Saxophone Reeds from Dawkes Music

How to Buy

Our stock of Saxophone reeds is all available for rapid delivery or collection in-store. We keep a broad range of Saxophone Reeds in stock and ready to order on our website. Any orders placed before 2pm are sent the same day (Mon-Fri), you can choose your postage method at the checkout. All the reeds shown online are also available from our Maidenhead store. If you need extra help choosing the right reed our staff are on-hand to answer any questions.

How long do Saxophone reeds last?

A difficult question to answer because it depends how often you are playing, how you look after the reed, the type of reed and the conditions you play it in. In terms of cane reeds: Sometimes a heavy-duty professional player may use a single reed on a 2-3hr performance and that will be it, other times that reed can cope with 3 or 4 such performances. For most amateur players a box of 10 should last 2-3 months if you're doing 20-30 minutes practice every day. If we are talking about synthetic reeds, then we tend to suggest 1 synthetic reed will last around the same time as a box of your normal reeds.

How much do Saxophone reeds cost?

The cost varies depending on the make of reed and the box size. Commonly a box of 10 Alto Sax reeds can cost between £20-£30. If you’re buying from Dawkes Music the most cost-efficient way is to buy a full box as these are discounted vs the single reed price. Synthetic reeds cost a similar amount to a box of cane reeds.

How to choose

There is an ever-increasing number of Saxophone reed options on the market these days. The main two manufacturers (Vandoren & D’Addario) supply many model options (Vandoren Java, ZZ, Java, Traditional etc) as such it can be difficult knowing where to start. Our expert staff are on-hand to assist via LiveChat on the website, or on the phone. Whilst the most cost-efficient way to buy reeds is by the box, you can order single reeds to compare them before committing to a box.

Classical vs Jazz

The first consideration is usually around what style of music you are playing, and what mouthpiece you are wanting to use the reeds on. Classical mouthpieces, such as the Selmer C*, Selmer Concept or Vandoren SL/AL/TL series will tend to suit French Style Filed reeds such as the Vandoren Traditional, Gonzalez Classic, Rico Royal or D’Addario Reserve reeds. Mouthpieces that have a design geared more towards jazz players, such as Otto Link, Meyer, Jody Jazz, Aizen will generally be more suited to American Style Unfiled reeds such as the Vandoren ZZ, Vandoren V16, Select Jazz Unfiled or Gonzalez Jazz Local.

Are Saxophone and Clarinet reeds the same?

No, each Saxophone requires its own type of reed and they are different in size to all the Clarinet reeds. For example, Tenor Saxophones require a specific Tenor Saxophone reed. The size varies to suit the size of the mouthpiece for each type of instrument.