Legere Signature Tenor Saxophone 2.5

I tried them twice. The first time I bought a 2 1/2 like the Vandoren V16 I play but it was thin compared to what I was used to. Their body is also thinner than cane reeds, you need to tight your ligature more and sometimes it can damage your ligature. The worst thing was that the mouthpiece cap pressed against it because of it and the reed got bent and it wouldn't become straight again. On the second one I bought I was more careful. I bought a 2 3/4 and it was thick enough. I also took it off every time I played so it wouldn't bend by the cap. After a month of use cracks started forming and now I just keep it as a backup in case of emergency. Its sound compared to other plastic reeds I tried is much better but it still has too much mid frequencies. It's too sharp and it hurts your lips. Also, it's not that responsive and squeaking happens easily. You'll be better off buying cane reeds a bit thicker than you need and sanding them down to perfection. I find it too expensive for what it has to offer.

After so many years playing a cane reed I have decided to try synthetic reeds. I was playing Vandoren Java 3. I ordered two reeds. The Fiberreed Onyx size M and also Legere - 2,5. Both are easy blowing but the Legere plays the Low range and the altissimo range with a bit more resistance. The size M for the Onyx I found right for me but the 2,5 Legere is a bit harder. It has quite a dark sound. If you need to push it it won’t give you enough power to cut through the band sound for a solo. It is perfect if you have to play in a band. Fiberreed Onyx fits better to my way of playing. I tested the reeds with Vandoren V16 and Meyer mouthpieces.

I wanted to try synthetic reeds for tenor because I play in an orchestra and we sometimes need to play outside in the weather. The humidity and or the sun is bad for the cane reeds, not that it does something bad to them but it dries them out in the sun very fast and when you need to start suddenly playing it's impossible, because it's dried out, it squeaks and has poor sound. Been playing the Legere 2,5 on tenor for about 2 years now just for myself and the orchestra. Never had any problems with playing outside anymore, no need to wet them as well, just slap it on and get playing. The reed strength is somewhat personal for everyone, some people like weaker reeds, some more resistant, for me 2,5 is the sweet spot. So overall I can say that I recommend them for anyone, but especially to people who play outside. Sound is very nice as well. Be careful of the sides though, I've had one reed where there was a synthetic string dangling off the side of the reed, a manufacturing defect probably and as stupid as I was I tried pulling it off and it damaged the reed, so careful of little manufacturing mistakes as these, very rare in my experience, but definetly something to look out for.