FibracellAlto Saxophone Reed (FCASP2.5)

I learned from a more experienced player the value of synthetic reeds and this brand in particular. Now I can pick up the horn and play, without having to wet the reed. And I have better control on the lowest and highest notes. I'm still a newbie and wouldn't have thought of paying 10 times as much for a reed, but I expect it to last 10 times as long as a conventional reed, so it evens out.

Sturdy but at a cost to the sound quality. Plays right out of the box with no prep but the sound is more bright and honky than I like. I may use it occasionally when I need to be ready to play in a minutes notice but overall I won’t be purchasing this again.

I just want to say to the company how greatly I appreciate your kind gesture. As a professional sax player you don't always get the kindness shown like that. It is why I purchased my soprano reeds last night. I will recommend both the product and the company to anyone. If you want to hear this reed in action on a Claude Lakey Mouthpiece and a Cannonball Sax visit NotesFromNeptune.com or Claude Lakey.com. [...]As a sax and vocalist the main issue I have with regular reeds is they dry out while I'm singing. If you watch this you tube you can see I can start playing immediately, which for a artist like me that is the greatest thing possible. Then to mix the trifecta, it actually makes me sound like I know what I'm doing. If you are a teacher they are your students best friend. I play 3-6 time weekly and I get an average of 3-4 months out of one reed. If you have not tried them, don't knock them. If you don't like them, keep your opinions to your self cause one mans trash, well you know the rest. Just means you need a better mouth piece. ☺️Thomas Love

I use Fibracell on my bass clarinet and my alto sax. I like the consistency in the structure of these reeds so all I need to do is place it on my mouthpiece and go! No soaking or shaving! I ordered one for my soprano sax but was too soft. I haven’t recordered yet and got a little undesirable resonating on my tenor so just use regular reeds on it. I would like to experiment w different strengths of Fibracell however. I also like that they last quite awhile. They are pricier than I would like is the only negative which prevents much experimenting with the different strengths. I definitely prefer them to the all-plastic reeds! My tone on the bass clarinet with Fibracell is as nice and dark as with a regular reed. I would definitely recommend these reeds.

I use and like a cane reed for my B flat clarinet, but my bass and alto clarinets sound and play better with the Fibracell for saxes. They last easily twice as long as a cane reed. The tone is close, maybe a bit brighter than cane.

Playing through an alto the Fibracell changes some of the tone that I am used to hearing, but the advantages outweigh the slight tone difference. It slightly moves the midrange up, and slightly makes it a bit brighter. Not a huge change, but it is a different tone than cane.Fibracell plays right away, and keeps on playing, takes the worry out of a performance, gives me more confidence.Update: After using these for a while I tend to like the way they cut through and add some volume as well. I am purchasing more of the same. I still have a ton of cane reeds and they work real good for recording, and I won't quit on them as the really best tone comes from a good cane reed. Best of both.

I am a beginner and I bought the Fubracell 2.5 reed on a quality MP.. It sounds a bit flat compared to real reeds (I use 1.5,2,2.5). It is a lot easier to blow clean notes than cane. So I feel this is great from practicing. Especially since it doesn't need to be witted. I like it since I can pick up and practice for a few minutes of times with gaps between sessions.

This item isn't eligible for returns... I contacted the manufacturer, and they told me that I should buy 4 or 5 fibracells to find one that works. Legere reeds sound wonderful, and are comprable to cane in strength, so I am sticking to those.This reed looks like a cane reed. It even feels like one, which is unfortunate. The inside of the lower lip will get irritated by the roughness of this reed. Most synthetics are smoother and more comfortable, and I do not understand this design choice.The bigger issue is that this feels more like a 1.0 than a 2.5, when compared to both cane and synthetic reeds from other brands. It is not playable at all on any of my mouthpieces. On a small tip mpc, it closes up when using the upper registers, and limits dynamics on the notes it can sound. On a large tip mpc, it buzzes and chirps on every note. This reed can not be overblown either.In the best case senario, applying a lot of pressure to the reed on a small mpc can give 1.5-2 octaves, but with total darkness. On the other end, light pressure gives 3-4 middle notes a nice warm tone, with highers failing to sound, and lowers resulting in increasing buzzziness.It may be possible to cut the tip back with a reed trimmer, but fibracell's website says not to sand or trim the reeds, and to buy a higher strength instead. This defeats the purpose of using a synthetic reed anyway, as it should play the same each purchase. I mailed their support about the issue, but received no response.