The Boston Sax Shop Red Label Custom Tenor Saxophone Reeds Review

Today, I am excited to review the new BSS Red Label custom tenor saxophone reeds released by Jack Tyler at the Boston Sax Shop.  Jack has been my repairman for many years and always gives me the inside scoop on the newest Boston Sax Shop saxophone gear that is coming out.

Besides being a phenomenal repairman and craftsman, Jack is always up to some new saxophone related endeavor.  Whether it be neckstraps, cases, ligatures, mouthpieces, saxophone necks, reed cases, reeds, etc….. Jack always seems like he has a new project on the horizon……When I heard of these new BSS Red Label custom tenor sax reeds he was developing, I had to try them!

The Boston Sax Shop Red Label Custom Saxophone Reeds

I have already reviewed both the Boston Sax Shop BSS Black Label and Silver Label Custom tenor saxophone reeds which I totally loved.  You can read those reviews here:

• The Boston Sax Shop Black Label Custom Tenor Saxophone Reeds Review
• The Boston Sax Shop Silver Label Custom Tenor Saxophone Reeds Review

What I loved about the BSS Black Label custom tenor saxophone reeds were how dark, warm, lush and round the tone sounded while using them.   The BSS black label tenor saxophone reeds were the first reeds that the Boston Sax Shop developed and gave saxophone players a darker and warmer reed alternative.

I loved the BSS Silver Label tenor saxophone reeds as well because they gave me a brighter and edgier sound while still retaining the consistency that the Boston Sax Shop Black label reeds were known for.

When Jack told me that the Boston Sax Shop was coming out with a new BSS Red Label custom tenor saxophone reed that would be an even brighter option for tenor sax players who dug the quality and playability of the original BSS Black Label and Silver Label custom reeds,  I was immediately interested in trying these new BSS Red Label tenor saxophone reeds out.

The Boston Sax Shop Red Label Custom Saxophone Reeds

Here is the description of the Boston Sax Shop Red Label custom saxophone reeds from the Boston Sax Shop website:

The Boston Sax Shop Red Label Custom Saxophone Reeds

As I wrote in the disclosure at the bottom of this review, I received six free boxes containing five reeds each of the new Boston Sax Shop Red Label tenor saxophone reeds.  Two boxes of strength 2 1/2 reeds, two boxes of strength 3 reeds, and two boxes of strength 3 1/2 reeds.

I also received six free boxes of the BSS Red Label alto saxophone reeds. Two boxes of strength 2 1/2 alto sax reeds, two boxes of strength 3 reeds, and two boxes of strength 3 1/2 reeds.

Most saxophone players would probably only need one strength of tenor saxophone reed, but since I review so many saxophone mouthpieces, I find it beneficial to have a variety of reed sizes on hand so I can find the best saxophone reed and reed strength for each mouthpiece I review.

The Boston Sax Shop Red Label Custom Saxophone Reeds

My first impression of the BSS Red Label tenor saxophone reeds were that they felt softer near the tip of the reed than the corresponding size in the Black Label and Silver Label reeds.  The BSS Black Label tenor saxophone reeds feel like they have more core thickness in the reed vamp which seems to make the tone thicker, darker and warmer in my opinion.  The Silver Label reeds feel a bit thinner in that same area of the reed making the tone more bright, edgy and buzzy.  The Red Label tenor saxophone reeds feel like Jack has designed the Red Label reeds to be even thinner at that point in the vamp of the reed making these Red Label tenor saxophone reeds even brighter and edgier than the Silver Label tenor saxophone reeds are.

As of the writing of this review, I have played through one complete box of the strength #3 reeds and one complete box of the 2 1/2 reeds.  The reeds seemed very consistent in strength and playability and of the 10 reeds I have tried so far, 7 played great for me, 2 were ok and one 2 1/2 was way too soft for some reason.  There was some slight variation in the strength of each reed but I considered this pretty normal and found each reed pretty close in strength to one another.

 Boston Sax Shop Custom Saxophone Reeds Side by Side (Notice that BSS is now labeling the reeds at the bottom)

The BSS Red Label tenor saxophone reeds seemed brighter and they had more of a lively and resonant buzz to the tone compared to the BSS Black Label and Silver Label reeds.  Where the BSS Black Label custom reeds sound more focused and round with that warm dark core in the sound and the BSS Silver Label reeds had more brightness and edge in the tone,  the new Red Label tenor saxophone reeds had even more of a brightness, buzz and edge to the tone.  This was even more apparent when I would put some more air through the mouthpiece.  The BSS Red Label reeds just seemed to go into overdrive when pushed and the tone seemed to have even more of a bright energy compared to the BSS Silver Label reeds that I describes as brighter and edgy in their own right.

On the sound clips below, I think you can hear the difference between the clips, especially in the higher altissimo range of the saxophone.  Those high notes with the BSS Red Label just seemed to have more of a bright buzz and edge to them whereas the BSS Black Label high notes seemed more focused and less bright to my ears.  The BSS Silver Label reeds also blow brighter in my opinion and although there is some variations to this brightness from reed to reed, I think that overall, the BSS Red Label reeds tended to be even brighter and edgier than the Silver Label reeds.

The Boston Sax Shop Silver Label, Red Label and Black Label Tenor Saxophone Reeds

For the sound clips, I used an Early Babbitt hard rubber Otto Link 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece that I have owned for about 20 years now.  I consider this mouthpiece to be a “middle of the road” tenor sax mouthpiece because it sits in the middle of that dark to bright tone spectrum for the tenor saxophone.

I tried to play many of the same lines, melodies and ideas for both sound clips although there are of course unintentional differences in the way I am playing between the clips.  After each section of a clip, you can pause the clip and play the same section of another clip to hear the differences between the clips.

I was most surprised by the differences between the beginning of the clips on the melody of “My One and Only Love” especially.  Even though I thought I played the clips very similarly, the Red Label clip has more of a brighter energetic buzz in the tone.  The Silver Label sound clip sounds energetic and lively but with less buzz in the tone than the Red Label sound clip.  The BSS Black Label sound clip sounds more refined, textured and laid back.  If there is a difference in the way I am playing, I believe that perhaps that brighter energy of the Red and Silver Box reeds influenced me subconsciously to play a bit more energetically and the more refined warmth of the Black Box reeds influenced me to play in a more mellow and laid back style. It was certainly not intentional on my part.  *As a special point of interest, the Black Label reed sound clip was recorded in a different room 6 1/2 years ago so that different recording environment could very well have had an impact on the sound clip.

On the other hand, if I didn’t play “My One and Only Love” differently, it might just be that brighter energy of the Red and Silver Label reeds that is making me hear the SIlver and Red Label reed clips as more energetic.  Very interesting!  I’m curious what you think about this……..

The Boston Sax Shop Custom Saxophone Reeds

All the BSS tenor saxophone reeds articulated well and handled the extremes of the saxophone range well.  I did find the altissimo range of the Red Label reeds to lean towards that brighter and more aggressive type of altissimo tone you would use on a wailing sax solo over a pop or funk tune (it was easy to get that nice buzz and edge out of the tone that you need for those types of solos).  Of course,  I believe the Black Label reeds can do this as well but with less brightness, edge and buzz to those altissimo notes.

The Boston Sax Shop Red Label Custom Saxophone Reeds

Honestly, I love the BSS Red Label, the BSS Silver Label and BSS Black Label tenor saxophone reeds (I haven’t tried the BSS Blue Label reeds yet).  In my opinion, these three reed choices give me a different tone, response and vibe from each other.  I believe this difference is real and tangible and as much time as we spend messing with mouthpieces, ligatures and screws, the reed, in my opinion, is the most immediate and impactful source (next to the player themselves) for our sound, response and player feedback.

The Boston Sax Shop Red Label tenor saxophone reed gives the player another choice for a tenor saxophone reed that can provide more vibrant brightness and energetic buzz to the tone while also providing more of a gritty edge to the sound when needed.

It really is a very personal choice but I would encourage you to at least try these great Boston Sax Shop line of reeds and decide for yourself what your favorite tenor saxophone reeds are that help you better approach your ideal sound you imagine in your mind’s ear.

If you are interested in the Boston Sax Shop custom saxophone reeds,  you can get them at these links Boston Sax Shop Silver Box Custom Tenor Saxophone Reeds, Boston Sax Shop Black Box Custom Tenor Saxophone Reeds or the Boston Sax Shop Red Box Custom Tenor Saxophone Reeds. Neffmusic also gets a small commission from each sale using this link at no extra cost to you which helps support this website,  so thank you in advance if you use the link.

Thanks to Jack for sending me these great Boston Sax Shop Red Label Custom tenor saxophone reeds to try.

If you try the Boston Sax Shop reeds, please come back and tell us what you think of them in the comment section below.    Steve

Early Babbitt 7* Hard Rubber Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-Boston Sax Shop Red Label 3 Reed

Early Babbitt 7* Hard Rubber Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-Boston Sax Shop Silver Label 3 Reed

Early Babbitt 7* Hard Rubber Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-Boston Sax Shop Black Label 3 Reed

Jack Tyler from the Boston Sax Shop discussing the differences between the BSS Blue, BSS Black, BSS Silver and BSS Red tenor saxophone reeds