It's important to note: This article and video are about a product that we have NOT spent considerable time with. We cannot comment on durability or wear over time. This entire article is based on personal opinions.
Silverstein turned a lot of heads when they came out with their first line of ligatures some years ago. It was apparent very quickly that they were interested in bringing products to the market that were very scientific in nature- made from only the best materials they could find or even develop.
Silverstein's new Alta Synthetic Saxophone Reeds
One of the newest synthetic saxophone reeds to come to the market, they're surely a top competitor for sound.
Looking to pick up some Silverstein Alta Reeds? I recently found them on Amazon for the first time since their release. They're not inexpensive, but I suspect (but have not tested) that they should be durable and last for a long time- especially in comparison to cane reeds which tend to be inconsistent and have a short(er) life span.
Big sound
These reeds play decently easily and have a big sound, similar to a great cane reed. The reed vibrates as it needs to, and you're quick to notice that it plays very evenly across all of the registers of the horn- even into the altissimo register.
I feel like this reed could have a much bigger sound if it had the ability to resonate a little more quickly. I found with this reed that the tip was thicker than what I'm used to, and the effect of that is that it doesn't seem to resonate as quickly as other reeds. In summary: I had to work a little harder to get sound, but it sounded great!
To me, this reed sounds darker than most of the synthetics that I have played. I feel like it's often that many synthetic designs sound thin and plasticky- but this is not one of those reeds. These have a very full-bodied sound with very little edge in the tone.
New material
Silverstein says that they developed a new material for these reeds called "Ambipoly" which to me seems like some sort of a new plastic compound. On the Silverstein Alta Reeds website, they claim that if you wet a reed once, it will stay playable for 5 hours. This suggests to me that the reed is built a lot like a cane reed where there might be some 'veins' or 'ducts' running through the reed that stores or reacts to moisture- but I don't know this for sure. It also says that these reeds are Eco-Friendly. I'm interested to find out if they break down over time, and what the time frame might be.
It also says that these reeds adjust to your mouthpiece, and that they last for up to 6 months of play time- which I have not verified.
One thing that is very interesting to me is that these reeds are able to be adjusted- as in, you can use a reed knife, sandpaper, or other tools to help you shape the reed to get the most out of your playing. This is a very interesting concept in a synthetic reed because almost all companies that are making synthetic reeds ask the end-user not to adjust the reed at all. To be fair, if you're getting a synthetic reed (most of which are made by machine)- they shouldn't really need much adjustment- if at all- and should be very consistent reed-to-reed.
Why Silverstein?
Although Silverstein Works is a newer company in the industry (I'm thinking they came out with their first ligatures about 10 years ago?), they have cemented themselves as making super high-quality products for woodwind players of all kinds.
Silverstein makes products using a number of space-age materials that they've created and invented themselves and manage to develop products with a mindset that helps them work through issues in ways that other companies have not thought about.
All of their products are made in the USA, specifically in New Jersey. Their customer support is fantastic, matching all of the products that they make.
Big Tone that is not typically found in synthetic reeds.
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