Thinking of trying synthetic reeds . . .

[Airflyte]

. . . specifically these; Legere reeds

Anyone here use these or at least tried them?

[DaveLeBlanc]

Well I\'ve tried an Eb soprano Legere and an Eb contra alto Legere.

I didn\'t like the feel of the Eb soprano very much, as it was too smooth and didn\'t have the right kind of feel.

The contra alto reed was more textured and felt a little better.

But I still prefer Fibracell any day.

[DrBob]

. . . specifically these; Legere reeds

Anyone here use these or at least tried them?

I\'ve used the Legere reeds for my alto clarinet and for the Bb soprano.   They\'re more consistent than \"natural\" and give a nice full sound, but the hardness index runs about 0.25 more than cane, e.g a 3.25 Legere is more like a 3.5 cane.   Also, our esteemed leader, Phil Pedler has mentioned that the \"Quebec cut\" is to be preferred.
At the advice of another esteemed leader, Dave LeBlanc, I got \"Fibracell\" synthetic reed s for the alto (they\'re actually sold as sax reeds).    These give a nice sound, don\'t need wetting, look sort of like cane reeds, but they run softer--e.g. a 3.5 Fibracell is more like a 3 or 3.25 cane.

[Skyfacer]

Hi BlueBeamPolkaProject. Go to the search mode of this forum and look for my thread (01-02-2013) entitled \"The Modern Synthetic Reed.

[myopickumquatrhodes]

I nearly always use a Légère Signature (number 3 or 2.75) and live it. I highly doubt that I\'d return to cane reeds.

Some people in Mr Vincent\'s own thread felt that the synthetic reeds could be a bit slippery. I have had no trouble at all with my Bonade inverted ligature, after I gave the inside a very slight sanding with some fine emery cloth wrapped round my finger. Before that, it wouldn\'t stay put with any reed.

In the end, I suppose you just have to try a synthetic reed and see if you get along with it. To me, the convenience and consistency trump anything else.

[DaveLeBlanc]

Try the Selmer Benny Goodman single screw lig.  It works wonders!