Forestone Traditional Synthetic Alto Saxophone Reed (MS)

I really like this reed. It sounds as good as any cane reed I have used and better than some. Easy blowing, nicely finished and easy on your lips. Looks natural and is lasting forever - been playing the same reed for 5 months now. I started playing the sax last summer and really struggled, having a hard time getting any decent sounds using a variety of reeds. I decided to try this and it was night and day - as soon as I played the first notes it was sounding good. I'm very pleased and will continue using these reeds, maybe move up in stiffness as I progress. For now though I am really happy with the F2 strength and would recommend this reed to anyone who is also struggling - I think it made a huge difference for me in actually getting to play some music instead of squawking. I look forward to practicing because I know it is going to sound good and I don't have to fight the reed.

Synthetic reeds can be a real challenge to get a good sound and in my estimation more setup dependent than cane reeds. I have tried almost most of the synthetics out there and Forestone ranks high. As a hobbyist it is great to have instant startup that only synthetics can offer.I have tried Forestone on three different setups 2 Alto and 1 Tenor. In all cases I would classify it a darker reed. I have great success on an Alto with a Brancher metal mouthpiece and it is now my main reed. I have tried 3 reeds all a month apart and they are darn consistent. It appears they will last a long time.I do warn if one is new to synthetic reeds, a word of caution on hastily judging strength and sound quality without being truly warmed up before rating. Synthetic reeds don't really break in they just wear out. So if you don't warm up probably you could have problems.judging them. Cane reeds in the course of playing change in physical properties. Synthetic reeds stay the same from the start of playing session to the end.Forestone strength is fairly straight forward and feels close to Rico JazzSelect which was my typical cane reed before moving over to synthetics.

Not worth a review, that how bad they are.

This was my first time trying a synthetic reed. It took some getting use to, as you can imagine. The good thing about it is that it gave a round, warm sound that hit hard in the lower register. The smoothe surface of it felt a bit strange, and I found it difficult to put on my mouthpiece. The smoothness of it made the reed slide around the table of the mouthpiece while I tried to put on my ligature. The thickness of it took a bit more effort to honk out the low notes from a D to Bb, but made the altissimo range quite easy to hit. Personally, I like the flexibility of cane better, but this reed alows you to explore some of the stranger things of a saxophone better than cane would. Altissimo, multiphonics, even growling. Good reed to try if you've been interested in synthetic reeds.

I'll be honest. I wasn't expecting much when I got this. I put this on my mouthpiece, and once I blew my first note, I was in love. I played some jazz standards, and I just couldn't put the sax down. If you're reading this, I'm assuming you have NOT played with these reeds, so I'll clear up a few things.1. It's one reed, not that whole case as it shows in the picture, so I was a tiny bit disappointed, but the sound and feel made up for it.2. The physical feel of the reed is somewhat that of cane, but the "playing feel" is just like a plastic reed, only it offers a tiny bit of resistance, For those of you that haven't played something like a Bari alto reed, it just plays really easily.3. Along with the plastic topic, it doesn't change pitch as easily as a plastic reed, too. It's not as hard to vibrato on here as it is on a real cane reed.4.The sound of the reed isn't totally 100% cane, but it does resemble it in a way, though. Compared to a Legere or a Fibracell, it does sound the most like a traditional reed. Again, it's not identical, but it is pretty close.5. It's not invincible. It's susceptible to bending, and it's difficult to judge when it will bend, so my advice would be to treat it like a cane reed. Be careful with it, but don't baby it.6. I've had the same Forestone for a good 7 months, and it's still rocking. I'll wash it here and there, so I'm not worrying about the hygienic quality of it.To conclude, buy it if you want a plastic feeling reed with a buttery smooth cane reed, get this.

I did not receive the item as it is pictured. I received a very nice and little tiny package of "one" reed. I expected the eight reeds shown in the picture for $19.99. I am a new sax player and ordered a couple of types of reeds. My one star is not based on the playability of the reed, as i am not sure how good it really is at this time, just the false advertisement.

Excellent reed I can play very comfortable with it, is fiber but it rely does the job, I will buy more an any time

Responsive reed...BUT...I'm one of those sax players that focuses on my overall sound and with the Forestone reed I'm not sure I can get my sound back to what it is with cane reeds. The reponsiveness is incredible...and for some styles the brightness and "cut" would be good. My primary performances on alto sax are as a Lead Alto in a couple of big bands and combo work. I'm glad I have the reed, as it can be a great "emergency" replacement in those situations where you need a quick reed change you know will at least work. I do believe if I decided to play nothing other than the Forestone reed my sound would eventually center more to what I want it to be....but right now I don't have time to focus on that. If you're playing sax and want a pretty "bright/edgy" sound this is a great reed to give you that sound! I will say that I've tried a number of synthetic reeds recently and in the past...and this is the best of the bunch...