Saxophone Forum


by JeremyA
(28 posts)
18 years ago

I love Gonzalez!

Hey the_Sax, I just wanted to thank you for indirectly introducing me to Gonzalez reeds. I have been playing for seven years or so and I have played Vandoren the whole time. I have never been too happy with them but I never really liked Rico either. I have played have played every type of reed that Vandoren has (trad, V16, Java, ZZ), I have played on Ricos for a while, and I also tried a Legere and a Fibercell for marching band on bari, but nothing I have played so far is on the same level as Gonzalez. I bought a box of 2.5s for my tenor and a box for my alto. Almost every reed was good and the one or two that weren't were easy enough to fix with some sandpaper. Thank so much. I think I have finally found a reed that I really like.

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  1. by golferguy675
    (600 posts)

    18 years ago

    Re: I love Gonzalez!

    How are they for jazz? Do they get some edge? How's the color? I've given up on Alexanders and switched back to Javas. The Alexanders sound amazing for the first few days, and they were done, even when I broke them in properly. They were too weak for my taste, I need a good solid reed to get that fat sound.

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    1. by JeremyA
      (28 posts)

      18 years ago

      Re: I love Gonzalez!

      Their website says that the regular cut reeds are more for classical but they work just fine for jazz. That's all I have been using them for so far. I've got a Otto Link Super Tone Master 7* and the Gonzalez reeds add to that dark husky tenor sound I'm going for. The color is beautiful. When I have bought boxes of Vandorens at least half were covered with dark spots. Every single Gonzalez reed I have has a solid amber color with no spots.

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      1. by MarkLavelle
        (300 posts)

        18 years ago

        Re: I love Gonzalez!

        What's wrong with spots?

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        1. by JeremyA
          (28 posts)

          18 years ago

          Re: I love Gonzalez!

          I had just heard something somewhere that you can tell how good a reed is by it's color. I could be wrong but I think I had heard that a reed with a solid color is better than a reed with spots. I don't know, but I do know that these reeds work better for me than any other I have tried before.

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        2. by golferguy675
          (600 posts)

          18 years ago

          Re: I love Gonzalez!

          Hehe, I meant color of the sound, but I guess I should have been more specific...How long do they usually last for you? Do they run thin or thick?

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        3. by JeremyA
          (28 posts)

          18 years ago

          Re: I love Gonzalez!

          I feel smart. I was taking what you said too literally. oh well. I just got a box of each about a week or two ago and all five of the tenor reeds are still going strong. As far as thickness goes they are a bit thicker than Vandoren.

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        4. by golferguy675
          (600 posts)

          18 years ago

          Re: I love Gonzalez!

          So what size are you playing, and on what size chamber piece? Just curious, so I don't buy a box and waste the money because they're the wrong size. I've always used 3s, but Alexanders were too thin, and Vandorens were a bit thick on the tip.

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        5. by JeremyA
          (28 posts)

          18 years ago

          Re: I love Gonzalez!

          For tenor I have an Otto Link Super Tone Master 7* and I use a 2.5s. For Alto I have an Otto Link Tone Edge 5* and I use 2.5s as well. Here is there website if you wanted to check it out

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