On alto I use number 2 and the brand is rico

i only just started playing soprano but i need to find a good brand of reeds. my music store only sells one type of reeds there, rico, but i dont like them very much because 1 in 3 reeds actaully works, while the rest are quite dodgey. Can anyone tell me a good brand for a beginning soprano player (i have played clarinet for years though)? also, has anyone used the plastic reeds? my old band master was obbsessed with them (despite the fact he doesn't play a wind instrument!) but my new band instructer has never heard of them. are they good? do they have the same sound quality of normal reeds?

Yo,

I am soon to be an oboe player but...

Alto sax
2 1/2 reed,
I've only played for 5 months though...

I wanna play oboe though so I'll quit Alto Sax, and go onto oboe.

"i have never played on less then a 2 1/2 whats this about shaving your reeds? i know only like, pros do it but... blah."

Well, back in the good ol' days reeds weren't as 'finetuned' as they are now. So you had to shave a few milimeters off, test it, repeat the procedure... Until it was tuned perfectly, it's a pain to do. Some pros still do it to microtune, but it's like totally crazy to begin with. You could always try it if your reed sounds a little dodgey (sp?), but it's a whole lot easier just to put on a new one.

I hate using hard reeds (4 maybe 3 1/2). I use hempke 3 for tenor although the last batch I bought had a very dull sound to them.

I use a size 3 Rico for my Bari Sax, and a size 2 1/2 Rico for Alto Sax.

Rico Reeds Are Some Of The Worst Anywhere!!

For Tenor:

I Use A 2 1/2 - 3 In Concerts

. . . And 3 - 4 1/2 In Marching Band

. . . 3 - 3 1/2 For Jazz

I used to use Rico and Rico Royal, but now I use Vandorren 2.5 for my alto... I just switched brands over the summer, and there wasn't much of a change...