Traditional Synthetic Alto Saxophone Reed - French Filed Cut with Hybrid Bamboo Material - Robust and Clear Sound Profile - Long-Lasting - Made in Japan Soft (S)

Synthetic reeds can be a real challenge to get a good sound and in my estimation more setup dependent than cane reeds. I have tried almost most of the synthetics out there and Forestone ranks high. As a hobbyist it is great to have instant startup that only synthetics can offer.I have tried Forestone on three different setups 2 Alto and 1 Tenor. In all cases I would classify it a darker reed. I have great success on an Alto with a Brancher metal mouthpiece and it is now my main reed. I have tried 3 reeds all a month apart and they are darn consistent. It appears they will last a long time.I do warn if one is new to synthetic reeds, a word of caution on hastily judging strength and sound quality without being truly warmed up before rating. Synthetic reeds don't really break in they just wear out. So if you don't warm up probably you could have problems.judging them. Cane reeds in the course of playing change in physical properties. Synthetic reeds stay the same from the start of playing session to the end.Forestone strength is fairly straight forward and feels close to Rico JazzSelect which was my typical cane reed before moving over to synthetics.

Not worth a review, that how bad they are.

I'll be honest. I wasn't expecting much when I got this. I put this on my mouthpiece, and once I blew my first note, I was in love. I played some jazz standards, and I just couldn't put the sax down. If you're reading this, I'm assuming you have NOT played with these reeds, so I'll clear up a few things.1. It's one reed, not that whole case as it shows in the picture, so I was a tiny bit disappointed, but the sound and feel made up for it.2. The physical feel of the reed is somewhat that of cane, but the "playing feel" is just like a plastic reed, only it offers a tiny bit of resistance, For those of you that haven't played something like a Bari alto reed, it just plays really easily.3. Along with the plastic topic, it doesn't change pitch as easily as a plastic reed, too. It's not as hard to vibrato on here as it is on a real cane reed.4.The sound of the reed isn't totally 100% cane, but it does resemble it in a way, though. Compared to a Legere or a Fibracell, it does sound the most like a traditional reed. Again, it's not identical, but it is pretty close.5. It's not invincible. It's susceptible to bending, and it's difficult to judge when it will bend, so my advice would be to treat it like a cane reed. Be careful with it, but don't baby it.6. I've had the same Forestone for a good 7 months, and it's still rocking. I'll wash it here and there, so I'm not worrying about the hygienic quality of it.To conclude, buy it if you want a plastic feeling reed with a buttery smooth cane reed, get this.

I did not receive the item as it is pictured. I received a very nice and little tiny package of "one" reed. I expected the eight reeds shown in the picture for $19.99. I am a new sax player and ordered a couple of types of reeds. My one star is not based on the playability of the reed, as i am not sure how good it really is at this time, just the false advertisement.

Tried these for the first time about a year ago and love them. Great playability, and durability. Takes a few hours to break them in but once I did, it plays beutifully. Don't mind the cost for those reasons.

nice