Contrabassoon Clarinet Reeds

I've already bough a fair share of plastic reeds for my various reed instruments, and I can say for one, when playing concert, the Classic cut is my favourite because of how dark the tone is and how smooth it plays. It also makes it super convenient for use in marching band as I don't need to wet my reed and it immediately plays as well. Although, I would recommend European Cut for marching band use as it's significantly more responsive.

Overall, would very much recommend this product. It also saves sooo much money in the long run because bass clarinet reeds get particularly expensive.

As a 35+ year cane reed user (Bb clarinet), I was skeptical of using a synthetic reed, but I was becoming weary of having to constantly adjust cane reeds and never being sure how they would play in a particular performance/environment. The Legere European cut reed immediately played as well as the best cane reeds I have experienced, but what surprised me most was how forgiving the Legere is - it played fantastically on a variety of mouthpieces, that previously required specific cane reeds adjusted/optimized for that particular mouthpiece. The consistent high performance of the Legere reeds has elevated my clarinet playing confidence and enjoyment!

It really is

Appreciated by engineers.

These are great. The sound is pretty good compared to others synthetics. Although in my opinion it doesn’t sound quite as good as a cane reed (maybe around 80% as good as a cane reed) it sounds good enough for orchestral playing. Currently I just tried the French cut and it sound significantly better in my opinion (about 95% as good as a cane reed) so if you are interesting in trying synthetics I will recommend you trying both the europeen cut and French cut.

My cane reed of choice was Vandoren 56 Rue Lepic, strength 3.5. I've tried Legere Classic, Signature and European and Vandoren VK1 in various strengths - none worked for me. Both the French cut 3.25 and 3.5 work well for me on my old, original Lomax classic mouthpiece (Selmer Signature clarinets). Both strength French cut reeds produce a good, woody sound, and none of the brightness in the upper register that I experienced with the other Legere styles. Intonation and tone hold up well no matter how much air I put through the horn. I would occasionally get some fuzziness or brightness, but a slight adjustment on the mouthpiece too care of it. I didn't notice any advantage over cane in the tonguing department. I subjected my wife to a blind hearing test - she consistently picked the Legeres over cane reeds, and couldn't tell any difference between the Legere 3.25 and 3.5. Going back and forth between Legere and cane, the cane is more resistant/stuffy, and the Legere has an equal (if not better) sound. I'm looking forward to trying the tenor sax French cut on my bass!

Great LITTLE reed for the 'Nino, great balance of full bright tone, but not too bright. Cane reeds have been hard to find for this instrument, Legere has been a great choice.

Great sound, highly recommend!

I found the signature 2,5 works well on my classic TL3 mouthpiece but is a little stiff for my Jumbo T55 mouthpiece. I will order a 2.25 next time. It is more consistent than my cane reeds.

Goooooood

I play the Legere Signature cut 2.75 and 3.00 for my alto on both my classical and jazz mouthpieces. For the bari, I play the Signature 2.75 for the classical mouthpiece and the American cut 3.0 for the jazz mouthpiece. I also use the American cut bari on my bass mouthpiece - and what a wonderful, full and bright sound enough to fill a Music Hall. Harry Carney had it right. The point here is that I've been through a lot of reeds, as have we all, but the Legere allows me to quickly change instruments and mouthpieces without having to fumble through a dish full of reeds soaking. Hence the reason I say Legere totally enhances flexibility. And with proper care and rotation these reeds last just short of "forever”. (I rotate on a five-day cycle, which may be a bit much for some, but I’ve found over time that that gives the reeds plenty of rest time; curious about what the Legere experts would opine.) Thanks for these dynamic reeds that perform well on all my mouthpieces, of which no two are the same. Cheers!

I have been playing American Cut reeds for a few years now, and thought I would try the Studio Cut. They arrived about two weeks ago. They played well out of the box but I found them to be a little more resistant and darker than I expected. That is what the scale said on the site, but I play 7 opening on both alto and tenor mouthpieces and play Jazz and Rock music, so I found I couldn't quite get the sound and comfort I was used to with the American Cut Reeds. I contacted Sean at Legere and they exchanged them for me. The customer service is incredible and they asked me to review the Studio Cut Reeds. I would recommend them for more classical music and concert or marching bands in a heartbeat. Thanks Sean and Legere for your support of your customers. Bravo.

Years ago I tried a 3 strength Legere reed and it just didn’t play well or sound good. A few months ago a colleague told me about the American cut reeds with more strengths. I tried 2.75 but could barely play it. Still, I thought I would try one more time. The 2.5 hit the sweet spot.

I’m a trumpet player. When I play soprano, it’s after awhile on trumpet and I don’t have time to wet the reed. The Legere resolves that; I can pick up the sax and just play.

The good news is discovering I also had a nice tone, and it works in both high and low registers. It’s not quite as warm as my VanDoren wooden reeds, but for the convenience, I’ll take it. Very happy with my purchase, and I’ve ordered spares.

I like your prompt service and quality.

I play a Pete Fountain crystal clarinet mouthpiece clone that gives me the sound, tone, response and power to cut through a TRAD jazz front-line. Helping me do that are my LeGere 2.75 European cut reeds. I rotate a group of four for each gig to ensure my playing expectations are consistent. These same 2.75 LeGere reeds play great with my alternate Charles Bay HR Mpc. Just mak'n sure if "sumt'n" bad happens to my PF jewel.