I am just getting starting to play a saxophone and rented one yesterday at a local music shop to get a feel of it. I will be taking lessons, I was asked what kind of reed I wanted and this is the first wind instrument I am playing so that caught me off guard.
I was wondering what kind of reed would be best for beginners, is it cane or synthetic and what is the difference between the two when it comes to tone. I have read that cane reeds are the traditional choice and many teachers recommend them because they help new players develop good tone, but they seem to wear out a lot and can be inconsistent.
Synthetic reeds sound appealing because they last longer and don't seem affected by humidity or temperature changes as much. I just wanted to get an idea of what other players who have played longer felt about this and what should I buy? After looking at prices for saxophones on sweetwater (any other recc's) and other websites like amazon/alibaba I decided just to rent one and not make the investment of buying one just yet. I need to save money I guess to spend on lessons, this instrument seems a little more complicated than I initially thought.
Submitted May 31, 2026 at 02:05AM by Steinway_music https://www.reddit.com/r/Learnmusic/comments/1tslvm4/beginner_saxophone_what_reed_should_i_get/?utm_source=ifttt