I use rico 3 right now. But I'm just wondering if my sound could be better and louder.

I tend to use either Vandoren 4, or a mitchell lurie 4, but when I was in my Highschool's jazz ensemble I stuck mostly with Rico Royals.

Try a Mitchell lurie, They improved my sound quality greatly and are a dream to play on.

Depends on the mouthpiece. Vandoren V12's are best on a 5RV Lyre mpc. I've always used Vandorens, because that's all my college professors ever played.

BH

A rico sz3 is generally equal to a vandoren sz2.5

That's according to my music teacher, and I trust her - so you should too! LOl.

i use a 3 to i use the biggest in my class but it works for me

I just recently switched to Legere and I never want to see another cane reed ever again. Just my personal experience though.

I'm currently using a Rico Royal 3 and I find that it gives great sound and if you're looking for "loud" it is "loud" I guess.

i usually use vandoren reeds- thats what my director told us to use and they are actually the best i have ever played on by far even mitchell lurie worked pretty well too

vandoren V12. Simply the best. I use them, my teacher( a professional clarinetist from the auckland philharmonia orchestra) use them and most orchestal musician use them too.

Does it make a difference that I've only been playing for about 10 months? I tried vandoren 3, they seem to give me a darker tone than rico 3, but i don't know if that is good for marching band.

ricos are a no no i love vandorens

-Amanda

ive tried ricos but they didn't really work for me. i tend to stick with vandorens, laitly i've been using 4's in V12's and they work great.

I really don't reccomend Legere reeds, or any other plastic reeds. The sound just isn't as good, and because it doesn't absorb anything, spit comes fizzling out the lower edges. Also, I've been told (never actually happened to me I stopped using mine too soon) that instead of cracking or chipping like a normal cane reed might, they shatter- and if that happens, you can get slivers of plastic in your lips. OUCH!!

Vandorens are good, so are La Voz. A dark tone is generally desireable, especially for classical music. For marching band, it would depend on what kind of music you're playing- my band plays "real music" for marching, so we still want the rich dark tone, but if you play more popular music, a brighter tone might be desireable.

Use what works for you- just because someone else uses a certain brand or size doesn't mean you have to also. Experiment and find what you like best.