Silverstein Ambipoly Classic Tenor 2.0

I am a very big fan of Silverstein Ambipoly reeds and have given a very positive review of the 2 strength jazz reed for tenor. Most of what I had to say in that review holds for this 2 classic reed so I will not repeat it here. Alas, I cannot remember whether I bought this deliberately to see what it was like, or as a mistake, thinking I was ordering the jazz reed.

It is different enough and didn't really suit me - hence the 4 not 5 stars - I found it felt a half- strength harder and as a result slightly difficult to play. I also found it brighter - which was surprising (is that how a "classic" tenor reed should sound?).

This experience points to the one significant drawback to these reeds - both jazz and classic - which is that if strength or tone don't suit the individual player they become a very expensive experiment.

Having said that there are two strong redeeming features - these reeds last and last - possibly to my ear even sounding better as they age. I have been using them - the jazz reeds - in rotation for 15 months now. The second point is that you can work on these reeds with a razor or reed-geek and this way I have been able to make this classic 2 much easier to play and warmer sounding. Further to this if they are soaked in water occasionally as per the original set-up instructions they are somehow refreshed - probably fitting better to the mouthpiece table.

Finally a note to Thomann - look this item up on your website and when you click on it you will see it described as "for Soprano Saxophone" - maybe you should correct that!