Question:
UNIVERSITY STUDY - ANYONE WHO HAS PLAYED SYNTHETIC REEDS??
Dear Forum,
A group of York University students, in joint with a synthetic reed manufacturer, are conducting a strategy field study in reed preferences, and I couldn’t find a better forum than this to gather information. Your participation obviously is voluntary and you might skip questions.
You might want to copy and past the questionnaire to facilitate your responses.
Thank you enormously!
Hazel
1. What instrument do you play? (Clarinet or Saxophone)
2. How many years have you been playing this instrument?
3. What type of player do you consider yourself to be? Please mark with an X
- hobbyist-amateur
- beginner student
- advanced student
- professional player (orchestra, jazz club, etc)
- professor
4. Will the appearance and feel of a synthetic reed deter you from trying the reed (i.e resin look like)?
5. What synthetic reeds have you used in the past? Please mark with an x to the side
- Bari
- Fibracell
- Fiberreed
- Legere
- Hahn
- Plasticover (cane in a plasticover)
6. What is your preferred synthetic reed? In a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is low, and 5 is high. How will you grade is:
- consistency
- response
- reliabilty
- ease of use
- durability
- consistency of strenght grading
- overall assesment
7. For what use will you use your preferred synthetic reed?
- Practice
- Performance
- Back-up/Emergency
- All of the above
8. How long does your preferred synthetic reed last? How does this compare with a cane reed?
9. What did you pay for your synthetic reed? Do you feel you paid a fair price? What is the maximum price you would pay for a synthetic reed?
10. For what type of music do you use your reed? (new question added as per suggestion.)
- Classical
- Jazz
- Rock
- R&B
- Other
Thank you so much for your time.
Hazel

Answer:
1. Sax
2. 31
3. Prof player
4. Mostly self taught
5. Use both
6. No
7. Bari, Fibracell, Hahn, Legere, Plasticover
8. Everything
9. C - 4
R - 4
C - 5 (Legere - 2)
E - 5
D - 4
O - 4
Average of makes I've tried (with noted exception!).
10. Depends on application. Bari or Fibracell.
Purchase a bunch every 3 months or so.
11. Fibracell - 5 (bit cheaper), Bari - 10 (a third?)
12. £12 ish
13. Don't mind
14. Both

Answer:
Honestly I absolutely hate synthetic reeds. When I began trying them I thought they were decent because they at least made a sound which is more then you can say for some reeds. This emoticon illustrates my opinion of these from begining impression to end opinion perfectly :Rant2:
I was a smiley face at first but then I went insane.

Answer:
I got an email about this, filled the survey out (MS Word format [.doc]) and then hotmail wouldn't let me attach it. I saved it tho incase I get it working soon.

Answer:
1. Sax and clarinet
2. ±25 years
3. paraprofessional jazz (not full time); amateur classical
4. don't like clear plastic ("Visible Spit System" :P)
5. Bari; Fibracell; Legere; Plasticover; ALSO Brilhart Enduro and Bundy Fibercane (neither made any longer).
6. Fibracell
Consistency: B
Response: B
Reliability: A
Ease of Use: A
Durability: A
9. (9? :?) AOTA
7. 6-12 mos (avg about 9 mos); cane might last 2-3 mos if well kept.
8. Avg US$8; fair price given durability/reliability; might pay $15 if a quantum leap in quality could be had.
Might you possibly ask what kind of music people mostly play on their synthetics? Perhaps a correlation between brand and preferred musical application could be worth knowing. (I've decided to stop using Fibracells for classical playing, as I find their slight "reedy" conduction effect too distracting in that context.)

Answer:
1. Sax
2. 10+
3. Professional player (cd's)
4. No
5. Fibracell
6. Fibracell definately.
Consistency - 8
Response - 9
Ease of use - 10
Durability - 4
I'd use it for practice or a back-up reed, but definately not for a performance.
7. With me they last a week or two, only slightly longer than a typical cane reed. They are amazing for that week or so but within as little as 5 minutes they can suddenly go bad, at which point they're worthless.
8. I get them for about $7 each, which is rather a rip-off because that's half the price of a box of my favorite reeds. I wouldn't pay more than $10 for ANY reed.

Answer:
1. What instrument do you play? (Clarinet or Saxophone)
Both
2. How many years have you been playing this instrument?
Clarinet, over 30. Sax about 7
3. What type of player do you consider yourself to be? Please mark with an X
- hobbyist-amateur
- beginner student
- advanced student
- professional player (orchestra, jazz club, etc)
- professor
I passed grade 8 (UK) on clarinet in 1976, and haven't had a lesson since, so I couldn't call myself a student anymore, but I'm no pro either! I am recording on my first CD tomorrow on sax, so as of tomorrow, maybe! I'll be using Legere reeds on both alto and tenor.
4. Will the appearance and feel of a synthetic reed deter you from trying the reed (i.e resin look like)?
I didn't like the transparent Legere when I first saw it, but after I played it I decided to get used to it!
5. What synthetic reeds have you used in the past? Please mark with an x to the side
- Bari
- Fibracell
- Fiberreed
- Legere X
- Hahn
- Plasticover (cane in a plasticover)
6. What is your preferred synthetic reed? In a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is low, and 5 is high. How will you grade is:
I've only ever used Legere.... they work for me so I haven't experimented further.
- consistency 5
- response 4
- reliabilty 5
- ease of use 5
- durability 5
- consistency of strenght grading Don't know, they never wear out!
- overall assesment 5
7. For what use will you use your preferred synthetic reed?
- Practice
- Performance
- Back-up/Emergency
- All of the above X (I haven't used cane reed in four months!)
8. How long does your preferred synthetic reed last? How does this compare with a cane reed?
I was particularly hard on cane reeds, and had endless problems with them collapsing on me after one or two hours. The Legere's on my tenor and alto are now four months old, and are still fantastic!
9. What did you pay for your synthetic reed? About £13
Do you feel you paid a fair price? In retrospect, yes. At the time I was desperate so paid what I thought was exorbitant on the basis that Legere will refund most of the cost if you don't like it. I did!
What is the maximum price you would pay for a synthetic reed?
I would hate to pay more, but I would if I had to! One Legere is worth 20 cane reeds to me.
10. For what type of music do you use your reed? (new question added as per suggestion.)
- Classical
- Jazz
- Rock
- R&B
- Other : I play in a very upbeat (and very high standard) church worship team. It encompasses everything from the quietest worship music to 'rock and roll' praise anthems.... it does it all.

Answer:
1. What instrument do you play? Saxophone
2. How many years have you been playing this instrument? Off and on for 38 years.
3. What type of player do you consider yourself to be? Please mark with an X
X hobbyist-amateur
- beginner student
- advanced student
- professional player (orchestra, jazz club, etc)
- professor
4. Will the appearance and feel of a synthetic reed deter you from trying the reed (i.e resin look like)? Not really.
5. What synthetic reeds have you used in the past? Please mark with an x to the side
X Bari
X Fibracell
X Fiberreed
- Legere
- Hahn
- Plasticover (cane in a plasticover)
6. What is your preferred synthetic reed? In a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is low, and 5 is high. How will you grade is:
- consistency - 5
- response - 5
- reliabilty - 5
- ease of use - 5
- durability - 3
- consistency of strenght grading - 3
- overall assesment - 4
7. For what use will you use your preferred synthetic reed?
- Practice
- Performance
X Back-up/Emergency
- All of the above
8. How long does your preferred synthetic reed last? How does this compare with a cane reed? I haven't used one for that long.
9. What did you pay for your synthetic reed? Do you feel you paid a fair price? What is the maximum price you would pay for a synthetic reed? All three brands were given to me.
10. For what type of music do you use your reed? (new question added as per suggestion.)
- Classical
- Jazz
- Rock
- R&B
- Other
I play with a contemporary Christian worship team in Salisbury, MD. This type of music ranges from quiet, worshipful ballads to high energy rock and roll.
Hope this info helps

Answer:
Thanks everyone
Yes, the info from players is very helpful.
Doug, you forgot to mention what was your preferred synthetic brand?

Answer:
Re: SYNTHETIC REED SURVEY- University Study - Hello Forum
1. as, ss
2. 30 years
3. advanced student
4. Yes. I once tried a synthetic reed that was too "slippery" and I didn't like it.
5. Fibracell and Fiberreed Natural Sonic (there are different types of Fiberreeds!)
6. None
7. None
8. I threw them away after playing it for some hours because I did not like them.
9. Very expensive, some 30 dollars for a Hartmann Fiberreed!
10. Jazz

Answer:
1. What instrument do you play? (Clarinet or Saxophone)
Both
2. How many years have you been playing this instrument?
40+
3. What type of player do you consider yourself to be? Please mark with an X
- hobbyist-amateur
- beginner student
- advanced student
X - professional player (orchestra, jazz club, etc)
- professor
4. Will the appearance and feel of a synthetic reed deter you from trying
the reed (i.e resin look like)?
No
5. What synthetic reeds have you used in the past? Please mark with an x to the side
X Bari
X Fibracell
- Fiberreed
- Legere
- Hahn
X Plasticover (cane in a plasticover)
6. What is your preferred synthetic reed? In a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is low, and 5 is high. How will you grade is:
Fibracell
5 consistency
4 response
5 reliabilty
5 ease of use
4 durability
3 consistency of strenght grading
4 overall assesment
7. For what use will you use your preferred synthetic reed?
- Practice
- Performance
- Back-up/Emergency
X All of the above
8. How long does your preferred synthetic reed last? How does this compare with a cane reed?
3 months. Cane (Alexander's) last 2 months.
9. What did you pay for your synthetic reed? Do you feel you paid a fair price? What is the maximum price you would pay for a synthetic reed?
$7. I think $4 would be fair. $7.
10. For what type of music do you use your reed? (new question added as per suggestion.)
- Classical
X Jazz
- Rock
- R&B
X Other - Big Band

Answer:
1. What instrument do you play? (Clarinet or Saxophone) Saxophone
2. How many years have you been playing this instrument? 12
3. What type of player do you consider yourself to be? Please mark with an X
X hobbyist-amateur
- beginner student
- advanced student
- professional player (orchestra, jazz club, etc)
- professor
4. Will the appearance and feel of a synthetic reed deter you from trying the reed (i.e resin look like)? NO
5. What synthetic reeds have you used in the past? Please mark with an x to the side
X Bari
X Fibracell
X Fiberreed
X Legere
- Hahn
X Plasticover (cane in a plasticover)
6. What is your preferred synthetic reed? FIBRACELL
In a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is low, and 5 is high. How will you grade is:
4 consistency
4 response
5 reliabilty
5 ease of use
5 durability
3 consistency of strenght grading
4 overall assesment
7. For what use will you use your preferred synthetic reed?
- Practice
- Performance
- Back-up/Emergency
X All of the above
8. How long does your preferred synthetic reed last? How does this compare with a cane reed?
4 MONTHS. 4 TIMES AS LONG
9. What did you pay for your synthetic reed?
$7.99 + SHIPPING
Do you feel you paid a fair price? YES
What is the maximum price you would pay for a synthetic reed? $10
10. For what type of music do you use your reed? (new question added as per suggestion.)
- Classical
X Jazz
- Rock
- R&B
- Other

Answer:
1. What instrument do you play? (Clarinet or Saxophone)
Both
2. How many years have you been playing this instrument?
Clarinet for 7 years, saxophone for 4
3. What type of player do you consider yourself to be? Please mark with an X
- hobbyist-amateur
- beginner student
- advanced student X
- professional player (orchestra, jazz club, etc)
- professor
4. Will the appearance and feel of a synthetic reed deter you from trying the reed (i.e resin look like)?
No
5. What synthetic reeds have you used in the past? Please mark with an x to the side
- Bari
- Fibracell X
- Fiberreed
- Legere X
- Hahn
- Plasticover (cane in a plasticover)
6. What is your preferred synthetic reed? In a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is low, and 5 is high. How will you grade is:
Fibracell
- consistency 4
- response 4
- reliabilty 4
- ease of use 5
- durability 5
- consistency of strenght grading 5
- overall assesment 4
7. For what use will you use your preferred synthetic reed?
- Practice X
- Performance
- Back-up/Emergency
- All of the above
8. How long does your preferred synthetic reed last? How does this compare with a cane reed?
At least half a year to a year. Cane usually lasts about a month or longer.
9. What did you pay for your synthetic reed? Do you feel you paid a fair price? What is the maximum price you would pay for a synthetic reed?
18.00, yes, 20.00
10. For what type of music do you use your reed? (new question added as per suggestion.)
- Classical X
- Jazz X (I rarely perform with synthetic reeds for jazz though.)
- Rock
- R&B
- Other