Vandoren Java
What’s the difference between regular Vandoren reeds and the Vandoren Java?
I’ve been looking for Vandoren reeds for my alto sax, and I keep coming across ones that say “Java”. Are these some special kind of reeds? Do they sound better than the regular ones?
Also, what are the ZZ ones? =]
The difference between the Java reeds and the classic reeds is the thicknesses. In the Java the tip is thicker than a classic reed, and the back is thinner than a classic reed. Obviously that makes the tip thinner on the classic and the back thicker. The Java is usually accepted most as a jazz reed. The ZZ is the same general idea as the javas, just slightly more so. As to sounding “better” it depends on what sound YOU want. I am sure there are some jazz players using classic vandorens, and there are classical players using Java or even ZZ reeds. It isn’t better or worse sounding, it is just different and it all depends on the taste of the player.
Below is the page on the Vandoren webpage that can get you to a picture showing what I mean and explaining the difference well.
http://www.vandoren.com/en/saxoreed.html
On the left side is a link for “the difference of cut of saxo reeds” and that shows what you want to know.
The mysterious Blue Vandoren Java A35