Synthetic Saxophone Reeds

THINKING OF TRYING SYNTHETICS?

Synthetic mouthpieces, so why not synthetic reeds?

Traditionally woodwind instruments such as the clarinet used mouthpieces made from wood in combination with cane reeds. (Incidentally, reeds are not wood, the cane they are made from a actually a grass). A big problem was always that natural products such as wood and cane were not only inconsistent, but also unstable - prone to warping, cracking, and sooner or later just wearing out - sooner rather than later in the case of reeds as they also deteriorate due to various digestive enzymes in the saliva.

As soon as a viable alternative for mouthpieces was found - ebonite - it very quickly superceded wood as the main mouthpiece material. In the case of saxophones, metal also became a popular and very stable alternative. Both wood and metal were quickly accepted as an ideal solution to the problem of replacing an unstable material, as the sound was either not affected or to many people⁽s ears, the sound was actually better.

This is not the case with reeds: most players still prefer the sound of cane reeds, and for years manufacturers have been experimenting with synthetic materials in order to provide a stable long lasting product. So far the big problem has always been the enormous difference in sound, usually perceived as a negative difference. On this page I shall present some soundclips of various synthetic and natural cane reeds so you can judge for yourself.

"Betcha", one of the earliest synthetic reeds: