D'AddarioD’Addario Woodwinds Hemke Alto Sax Reeds

I play much better with these reeds

I'm a woodwind professional and have arrived at these reeds as my favorites after trying many different brands and cuts on all my setups AND doing playing tests for other educators/pros.On my classical setup on alto (Selmer Concept, Hemke 3), I was after a reed that didn't get darkness from resistance and fuzziness (ie, most of the Vandoren line-up, v12s were the best in this regard), but instead was just naturally dark and pure of sound. Hemke supplied that tone clarity while still not ever edging over into "brightness". I did multiple play tests for colleagues (vs Vandoren v12 & Gonzalez Classic) and every single one described Hemkes as hands-down "more complex" and a better sound all around: independently of each other too!On the feel side of things, there was a responsiveness at extreme registers and dynamics that no other reed had. Soft articulations on the low end? Easy and clear. Support at full blast on the top end? Got it. Every other reed I tried, other than the Gonzalez, had one or the other. Hemke had it all in both the feel and sound categories.But wait! That's just the classical setups. I did NOT expect all the above qualities to translate to my jazz/pop setups also. On a NY Meyer 8, (Hemke 2.5) the tone just projects forever and is clear without needing to be bright and buzzy to cut through. All the feel components described above are still there too in the low register allowing for very easy subtone and fluffy pitch-bending fun, yet I still have all the support I need in the top register without failing in lead alto situations. I keep pushing and it keeps delivering. The other reeds in this comparison were Boston Sax Shop, D'Addario Reserve, La Voz.This reed even tamed my metal Yanigasawa 9 a bit. It's still a bright mouthpiece, but the darker and more complex sound rounded it off a bit and gave it a bit more depth compared to all others in A/B testing.Box consistency seems typical to me, BUT ONLY THE NEWER BOXES with the new branding. Sometimes I've been shipped old boxes from 2010-2014 and they were obviously not cut even at all; didn't even play them. But in general, I've had one out of 10 that was noticeably "not as good" as the others, but still perfectly fine.I have a very strict reed hygiene and storage system, so they last just as long as all my other reeds.I don't quite notice too big of a different sound-wise right out of the box vs about a week of break-in time (good for emergencies), but I still make sure to break them in slowly anyway over a week to ensure best longevity and not to blow them out early.OH, and the price for 10 is about $4 cheaper than Vandorens :-)~. No brainer to me.

I'm a little over 50 years old and decided to take up playing an alto sax about four year ago. As the saying goes, youth is wasted on the young, and it certainly was for me. Every year I take out the sax, play and practice for about two weeks, then the same adult responsibilities once again sweep over me and the horn sits and waits...What has this got to do with my review? I have a set of reeds that I purchased as part of my 'quick start' program. Rico Royals in 3.5 3.0 2.5, and a couple of off brand reeds. The higher numbers are MUCH harder to control, for me, and nearly impossible to generate lower register notes. The 2.5's are about perfect. No honking, quick tones with little 'soak' time. I can get the Royals in 3.0 to work, but I have to work at it. Now to these reeds. They are great right out of the box. Good sound. No goose calls. At some point I may order a box of 3.0's. At this price it is cheap to experiment. If I had a youngster around, I would start them off with these - or some 2.0's. A very, very good value.Perhaps I can get the grand kids to play. Maybe I can force myself to keep up with them.

This is a good reed, playable out of the box, but shorter length than others, which negatively impacts the low register. I had to cut back a bit of the reed and shave/sand a bit to get it to respond well below the staff.

Estos Reeds son de muy buena calidad recomendados 100% ya que son muy útiles para mi hijo que va en Highschool en 10mo. Grado y necesita reeds más fuertes y que den un sonido claro.

Excellent transaction…. Super speedy shipping

These reeds really seem to hold up over time. The tone and quality of sound is excellent and the reeds really seem to last and be quite resilient. They hold up well overtime, they are one of my favorite brands for my Alto Sax.

Love it. My alto is happy

La verdad nunca había usado las cañas Hemke. Quise probarlas y de verdad me sorprendió la calidez del tono de estas cañas, sin perder fuerza y brillantez. Apropiadas para interpretar Pop y Jazz. Las seguiré usando en mi Sax Alto. Recomendables.

Exercise classic reeds. Thanks 👍

No me convencen en lo más mínimo.

Per me ottime con becco Meyer 7,le ricomprero'

My fave stalwart Alto Sax Reed, strength 3.Decades of playing these - always!