Q: What model and hardness of Superial reeds should I try?

A: This is no really simple answer for this but in general, I think
it depends on the following:

1.What style of playing are you playing?

If you are a jazz, fusion, rock, or marching band player, and your might want to try our "DC" or Superial models.

I wanted this reed to have a kind of Blue Note feel to it, and it's no coincidence that Joe Lovano and Greg Osby, both Blue Note Recording Artists use it. But it is also a very versatile reed with both resonance, power, and tonal presence, and therefore will work well in other genres of music, and even some classical players like Jim Houlik (exclusively) use them and Ken Radnofsky uses them for certain musical settings.

The "Superial" model has a brighter, buzzier sound with a softer tip good for jazz, fusion or rock...it is easy to play throughout the registers...

If you are playing classical music, I would recommend our "Classique" and/or "DC". Classique is our most obvious answer for standard classical or Concert repertoire, stage band, semi classical, etc. Classique has the most wood of our three models and is our darkest reed for this type of playing, but it also has a supple enough tip to deliver an unstuffy and projecting tone. Some classical players like James Houlik want a little more brightness and choose harder "DC"'s. And some jazz players who like a big, darker sound play Classique, though "DC" is generally
more popular with them.

2. What type of sound are you looking for?

In terms of the amount of wood on the tip, sides, and vamp slope, the Superial palette works like this:

Buzzy Bright Edge

More Solid Tone Core Medium Edge

Strong Fundamental Tone Less Harmonic Edge

This is a general description..."DC" is in the middle of the three as far as hardness, but they all have tonal warmth at their center.

3. What mouthpiece are you using?

The design of your mouthpiece, in a major way, can determine what type of sound and response you will get. There are many combinations for the reeds here, but in general small chamber/high baffle mouthpieces produce a bright, loud tone favoring the upper partials of the harmonic series, medium chamber mouthpieces offer some brightness, yet also enough chamber capacity and baffle depth to allow for more warmth in the tone and ease of playing both the upper and lower registers. This type of mouthpiece is most common used by woodwind players. Large chamber mouthpieces tend to be darker, fatter and warmer sounding (with the fundamental tone and lower harmonics emphasized), though some like vintage 4**** model or Tone Master Otto Links can be made to produce a tone that still retains a good amount of edge if the right reed/and embouchure combination is utilized, as John Coltrane did with his Tone Master. The legendary classical player Sigurd Rascher favored a large chamber mouthpiece, though the French Master Marcel Mule seems to have preferred the brighter Selmer metal mouthpiece with its more compact chamber. So generally speaking, in the extremes, using a bright, small chamber/high baffle mouthpiece with Superial, our brightest reed will give a very bright harmonic sound , and conversely a large chamber/low baffle mouthpiece with Classique will give a dark tone with the fundamental and lower overtones predominant. A medium chamber/baffle with "DC" lies in the middle., though all three models of reeds will work well on many different types of mouthpieces.

4. What is the tip opening of your mouthpiece?

In general, a small mouthpiece tip opening (the space between the tip of the reed and the mouthpiece) will require a hard reed, a medium opening will match well with a medium number reed and a wide open tip opening will be matched with a softer reed. Reed strength is not exactly the same for the different makers and we use comparison charts to approximate the similarities and differences.

Mouthpiece tip openings also vary. Some examples of pretty standard sets up might be:

Jazz
Alto
Meyer/Link 5: Superial 2.5-3, "DC" 2.5- 3 (*3 1/2 a possiblility for pros)
Dukoff 6-7 : Superial 2 .5 "DC" 2.5
Tenor
Otto Link 7-7* Superial or "DC" 2.5 or 3

Classical
Alto or Tenor
Selmer C*/Vandoren: Classique 2 1/2 (beg.) 3-3.5 (adv.student/pro)
Clarinet: Selmer Medium, Vand. 5RV (Lyre) Classique or "DC" 3- 3.5, or for some pros, No. 4

5. How well is your embouchure is developed, how well do you
support the tone through your diaphram, and how long you've been playing?

These are important points to consider. Students generally start off with softer
reeds and as their embouchure develops, and they learn to play correctly through supporting
the tone with their diaphram and keeping a relaxed, open throat. Our three models were
designed to the highest specifications and quality standards for professional musicians, but they can most surely be used by the beginning student in a softer number. Advanced pros can use almost any mouthpiece and reed setup (and I've seen some pretty amazing variations on this theme) because their embouchures and blowing systems are so thoroughly developed that they are free to use whatever works best to produce the type of tone they hear in the mind's eye and ear...

Q: Do you make sample packs of one or two reeds?

A: No, and there is a reason...It's my belief that you will not really be able to gauge a reed brand's performance with just one or two reeds...You need to play at least five and preferably ten to get a real idea of what they can or can't do. It's the percentage per box of good playing ones that really counts and we feel that we have a higher percentage of these than most brands. You may have to experiment to find which model or hardness works best for you...Give it some time and patience.....If you do, the rewards may be great, as many players have attested....

Q: What is the best way to prepare and break in your reeds?

A: I always stress that the correct break in and preparation of the reeds will go a LONG towards allowing the reeds to perform to their maximum capability. The importance of the break in and prep mentioned there can not be underestimated. Some players slap a brand new reed on the mouthpiece after putting it in their mouth for a few seconds and then begin blasting away at triple forte...and then expect it to last for weeks. Can you imagine what would happen to your brand new automobile's engine if you floored it down the highway without any warm up? And we are talking about a fragile cane reed made from natural fiber and pulp whose tip can be around the thickness of a piece of paper....and this reed is furiously beating against the side and tip rails of a mouthpiece (made from a much harder material) thousands of times a minute! Reed tips can be blown out just like engines can from overstress too early on...Obviously, it makes sense to break the reeds in more slowly and gently in the first few days if their longevity is one of your hopes. We know of many players who still have good luck not doing the break in and prep, but the reeds really do work better and longer if you give them time to adjust to their new life in the "fast lane" of the mouthpiece rails...

Also, a light luke warm water soaking is better than using your mouth to moisten the reeds for break in, as the acid in saliva can contribute to their breakdown and early demise... Over soaking them too, can cause them to become waterlogged and that's not the best condition for them to be in either....

Remember too, that if you prep our reeds correctly they should harden up slightly after a day or so and then settle in...I've told this to many a player who later reported back to me that the prep and break in routines had made ALL the difference in how the reeds worked and lasted for them...

Q: What is the best way to store my wet, played reeds?

A: There are several schools of thought on this subject and in the end, whatever works best for you is what is what you should use. Some players take the reed off the mouthpiece after every playing session and put it in a reed guard, and wipe the mouthpiece clean. Personally speaking, I am not a big believer in "reed guard" type of holders because I think they exert a kind of unnatural pressure over the natural tendencies of the reed. Forcing the tip flat when it dries may make it look good, but I feel it takes out some of the natural resilience and "life" of the reed....But if this works for you, fine...

One observation I made at least in my own playing, was that keeping the reeds always a little moist and ligged on the mouthpiece seemed to work very well. After a practice session, I'd wrap a Ziplock bag with a little water in the bottom of it around the whole mouthpiece, rubber band it tightly and leave the piece on the neck of the horn on its stand. While the drawbacks of this method are some mold and compression of the neck cork, I just used to like the way the reeds felt. I don't say everyone will be happy doing this, but the reason it seemed to work well was that both the reed tip and table never completely dried out, so no "bacon tip" or warped table, both real hindrances to good response and to me, that out weighted any mold problems...If the reed table does not mate well with the mouthpiece table because of warping, or if the tip is not flat, your setup can feel quite sluggish...This "always moist" concept is not necessarily recommended for metal mouthpieces whose table plating has worn off. Anyhow, I used to love the way I could pick up the horn and the set up would seem to blow so well. While I can't guarentee that all of you will like this method, you might try experimenting with it...I know several pro players who use it with good results...

Q: What is the best way to store my unplayed reeds?

A: I feel that keeping your unwetted, unplayed reeds in a Ziplock type of baggie, which preserves them in an airtight environment, seems to work well in maintaining their stability and immunity to atmospheric changes.

Q: I just tried your reeds and they didn't last as long I thought they would...Is there something wrong with them?

A: We've heard from a few players who at first didn't like the way the reeds felt, and most commonly, we found they had bought the wrong model or strength, or as described above, they had just blown the tips out by going overboard with them in the first hour or so of play. When I pointed this out and they later were either supplied with the more appropriate hardness/model or did the correct prep and break in, almost all of them seemed to agree that the reeds were indeed excellent. It's not absolutely impossible that in the tens of of thousands of reeds we've backed there may have been a few that were flawed, as they are after all, products of nature like bamboo or wood, but we haven't had any returned to us yet. We did have one case though, of an amateur player who was convinced that the reeds were poorly made and asked me to check them out. When they arrived, I did just that...They were just about PERFECT! Really, I gauged and played each one...they were beautifully cut and very responsive....What more can I say?

Q: I tried your reeds, and they seemed to play sharp...What should I do?

A: We have yet to see a reed of ours that plays either sharp or flat, but in numerous cases,
we've found that the player who had this problem either bought the wrong strength for their set up, are using an unsuitable mouthpiece, or hadn't been playing with enough embouchure and diaphramic support. Lack of this support is by far the most common cause of going sharp, squeaking, and getting a thin, constricted tone (caused by a closed throat) because subconsciously, these players are using their jaw muscles to compensate for the tone going flat due to lack of this embouchure/diaphram support, and the biting makes notes play sharp. And if they are be using a mouthpiece which has a tip opening too large for them to handle, matters will be made worse. If a student or amateur who only plays a few hours a week is trying to blow in tune with a No. 8 Otto Link, for example, it might be extremely difficult for them to negotiate the kind of support and air flow that this mouthpiece would require and they probably would end up resorting to using their jaw to "bite" the note into tune. Learning how to blow with an open, relaxed throat and with proper diaphram/embouchure support usually requires a good amount of concentrated "long tone" practice to master, and makes all the difference in the world how reeds will respond in the way they were designed to.

Q: Your reeds seem to play differently than they did before...for one thing the stamp on the back looks different and maybe the cut.......Why did you change them?

A: WE HAVEN'T! Please be assured that we are using the same cane and machines as from the beginning of Superial. The first and main problem we and every other maker faces is this: EVERY SINGLE CANE POLE IS NOT ORGANICALLY CONSISTENT THROUGH ITS ENTIRE LENGTH, NOR ARE ITS INTERNAL/EXTERNAL DIMENSIONS THE SAME, NOR IS EACH POLE THE SAME AS ANY OTHER. Cane is a product of nature and there is just no way we know of to change the aforementioned factors. Cane from the same source may vary very slightly from year to year, and crop to crop....it would have to, just as new corn or bamboo plants do.. However, from my testing the reeds feel VERY SIMILAR to the ones we made in our first production runs...We still have some reeds from then to test against so this is how I know...

Next comes the cutting and hardness testing...we use the STATE OF THE ART machinery
for cutting our reed blanks into reeds...BUT...every single reed blank cannot be made to be exactly like the one before and after it....think of it like any piece of wood...is there any way that we could find a piece of wood with perfect consistency in its organic make up (fibers, bark, hardness, and pulp) and then cut it exactly into a shape that tapers down to roughly the thickness of a piece of paper and manufacture these in lots of tens of thousands of reeds?? No way....Yet our machines are quite a bit more accurate than those from the 20's-60's when all those PHENOMENAL jazz and classical recordings were made, there's no doubt about it. According to my father (who was a top studio trombonist in New York City from the 40'-70's), even in those days when there was a great abundance of this excellent French cane we still use and a variety companies were manufacturing reeds (most no longer with us), woodwind players seemed to continually complain about them! And remember, back then they had the pick of some of the greatest instruments and mouthpieces ever made....

That says a lot to me....Somehow those reeds must have been doing their job, because all those legendary players used them on their live performances and recordings and you can hear how well they sounded. Today we are trying to follow in the same footpath of the proven reed tradition and "Superialists" are using our reeds with great success in countless gigs, recording sessions, and concerts....

Let's also consider the atmosphere...Unquestionably, the weather, temperature, and
according a leading classical tenor saxophonist, James Houlik, even altitude has a bearing on reeds will perform or feel in strength...so this is another factor to be aware of, which is why I recommend that you keep and unplayed/unmoistened reed in a plastic Ziplock bag...

Ok, now let's move on to the instrument and the setup (mouthpiece and ligature), which certainly has a LOT to do with how well your reed will or won't perform to its maximum capabilities.

First, are ALL the pads in your horn seating well? If not, it can feel like your reed is stuffy, or even dead...especially if the octave key vent is not seating well. Does your neck set to the proper tightness or is it loose? Any gaps here will create a leaky seal, and this too might make you feel something is wrong with your reed or mouthpiece. Is the neck cork worn out? A cork that does not seal the mouthpiece internally can make the whole setup feel very sluggish and dead...I remember a long time ago when Steve Grossman, who was on tour in Japan, told me his horn felt terrible...I tightened up the neck cork and voila, 100% improvement....

Next, the mouthpiece...Does your mouthpiece have any residue or film built up on the table ? Even if you can't see it, the way your reed plays and how its hardness feels may be greatly affected if this film builds and hardens so that it goes out of flat. Also, is the table flat to begin with? Even brand new mouthpieces sometimes have tables that aren't flat. If they are either concave or convex, this could cause all sorts of problems. Also, is the table pitted? This is a common problem with some metal mouthpieces, especially one in particular that is made of very soft material...the table seems to just wear out after some years...
The same or even worse problems may be encountered if the mouthpiece table and/or rails are out of balance...and you can't really see this...it has to be measured by an expert with gauges and without a doubt the lay of the mouthpiece plays a major part in how well the reed seats.

The ligature too, can be a source of problems which may appear to be one of the reed...I've run tests where it was apparent that the ligature had a great deal to do with how resistant the reed felt...one more factor...Also, some ligs can wear out and seem to exert a little more pressure to one side or the other or maybe just in the center of the reed...this might also cause problems from poor performance to outright squeaking...

All of these points are critical because if even one of them is not in proper adjustment, it might feel as if there is something wrong with your reed...Or a few tiny leaks, coupled with a loose neck or worn out neck cork or ligature might compound to considerably affect the way your saxophone responds...Selmer Mark VI's, for example, with their very thin tone holes, can be quite sensitive to leaks. Check the rest of your setup first, before laying blame on the reeds....If all the above points are eliminated as potential sources of your problems, then it's time to consider the reeds...And please write to us if you feel the problem does lie there...We will try and help in any way we can....

Q: Could you please send me free samples of your reeds?

A: This would work well if we could make our reeds for free and not pay our staff or bills.
Not counting our quality control process, in the approximately 2 years it takes for the cane to grow, be harvested, manufactured and then packed before they reach you, there are 12 basic operations which must be done....this takes time, concentration, and care from our experienced workers and staff, and they certainly deserve to be paid for their efforts.

Q: Why do you think your natural cane reeds are better than plastic ones?

A: There seems to be a great debate these days about cane versus plastic reeds. Having played on both, here's my opinion:

Plastic reeds will generally last longer, be somewhat more consistent, and may play louder, but I don't believe they are nearly as flexible in tone, nor do they give the subtle nuances, tonal color, or warmth that natural cane does. I'm also not sure that the constant beating of a material as hard as plastic is the best thing for a mouthpiece, and a few friends of mine in that field seem to agree . In the "battle of the beating" natural cane reeds may "give" first, but they also put less stress on the mouthpiece. Oh, and there's one other thing...By far the overwhelming majority of saxophone performances and recordings in jazz, classic and popular music from the 1920's to the present were and are being still made by players using CANE reeds, even though plastic reeds have been around for at least 50 years...Doesn't this tell you something?

It tells me that you just can't artificially manufacture a natural sound. To me, plastic has neither the wamth, depth, funk, color, soul, expressiveness, or flexibility that natural cane does. Cane reeds have a life of their own...from their natural birth as cane stalks, through the two year process of selecting, aging, sun drying, splitting , working the cane into a reed blank, cutting it, hardness selecting it, quality control packing, and shipping it to you. More more romantically put, cane vibrations are NATURAL vibrations...Yet they work perfectly well either in un-microphoned acoustical settings or through the tonal conversion of synthesized effects...

Some plastic reeds may be loud and consistent, but to me, that very consistency is one of the problems...because you basically have ONE tone built into the reed. Do you really want to hear the SAME tone, day in, day out, especially if it lacks a certain amount of expression and sublety? I'll tell you a story....Some years ago, out of sheer frustration with the declining state of the reeds being made by some of the major manufacturers, I spent over a year exclusively playing on plastic. To tell you the truth, at first I got carried away with it and became seduced by the loudness and longevity that plastic has...but after a few months, I noticed that when I really pushed the reed, it just kind of "rebounded"...not enough flexibility and in time, I realized that my tone itself sounded "plastic ". But what really convinced me was that I was getting completely BORED and frustrated with my TONE! Do you know what I mean? After a while, it felt like I was playing on a toy saxophone (do you remember those things from the 1950's-60's?) or synthesizer with one tone setting or something...I asked myself "Is THIS the tone I spent YEARS of long tone practice to create and refine?" The answer was a definite "N-O!" This was quite evident to me on ballads, where tone is EVERYTHING...one note...making it MEAN SOMETHING, shaping it, breathing it, SINGING IT....Well, for me, it just WASN'T THERE...no real PALETTE OF COLORS ! And once I got back on cane with my own reeds, I remember just being knocked out by my "rediscovered" tone ...not because each of the reeds felt the same reed to reed as they had with plastic, but because I discovered that the DIFFERENCE in each reed was actually be an ADVANTAGE....It was a feeling of liberation!... And with this beautiful cane we have, I found some reeds with almost phenomenal acoustical qualities... ones in which I could feel the resonance vibrate in a particular way, straight down my back and into my FEET!.....and then it would be "Wow, what is THIS!!? Or others might have some special singing/ringing quality that amazed me....almost like discovering a new chord color or something...Do you know what I'm trying to describe? I NEVER felt that with plastic....

I also remember coming across some absolute GEM reeds that would last for weeks... ones that sounded and felt just about perfect, with a subtle tone color that just floored me. My brilliant multi reed friend, Tim Price, once wrote me about a "SupaFreak" Superial he had that was still going strong in its THIRD MONTH of great performance... The way it blew just blew him away....

And there's something else that really brought it all home for me: hearing a few players live on plastic reeds....that further convinced me. Their tone was certainly loud, but to me it was also harsh and kind of "trebley" sounding compared to the tone I remember them getting when they were still on cane....both the lows and highs with the plastic reed seemed to be lacking in the kind of natural fullness and resonance which I know a good cane reed delivers. From what I heard, the package of "tonal goods" was just not delivered in a satisfactory or satisfying way...Their personal timbre was present in the sense that their basic tonal identity was there (this would be evident regardless of their setup), but at least to my ears, the plastic did not translate or transfer the full and deep range and nuances of their tonal vocality nearly as effectively as a fine cane reed would have...

To put it another way: can you imagine a singer who had their vocal chords replaced with a set of high tech plastic ones? The artificial ones might be able to give a decent general impression of a tonal outline and harmonic structure of a sound similar to that of one produced by a natural larynx, but as a facsimile of sorts, without the full resonance, tonal depth, or nuance that a set of human "pipes" would produce....To put it simply...something would be missing . I'm sure some players won't agree with me on this and all power to them if they are happy on plastic, but it's just not my tonal "cup of tea"...

In addition, I also have noticed that in some cases there seems to be this kind of strange, resultant "air sheet" noise that accompanies a tone produced by plastic... an auxiliary vortex, a sort of plastic "rasp" that is created as the air cuts across the surface of these "reeds" and this is really distracting to me...It seems to always be present on the edge of the tone, kind of like a slight buzz of distortion noise coming from an amplifier...All I can say about it is "No, thanks"....

I also started thinking about the differences between plastic, hard rubber, and metal mouthpieces ...I mean how many plastic mouthpieces (or clarinets/saxes) have you ever played that really HAVE IT, tone wise? There is a case for the old Brilhart Tonalin, perhaps, though I'm not even sure it was pure plastic with no form of rubber in it. Charlie Parker sounded great on a Grafton plastic alto and a Toanlin, but to me at least, his tone was way deeper, more complex, and warmer sounding with cane reeds on his Conn 6M, Selmer Super Action, or the well know King Super 20 he used. For that matter, Bird could sound great on a section of plumbing pipe if he wanted to because he was BIRD ! But I think that the expressiveness and depth of his awesome tone was much better served through his metal instruments...

In the end, it's true that every single reed blank is not exactly the same as the one before or after it on the cutting machines, either physically or in the pulp and fiber makeup. But every one indeed has a LIFE and IDENTITY of its own (as does every good solo or piece of music!) and like all other things in nature, it was intended to be that way...As the French are known to say, "VIVA LA DIFFERENCE !"
_________________________________________________________________________
Tom Alexander

October, 2000

N.B: The FAQ page will be updated from time to time ...