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Saturday
Jun022018

Silverstein ALTA Select reeds

Relatively recently, Silverstein released their ALTA reeds for saxophone.  I got on as a beta tester and was greaty impressed with the quality and consiststency of the reeds in the test pack (5 reeds).  I thought these could very well be the reeds that brought me back to playing cane instead of Legere Signatures. Around December 2017, the reeds were released to the public.  Out of a pack of ten, they ALL played at least reaonably well, and more than one or two were amazing.  A couple months later, I bought a second box to see if the consistency was holding up.  This pack was even better! 

 

I officially declared myself a cane player again in February-ish 2018, after 6 years of playing Legere exclussively.

 

These reeds are amazing.  They sound and feel great to play.   Low notes respond wonderfully, altissimo is extremely easy.  I got a box for my high school student  ahead of her solo competition.  I noticed a marked improvement in her tone and articulation.  She was having problems getting the high F#  but after switching to the  Silverstein reeds, She's consistently getting the F#, where she is unable to do so on Vandorens.

Some brands of reeds, They start out strong but after half an hour or so start to feel mushy and dull in response.  I can stick a Silverstein on when I start teaching, and by the end of the day it still feels crisp and vibrant.

 

One amazing thing about Silverstein is that they offer a replacement policy. Send back any unplayable reed, and they'll replace it.  I've not had to do this because even the "lowest scoring" reeds are better than nearly any cane reed I've ever played.  I'm actually still using reeds from the first box and haven't even started to tap into the reeds I broke in from the second box. At this rate, two boxes will easily last me a full year.

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