I’m testing Légère American Cut synthetic saxophone reeds.
I’m keen to try the Légère American Cut saxophone reed. I’m a Légère artist and I’ve been using their Signature range for the last few years on all my saxophones. How will this new range compare?
Before I discovered Légère Signature Reeds, I wasn’t a fan of synthetic reeds. As a pro player I found them too bright, or too edgy, or not durable enough.
But that changed when I discovered the Signature range, which are usable and sound great too. I used to waste lots of time adjusting reeds, but the Légère Signatures are always ready to go.
Légère tell me the American Cut are the next generation – so how do they perform?
First Impressions
The American Cut reed has a different profile when you compare it to the Signature – it’s cut in a different way. It will be interesting to see how that affects the sound. The American Cut comes in it’s own handy case which I like.
The Test
Listen as I play both reeds side by side. I’m using a size 2.5 in both the Signature and the American Cut reeds, and playing on my Dave Guardala tenor sax. I’m testing them with 2 different mouthpieces.
With my Theo Wanne Durga Size 8 mouthpiece, the sound on the American Cut has more body and the response is very even. The lower notes sound clearer than on my usual Signature reed.
With my Theo Wanne Slant Sig mouthpiece, there’s a real fullness to the sound and the American Cut performs evenly right across my range.
However, while synthetic reeds are really consistent compared to cane reeds, I have found there is a slight variation between them and I do have my favourites. So I’m definitely going to test these more on my tenor and also on my alto.
Légère American Cut – My Verdict
I’m a Légère artist and they send me reeds, but I don’t get paid to play them. I genuinely love them and I recommend them to my Sax School students too, because they are:
- Reliable
- Consistent
- Easy to use
- Sound great
While a synthetic reed might be more expensive than cane, but they are better value for money because they are so reliable and durable. plus, you’re not wasting precious practice time fiddling with your reeds. With a Légère reed you know you’re going to get a great sound every time you pick up your sax.
If you want to check out synthetic reeds I would definitely give these American Cut a try. Also Legere have a really useful reed strength comparison chart on their website. You can check it out here.
And if you want to make great progress on your saxophone, Start today with Sax School!