Clarinet Reeds

Designed for a wide potpourri of playing situations, Rico Reeds in strength 2.0 are designed to vibrate easily. Featuring an unfiled cut and thinner vamp, Rico offers an ease of play that, combined with it is lowcost price and commodious packaging options, explains why more musicians global find Rico the best value.

Rico reeds have been the standard amongst reed players for generations. All Rico reeds are fabricated on state-of-the-art instrumentation that assure an precise cut and smooth finish. Every reed is precisely graded for it is strength and quality, making Rico the best value for students and pros alike.

From modest beginnings, Rico has grown to become a leader in single-reed manufacturing. Since the acquisition of Rico by D’Addario & Co., Rico has further strengthened it is position as the leader in woodwind reeds and accessories. At it is San Fernando Valley facility, Rico has a state-of-the-art reed exploration center, which employs the collaboration of agronomists, scientists, and musicians to fabricate top-quality reeds, including Rico Reserve premium reeds for clarinet and saxophone. Rico reeds are designed to gain all levels of musicians, from the beginner to the seasoned professional. Many of the world’s finest clarinetists and saxophonists use Rico brand reeds, such as Mark Nuccio, Jerry Bergonzi, Chris Potter, Benny Golson, Ernie Watts, Bob Sheppard, Henri Bok, Richie Hawley, Eric Alexander, and a good deal of more.

Clarinet Reeds

Designed for a wide potpourri of playing situations, Rico Reeds are cut of our most flexible grade of cane. The ease of play, lowcost price and commodious packaging choices are why more musicians global find Rico the best value.

•Now you may get Rico reeds in commodious 3-reed packs. The Rico three-pack is a perfective amount for rental instruments and particularly for students, who need to have spare reeds.
•Designed for ease of play
•Unfiled for powerful tone
•Priced affordably for educators
•Available for full range of clarinets and saxophones
•Offered in quantities of 3 and 10 reeds, and the 25 Novapak reed dispenser

At it is San Fernando Valley facility, Rico has a state-of-the-art reed exploration center, and employs the collaboration of agronomists, scientists, and musicians to invent top-quality reeds that include Rico Reserve premium reeds for clarinet and saxophone. Rico reeds are designed to gain all levels of musicians from the beginner to the seasoned professional. Many of the world’s finest clarinetists and saxophonists use Rico brand reeds, such as Anthony McGill, Mark Nuccio, Jessica Phillips, Jerry Bergonzi, Chris Potter, Benny Golson, Ernie Watts, Bob Sheppard, Walter Boeykens, Seiji Yokokawa, Philippe Geiss, Diastema Saxophone Quartet, and a great deal of more. For more information, visit RicoReeds.com

I begun playing the clarinet when I was 11 years old, back in 1984, after a heap of months of pestering my parents. Although I wasn’t in particular good when I started, I loved the look and feel of the instrument and I persevered, and I at long last ended up as a music student at Leeds University with the clarinet as my basi instrument. I didn’t find the notes that hard when I was a kid; I could give rise to a tune without too a good deal of tears, but my tunes just didn’t sound very nice until I’d got to regarding grade 6. A lot of young players experience the same problem, and the problem is actually twofold- 1) manufacturing a pretty sound takes lots of practice, and 2) fabricating a actually gorgeous sound depends on your reed.

What a Reed is All About

If you don’t play a reed instrument you may well be marveling what I’m talking about, so I’ll explain a little bit here. (For the already initiated, feel free to skip this bit!)

A clarinet is fundamentally a tube which is approximately 2 feet long; in fact it’s the same length as a flute or an oboe. The flute has a little hole which you blow across. This makes the air inside the tube commence vibrating, (like if you blow all over the top of a bottle and listen a note). The oboe and the clarinet, however, use reeds. These are little bits of cane, (or now and then plastic), which are attached to the top of the instrument. The cane goes in your mouth and you make it vibrate with your lips and jaw; this sets the column of air vibrating, and hey presto a note sounds. (It’s very hard to describe how you actually do this because it all happens inside your closed mouth!) You can’t play the clarinet (or the oboe or bassoon) unless you have a reed attached to the top, and these necessary bits of kit have, unfortunately, rather a short life span. How long a reed lasts depends on a large total of things, like how often you play, what brand you’re using, and even what the weather’s like. (It’s a natural material so it’s affected by the humidity of the atmosphere).

The Reed you in truth Need

So now you recognise you need a reed, off you pop down to your local music shop, or find one online. The basi question they’ll ask you is what kind of reed do you need? Narrowing it down to just “a clarinet reed” won’t get you very far. You have to specify the strength of your reed. And choose a brand. And choose one of a range of reeds within that brand. And how a lot of do you need to buy?

So how may a little bit of cane be so diverse and complicated? How may you perhaps choose?! Let’s take a look at the basi dilemma: Strength.

Reeds are categorised by their thickness, and given a grading from 1 to 5, including half grades. Basically speaking, the thicker the reed, the more difficult it is to fabricate a note, but the nicer the note will sound. So, if you are a beginner, (and accordingly in possession of comparatively weak jaw muscles equated to a veteran), you will have to choose a low number, known as a “soft” reed. Around 1.5 would be good, but go for a 1 if the 1.5 is too difficult to blow on. As you get better, you’ll gradually be competent to progression to thicker reeds (known as “hard”). To get a decent sound, you need to be playing on a minimum 3.5, and most masters will be playing on 4.5 to 5s. Personally, I play on a 3.5. OK, let’s move on to brand and product:

In the UK there are mainly 2 companies battling it out in the clarinet reed field, and they are Vandoren and Rico. I’ll undertake to make a comparison amidst them, since your basic purchasing decision will be amidst these two brands. Here’s what Vandoren say in regards to their ordinary B flat clarinet reeds:

“The most widely played reeds in the professional world.”

And here’s what Rico assert regarding their most similar product:

“The world’s most ordinary reed.” One thing you may be competent to deduce from this is that Vandoren reeds are better and also more expensive. They fabricate a better tone for professionals, who are more picky when it comes to these things than amateurs. However, there are a good deal of more amateurs piping away in their bedrooms on a Sunday afternoon than there are professionals, and they tend to choose Rico, so they can’t be all bad.

Here’s how the prices compare from 2 reputable online firms, for a box of 10, (the normal number you get in a box).

From http://www.myatt.co.uk Rico Reeds cost £8.50 and Vandoren cost £11.00

From http://www.dawkes.co.uk Rico cost £6.25 and Vandoren cost £10.25

Rico are well in front in the tasty price league, so why is it that all these pros are choosing Vandoren? It genuinely boils down to the sound that comes out when you blow, which to the professional is the only major issue. For us mere mortals though, there are another couple of points to consider- how a lot of of these 10 newly purchased reeds actually work properly, and how long will one last before I have to change it? I’ve played on both these brands of reeds over the 20 and a bit years I’ve been playing this instrument, and I believe that Rico are more consistent in the strength grades they put in the box, and they last for the same length of time as Vandoren’s, but whereas a box of Vandoren most times formulates a actually stunning finelooking reed, a box of Rico never does.

When you buy a box of reeds, it is rather normal to find that a good deal of of them just won’t work. This is rather annoying, (especially if you’re paying more than a pound a piece), but it’s a fact of life. The cane is rigorously tested by both companies, and left to mature for a significant time, but not one thing may stop the cane from getting somewhat altered once it’s been packaged up in it is box. My personal intermediate from Vandoren is 50% usable reeds per box, while Rico ordinarily gives me 7 or 8 that are playable. So, in effect, they work out even for less than you’d bargained for. I think that Rico’s testing technology is perhaps superior to Vandoren’s, to fabricate these results. They are more effective at eliminating inferior cane earlier in the process, before it genuinely gets in the box. In my mind there is no doubt that Vandoren Reeds sound better, but the huge divergence in price is not justified by the little divergence in sound. Going back to my earlier point regarding the quality of my early attempts at the clarinet, I ought to point out that playing on the rectify strength of reed, (and one that isn’t too old), will ascertain an adequate for the purpose sound from anyone. So how to find the rectify strength? Read on!

How Strong is your Jaw?

Rico Reeds come in amount of energy 1-5 (not all brands do). If you’re a finish beginner, buy a 1, a 1.5 and a 2. (You may buy reeds singly, both online and in shops. Some shops let you try the reed out before you buy it just in case it’s a duffer (see above), but not all of them.) Try the 2 first. If you develop a sound rather effortlessly and without pain, congratulations! You’ve found the right strength. If you find it takes a large total of breath to get a note and you may listen air escaping from the side of your mouth as you blow, the reed is too hard. Try the 1.5, and repeat the process. Remember that with clarinet reeds, the only way is up! When you have been playing on your 1.5 for galore time, undertake the 2 from time to time. Don’t play for too long, as your jaw will tire effortlessly and you may bite into your bottom lip. If this happens, your mouth will be too sore to play until it’s healed, and you’ll have to get started with a softer reed again. Gradually increase your playing time, until you may play on the 2 with no problems. Then move on to the 2.5, and repeat the process.

If you stick with a softer reed once your jaw muscles have become stronger, your sound will deteriorate. Playing on a soft reed develops a buzzy kind of tone and may sound flat. Higher notes on the instrument are more difficult to reach with a softer reed, which is another reason why you need to climb that reed ladder! Sometimes reeds are a little bit too hard or a little bit too soft, without being totally unlikely to play on. You don’t have to chuck them away in cases like this, you may “doctor” them more or less to make them more playable: if the reed is too soft, trim a VERY narrow (hair’s breadth) strip from the tip of the reed with a sharp knife. Or push another reed amid it and the mouthpiece of the instrument, pushing it away from the rectangular hole in the mouthpiece slightly. If the reed is too hard, you may sand it a little. Use a piece of 220-grain sandpaper. Rub just a little, then test the reed- a tiny rub may give rise to a huge divergence (which is why they don’t always get it right in the factory- it’s a precision art!)

Breaking in Reeds

All new reeds need to be “broken in”. They won’t formulate a consistent sound until they’ve been used a few times. Rico reeds are quicker to break in than Vandoren. You need to wet the reed (in your mouth or with water- I prefer my mouth, but Rico advise water, as numerous humans have very acidic saliva apparently, eeww), then play on it for just a few minutes each day, until the sound becomes consistent. It’s good to have a few reeds “breaking” as you never recognise when you’ll need a new one.

Replacing Reeds

It’s easy to tell when your reed needs replacing- after serving you well for a week or 3 (depends how much you play), one day it’ll just sound rubbish, totally dissimilar to the last time you used it. Every time it goes in your mouth the reed is getting attacked by respective germs and other organisms, and your saliva begins the routine of breaking down organic matter ready for your tummy, so it’s no wonder that they don’t last forever! Another evident sign that you need a new reed is when you without intention slice it in half while attaching it to the instrument, a tragically mutual event. (It’s held onto your plastic mouthpiece by metal band called a ligature. This has rather sharp sides and if you’re not careful it’ll cut right through in one go. Don’t worry though, I’ve never heard of any individual cutting their finger on one!)

Arundo Donax

This is the technical name for the reed plant which Rico and Vandoren use to make their reeds. It grows in India and the Mediterranean, and may get as high as 6 metres tall. If you live in the right climate you may grow it in your garden, but I wouldn’t suggest attempting to grow and make reeds yourself from scratch, though galore fanatics do…..

Other Types of Reed

For the standard clarinet, you will be buying Bm clarinet reeds. It’s improbable that you would buy the faulty reed size, as this is what 99% of people play on, but just for the record, there are likewise Em and bass clarinet reeds. Em reeds are for a littler instrument, and bass clarinet reeds for a beast of an instrument, so neither will fit. The A clarinet takes the Bm reed, as it is only very fractionally larger than the Bm instrument. (Orchestral players need two instruments, an “A” and a “Bm”; see see [http://www.mymusictheory.com/lessons-html/8-transposinginstruments/8-transpint.html] for more on transposing instruments).

Final Verdict

The Rico clarinet reed is a outstanding choice for the novice player. They are somewhat priced, reasonably consistent within the box, and develop a nice sound. They are easy to get hold of and magnificent value for money, in particular if you many times slice them in half! If you want to get severe on the instrument, you ought to in all likelihood move on to more highpriced reeds from Vandoren.

Clarinet Reeds Photo

Clarinet Reeds Image

Clarinet Reeds Image

Clarinet Reeds Pic

Most helpful client reviews

31 of 32 persons found the following review helpful.
Information About Reeds To Use
By Steven
There are a lot of good reviews with regards to reeds and Rico reeds specifically. Instead of just telling you how good the Rico #2 reed is I will give a review and address questions when it comes to reeds in general. First is what reed do you use first? If you are already playing then you in all likelihood already recognise that answer. If you are a professional then you have that answer too. If you are just beginning then this will aid you. I went to Rico themselves and spoke with an expert so I could give you the selective information you needed. Personally, the Rico #1 1/2 is a outstanding place to get started as one reviewer has already mentioned. If you played before, put your clarinet away and are starting back as I am. I employed to use a 3 1/2 Mitchell Lurie which is made by Rico as the expert told me. Then there is the new Plasticover reeds which are made with both cane and plastic and they taste terrible…YUCK!…lol. The plastic reeds are outstanding for the outside such as marching band. I wish I had them when I was in the marching band 30 years ago. So what do you do when there are so a great deal of types out there. One reviewer cited the Rico 2 is a good place to start out and I would agree, but if you are beginning begin with a 1 1/2 it will be posing no difficulty to blow air through and one other thought I bet you didn’t recognise was that Benny Goodman, very famous playing the clarinet used a 1 1/2. I would also tell you not to buy too some and do not forget because you may not be competent to send them back for hygiene purposes. In the Rico family they start out with the regular Rico, then Royal, Reserve, Select Jazz, Grand Concert, for outside the Plasticover. Remember all of those words had Rico in front of them. They likewise go up in cost the better the reed is. That brings me to my next thought. Reeds are very personal. It depends on what you are playing, Marching band, Classical, or Jazz. What kind of tone you want. My recommendation is to undertake them all if you may and with that you will find the reed that you like. Rico also makes the Mitchell Lurie as I stated and the Mitchell Lurie Premium. The Vandoren reed is just like the regular Rico reed according the expert I was speaking of. I personally have not tried the Vandoren Reed. I suppose I will in the future just to see for myself. I hope this has helped and not made things too confusing. Buy the fewest you may and if it is for school band the Regular Rico Reed 1 1/2 or 2 is just fine and as you get better you may be overwhelmed just as I was with all the other reeds out there. Good Luck and receive pleasure from the beauty of music. Let me know if I may support further and feel free to check out my other reviews and a good deal of are when it comes to the clarinet and in video too.

9 of 9 persons found the following review helpful.
Rico Bb clarinet Reeds
By Pony Rider
I play clarinet, and highly recomend Rico reeds because they don’t crack or snap easily. If you are a beginner at Clarinet, buy the 2 size 10 pack of reeds. Most humans may use that size. Very good, after a year I still have a heap of reeds left. I highly recomend these.

3 of 3 persons found the following review helpful.
Reeds for my Middle school kid
By Ghostborg
My daughter is in Middle school band and learning. She asked for this brand and says they work fine.

See all 31 client reviews…