saxmaniac
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Best Jazz Reed. ZZvs.Javavs.RJSWhich of these reeds is this jazziest, the Vandoren ZZ, the Vandoren Java, or the Rico Jazz Select?
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JPSaxMan
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I play ZZ's on my alto and I must say...holy cow they are jazzy!
Rico's are variant, from what I've heard. Good ones are good, crappy ones are really crap!
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CMelodyMan
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I think you're confused, I heard it was Vandorens that are variant. Ricos are usually always the same quality, good.
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JPSaxMan
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| CMelodyMan wrote: | | I think you're confused, I heard it was Vandorens that are variant. Ricos are usually always the same quality, good. |
Well, considering I've played on both in my lifetime (I played on Rico's that the school supplied for years and years) and I'd take a Vandoren over a Rico any day. Matter of preference, I guess. Rico's suck IMO...here's a story.
This was my first personal experience with reed selection. One time I was playing alto, and I had been playing on this one reed for a long time, so I decided to pull out a new Rico. Upon breaking the reed in, my sound was so tight you could have snapped it with a rubber band.
I looked at the reed I had just taken off and realized it wasn't a Rico but it was a Hemke.  After that, I bought a box of them and loved them until I realized how flimsy they were...they magically chipped and cracked themselves, so I tried the Vandoren ZZ's. I soaked all 10 reeds in warm water for about an hour (which softens them up and removes that fresh gagging taste of cane) and I only got two duds out of the whole box! How's that for in-variant? 
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saxmaniac
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IMHO, RJS's are the jazzy reeds money can buy.
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JPSaxMan
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Maybe I'll have to try them, but if they're anything like the Rico's I've played on before; they suck!
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CMelodyMan
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Out of box of 10 Rico reeds, 99% of the reeds are good. I might be wrong though, considering that I only tried Vandorens once and they sucked so bad that I swore I'd never play on one again as long as I played sax. I'll have to try them again, just to end this feud.
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JPSaxMan
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Yea and I'll see wut I can do about those R.J.S reeds!
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Bariman
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RJS all the way.
Bariman
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FoulShooter101
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I use Rico Jazz Select, but haven't really tried anything else. I like them, and plan to stick with them.
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JPSaxMan
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I had a very enlightening experience about Vandoren's, that is making me seriously convert
I got a box of ZZ 3's for my tenor and after trying all five, only two were playable. One was actually cracked from the factory, so *chuck in garbage* and the other two for some reason just didn't wanna let my altissimo out *chucks in garbage*. $14 for a box of 5 reeds where only two work...that's sad 
Maybe some V16's and RJS are in order 
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CMelodyMan
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| Quote: | | I got a box of ZZ 3's for my tenor and after trying all five, only two were playable. |
See that's why I don't understand why my private lesson teacher and the people at BrookMays Music keep telling me that Vandorens are so consistent ??: . I hardly ever get a bad playing Rico reed.
Joel, here's suggestion, to save your reeds. Instead of throwing them out, you should work on them a little(e.g. sanding, cutting, reshaping) That'll give you practice in modifying reeds, and it'll most likely make a bad reed at least somewhat playable.  It usually works for me to some degree.
Also, instead of paying $14 for 5 reeds, go to starvingstudentsmusic.com and you'll save a few $.
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JPSaxMan
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I mean, this is the first bad experience I had with Vandoren. The other Blue Box I got for my classical setup, all five reeds played ok (a few were kind of stuffy, but it's classical, come on) and the ZZ's I got for my alto, 8 out of 10 played good...but then again, upon a re-check a month or so later I had to throw out three others then I guess leaving only 5 of 10 ??:
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saxmaniac
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I now actually think that plasticover reeds are jazzier than any jazz reed.
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Louis Scuderi
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I use ZZ's on my tenor for Jazz, and LaVoz medium's on my alto for Jazz. Go figure.
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reisio
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I used to really like RJS, but I think maybe they were too popular and they started to sacrifice quality to satisfy demand. Using Hemke nowadays.
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