I keep trying to ignore the age thing. You know, my siblings, family, friends and such. I still feel much younger than that damn mirror tried to tell me I am. I am glad this forum has life in it, it can be a very nice reference as well as community.
Benedikt Eppelsheim recommended synthetic reeds for bass sax and bass clarinet. I found them to be nice on those instruments. But I must have cane for soprano and alto sax to get the sound I'm looking for. That said, I'm not a pro, just love playing in many different kinds of bands. YMMV.
35 years of playing experience and I've never felt the reed vibrating. Any chance you could sit with an instructor or friend who is a good player and suss out what's going on? Even if you only take one or two lessons, the benefit can be huge. Report back please.
Searching I found this one and thought I'd give it a try. I have the Rovner Platinum versions of these on my sop - bari sax but they cost much more than this one.
My Suzy uses something called Fourstone, has on her clarinet and saxes for a couple of years. She swears by them. They last more than a year. I am so happy with what I have now (Vandoren and Plasticover) that I'm loathe to try anything else.
Interesting, I didn't know they made synthetic for double reeds. My rule of thumb has always been, "Only use synthetic reeds on the lower instruments like the bass clarinet or bass sax. (Benedikt Eppelsheim advised this for the bass sax he made me.) The higher the instrument the more I favor...
What a lovely instrument that! I had heard good things about the Shadow. Every time I buy an instrument, I tell myself it will be the last one. Sounds like that might be true for this one. Your prose also makes me wonder if you have an affinity for Germanic saxes? Enjoy Helen.
Here is a superficial look at cleaning an instrument. I always take mine to a tech for a more thorough cleaning maybe every five years or so. It's surprising what they often fine that makes my life as a musician easier. Good luck.
More detailed...
Wow, my original post here was 16 years ago, how time flies. Now-a-daze I busy with three of the ensembles in the Seattle Solid Gold entertainment service. I also play and am on the board of the Lynnwood Community Band. My wife is in three of the four groups with me. We often wonder as we age...
Oldgrump, when I returned to music after a ~25 break, I bought a $50 bass from a pawn shop. I used to play it against recordings on YouTube on weekends. (I was still working at the time.) My aim was to improve on my timing. I liked it so much that I started playing my other instruments against...