I have tried several different techniques in reed working out all morning. There are 5 Rico Plasticover 3 1/2 reeds with various techniques done to them. My findings will be somewhat subjective but I will try to be as impartial as possible. The Test horns were a Buescher Aristocrat with Lawton 8*bb and a JK Straight tenor with a JJ ESP 120 mpc w/spoiler.
Reed 1
.
A standard 1/4" flat bottomed router bit hole was drilled in this reed. It performed as would any reed with a hole drilled in it. It allowed a stiff, somewhat stuffy sounding reed to be more responsive in all ranges of the horn. Better bottom end, more body to the sound and great altissimo. Subtones with ease, pitch is good, resistance level is just right.
Reed 2.
Slotted reed ala Steve J modification. This reed didn't play well, it became to soft and lacked any resistance. It would close up when pushed hard. Works nicely for soft playing. Pitch was somewhat elastic and harder to control or centre a given note.
Reed 3.
There were 3 holes drilled from the ramp to the heel of the
reed at first but this made little difference. I then drilled a 4th hole in the
normal hole spot for the older normal drilled reed. Initially with the 3 holes
this reed played stuffily and somewhat dead/unresponsive sounding, I then
drilled the 4th hole and it became slightly more free blowing than the normal drilled reed, it had a tendency to close up when pushed
hard though. It was almost identical to the drilled reed in all other aspects.
Conclusion, there is little advantage gained in drilling the body of the reed.
Reed 4.
Wide slot extending from the ramp through to the heel of the reed. This reed played abysmally, there was no meat or body to the sound, it would close up in the second octave of the sax almost instantaneously. Conclusion, doesn't work at all.
Reed 5.
Thin slot along the bark of the reed only, doesn't touch the ramp. I used a file, not a Dremel for this slot. Very simple modification that doesn't take a lot of time and can be done with minimum cost. This does free the reed up slightly but not as much as the hole. The reed plays well but still feels like a non drilled reed in the bottom end response.
Conclusion:
The hole has the biggest effect on the response/ playability of any reed. The reed still plays and feels a great reed straight out of the box. It improves response in all ranges of the instrument and makes unplayable reeds into usable reeds. The multiple holed reed plays slightly more vibrantly but the difference is very small and in a time/ effort vs benefits, it doesn't stack up.
The filed slot was the next best option and is ideal for a quick fix situation before a gig. It does work, and work well but the results aren't as dramatic as with the hole drilled in the ramp of the reed.
Any thoughts please email me bootman@bootmanmusic.com