I've played both on my alto with my Lakey 5*3. Here's my two cents. ZZ's are not a bad reed per say. They give you a very buzzy, fairly bright sound. I've also found that, as with most boxes of Vandoren reeds, there's not alot of playable reeds that will last you very long. Jazz Selects are a really good reed. I've never been a fan of Rico products, but these reeds changed my point of view! They produce a VERY smooth tone. It still retains some brightness, but it doesn't cut through cynder blocks like ZZ's do. You'll still be heard very well, no doubt. Alexanders DC's (I saw someone else write about them). You'd figure with the Superials and Classiques being two of my favorite reeds that I'd LOVE DC's...not so much. I've played through two tins of them, and I've barely found two that were playable. They're VERY bright and buzzy, even more so than the ZZ's. 8 out of the ten I've played on have been SEVERELY unbalanced. I wouldn't suggest these reeds.

On my Alto, I find the ZZ's work better. But I am not a fan of rico reeds. For a darker tone trry the JAVA's. I find them even better than the ZZ.