I have heard that Rico reeds are poor quality and often are bad or warped straight out of the box. I purchased a Rico reed when I rented an Alto saxophone and it seemed okay and I just purchased a pack of Rico reeds (3) and have yet to open them. Are Rico reeds good reeds?

Yes they seem to be ok, especially when they are new. They are cheap to buy which is their main advantage where I am. I bought a couple of Rico "La Voz" reeds for my alto sax just to see what they were like & they are truly amazing. I'm about to buy a whole box of them.

Sorry, can't tell you!!! The thing is, I find, is that you either love them, or hate them! I, personally, hate their wooden reeds as I think they soak up moisture and are then rendered useless, but not before producing at least 2 squeaks! But, I hear people who swear by them, and play nothing else!!!
So it's your call! Also, if you don't like them, I would recommend Vandoren reeds. More expensive but, in my eyes, totally worth it!

I have heard from many sources that Vandoren reeds are really good so I will look at those too.

I just came back from the music store in the next town where I bought the Rico lavoz alto sax reeds before & this time they did not have any. They had size 3+1/2 Rico Royal & Vandoren standard type size 3 + 1/2, so I bought one of each just to try them out. I soaked them in water for 5 minutes & then played the Vandoren first. It was very hard to blow & made my jaw ache, then after five minutes I tried the Rico reed & it was really amazing. It could hit every note on the scale straight away & sounded great, & it was very easy to blow, only half as hard as the Vandoren. It is now my favorite alto reed. I'm still planning on getting a box of Lavoz reeds on the net.

I bought a box of V16 Vandoren reeds for my tenor sax last week & they are a very good reed as well. I might get some of them for my alto's eventually.

Vandoren are the best you can get! Rico are more for students who have just started,and don't really care how they sound.

Vandoren reeds are absolutely amazing. I had a reed last me around 9 months before, and played absolutely phenomenal. Worth the small increase in price. They last forever.

Ricos are pathetic and I have gotten blank reeds from the boxes, Vandorens are very good.

in my opinion, vandorens are far better reeds. they sound better and tend to last longer

I started with a rico, then 3 days later went to Vandoren jaZZ. They have an amazing sound! Ricos are popular... for their price. They ren't the best quality reeds.

Well, really depends on the tone quality you want to get, Rico reeds tend to be a little edgy and seem to wear out a little quicker than EX. Vandoren reeds, the advantage of Rico reeds is (in my opinion) they are always ready to go straight out of the box, you dont need to break them in.

Truly, I would ONLY use Rico reeds for saxophones and large clarinets where that slightly edgy sound is useful. On clarinets, I would not reccomend that.

Its all a matter of taste, experiment :D

I'm finding that Rico Royals are a first class reed that last a long time. I pulled 3 Rico Royals size 3 + 1/2 out of my year old tenor sax reed collection & two of them in particular are really amazing & can do anything. I also went through my clarinet & alto sax reeds & sorted out the Rico Royals from the others & found that almost all are quite acceptable for playing. If you want a good reed for tenor then size 3 + 1/2 Royals are outstanding. They are very easy to blow as well. But it all depends on the sound you are looking for & what works best to achieve that sound with your particular sax & mouthpiece.

Rico Royals are a quality reed & to my mind rank with the top reeds.

But again it all depends on what you're looking for in a reed

I have used both rico and vandoren reeds for my alto and I prefer vandoren. Little off subject my instructor showed me a fibracell reed and I love it to death. Its an artificial reed but looks like a regular reed. I get a good sound from it and its great because you dont have to warm it up or soak it to play. It also makes it easier to hit altissimo notes!

Rico are good, but if you want to get a truly fascinating sound outta your sax use van doren

I have found the most consistent reeds to be Vandoren. Although no reed lasts forever but there is something about the cane in Vandoren reeds that seem to be of good quality.

Here is a link to a great video about reed care etc.
http://videoforward.com/video.php?video=20429

I saw the report about David Sanborn and he carries his reeds around in a sealed bell jar to keep them moist.

cya,

don manuel