Exciting Times at Rico!

Exciting Times at Rico!

With all of the great changes and improvements at the factory I am excited for the future of Rico and reeds in general.

Being a reed player myself, I am always looking for advances in playability and sound production/longevity. One of the most important features is to get the most vibrations and tone out of the reed and this plays right in to the new Rico and new Rico machinery.

The machines I am speaking of are called “blanking machines”. These machines take the raw tubes and create an almost ready reed. For me, the most exciting portion of the machine is regarding the flatness of the reeds.

These new machines create the flattest tables on reeds that I have ever seen and, in addition the smoothest that I have ever felt. Even if your mouthpiece table is not completely flat (which does happen!), all of the new Rico reeds will help create better contact between the reed and the mouthpiece.

Most players understand the importance of the contact between the reed and the lay of the mouthpiece. Essentially, the more contact between the two parts equals more vibration and tone. One thing that I have found over the years in playing situations is that you can work to stifle some of the vibrations (if necessary), but if they aren’t there to begin with you can’t create them from thin air.

Regardless of which Rico reed you try, they all benefit from these new machines and a new level of consistency unheard of in the single reed world.