences. Thanks for the review, I haven't tried this particular one yet. You sound great on both!

[@AdrianCoxMusic]

This is an incredible amount of knowledge that is very useful !! Thanks so much

[@danielstover5094]

And you found one of my big complaints about synthetic reeds before you even started playing. No matter how wet you get them, thy don't adhere to the facing, making them nearly impossible to position the way you want and stay there. There's no swelling with moisture as cane reeds do, and therefore, there's no perfect seal and you can't do the suction test, and I feel alot of air is wasted just trying to get a response. I played Legere Signatures for a number of years because I was unhappy with all the cane reed options, and tired of all the hassles. I finally returned to cane a few years ago

[@barryfleischer5167]

Try one of the other plates that come with the Optimum ligatures. The plate with the four points does not work with synthetic reeds . Not enough pressure. I find the one with the two curved top and bottom pressure points works best at securing the reed.

[@barryfleischer5167]

...also the positioning of the reed is crucial to the sound as well.

[@barryfleischer5167]

Try it on different mouthpieces too. The 5JBs tend to be bright and fluffy..

[@barryfleischer5167]

You have to try these reeds over time.

[@vicente1049]

Vandoren ❤

[@lyndafoster9437]

Try a different ligature with it

[@lyndafoster9437]

You buy a box of wooden reeds. Sometimes there only 2 in there that are great

[@lesliemcconnell4015]

I like traditional reeds best. I really wanted to like synthetics-but I just don't.

[@AdrianCoxMusic]

👍👍👍

[@brunostrebelle2862]

Pas encore essayé de VK1 mais Vandoren fait la même erreur que la marque Légère : ils n'ont pas compris qu'une anche transparente est vraiment difficile à positionner correctement sur le bec. Venn (qui sonne pas vraiment bien et qui a peu de choix) de chez d'Addario y a pensé , pourquoi pas Vandoren & Légère (qui sonne très bien et possède beaucoup de choix) ne font pas des anches colorées ?? Haven't tried VK1 yet but Vandoren made the same mistake as the Légère brand: they didn't understand that a transparent reed is really difficult to position correctly on the mouthpiece. Venn (which doesn't really sound good and has little choice) from d'Addario thought about it, why not Vandoren & Légère (which sounds very good and has a lot of choice) don't make colored reeds??

[@lyndafoster9437]

Synthetic sounds good. But it’s a different sound.

[@highaltitude7573]

Synthetic reed has that kind of pasty sound your first reed V12 the worn in reed was woody and exciting..through these headphones. I'm not an expert but on sound only the wood reed sounds better.

[@AdrianCoxMusic]

Yes they do sound better

[@BennyGoodman1977]

5JB. I have studied it for more than twenty years. You can do anything you want But with this opening, he needs a suitable reed. Plastic reeds, you can't try them on in the store... Regrettable

[@barryfleischer5167]

You're a monster so even if you played on a tooth pick you'd sound great.

[@AdrianCoxMusic]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@davekeen1963]

Synthetic reeds typically may last a year ( at least that was my experience using Bari synthetics reeds on the tenor saxophone and the clarinet ) and then you'll notice your tuning will go all to hell... It took me a while to figure out it was the reed and not me?? That was quite a few years back. I no longer use synthetics and maybe they're better now, but nothing lasts forever.. Bye the bye I picked up on a coupla nice Ed Hall licks in there mate, just sayin'....