This reed played straight out of the box after soaking it a few hours. This is opposed to the "classic" Gonzalez 3,5 version I tried for tenor.
Also opposed to the above, the strength is not similar to vandoren. This 1,5 is much lighter than it's 1,5.
It plays well, still a bit more classical feel to it than jazz, in my experienced opinion, which is what we want here, right?
It keeps loosening up quickly so they can be used in an emergency live without embarrassing yourself or being out of breath after one solo.
I used Otto link super tone master 7*. With that set-up it is expressive but not very.
It does not close down when playing loud and it is loud!
It tunes well.
No funny stuff like the slight lower register problems I had with the "classic" Tenor Gonzalez.
For the price it is an awesome deal, and they save the planet, too!