Rico Plasticover Bb Clarinet Reeds, Strength 3.0, 5-pack

Durable unlike normal jigsaws, soft sound, doesn't leave splinters like normal wood ones, I tried them once and wouldn't change them for anything

I really like these reeds.

After having looked around a little, and having dealt with normal reeds in the cold and humidity (I'm from Canada), I started looking for an alternative. Unlike what I expected, these reeds are a lot more wood than synthetic. The best way I can describe them is just a reed that has been painted. They behave quite well, and I like that I can just slap them on my instrument. I have not hit a really bad one in the box yet (I also like the reed covers better than the traditional Vandoren sheath).One thing that I noticed is that the coating scratches off very easily. For example, I took as a habit to gently scratch my reeds with the back of my nail to get some lip skin off them, which on these reeds also scratches off the coating (see picture). Some of the reeds also had some left over edges of coating on the very tip of the reed), but they came off with a little coaxing.Overall, I enjoy these reeds a lot. They are brighter than a normal wood reed, but remain stable on harsh note switches. Not the best reeds in the world by any stretch of the imagination, but definitely something I will keep using regularly to practice and play outside. Still, they are just lightly coated, and will not last as long as a fully synthetic reed would.

I've been playing clarinet on and off for the last 15 years. I'm not good at it, I promise. I recently purchased an antique clarinet and needed some reeds as my local music shop closed. I've heard amazing things about plastic reeds before and I am a fan of Rico's wood reeds, so I thought I'd give these a try.These aren't really plastic reeds, nor are they wood reeds. They're layered. The base, that touches the clarinet, is wood, and the top layer, the part that touches your lips and teeth, is a black plastic material. The tonal quality that I can get out of these reeds is smooth, vibrant, and very clarinet-y. I got 2.5 strength (the same I get for wood) and I had some issues trying to play it, but that could have just as easily been a result of me not playing for a long time.Overall, the quality feels fantastic. I think the protective plastic will let these reeds last a long time. We'll see.

I really love this reed! After taking several years off, I recently rejoined my local community band. I found I was going through reeds left and right! I’d open a new reed, life would be good. Come back the next time and I’d have a hard time getting a sound out. I’d get a fresh reed and life was good again. But with this reed, each time I practiced, I had no issues at all! I love also how you don’t have to wet it like you do a regular wood reed, you just start playing. And from what I’ve read some people have gotten months to years out of these reeds! Saving money is always a wonderful thing. I used both Rico or Vandoren reeds in the past and I don’t find my tone is any different from them. My only bad comment and it’s really even not a major thing but I ordered a 3 and Amazon sent a 3 1/2. I had no problem playing on the 3 1/2 so I just kept them. But one thing to pay attention to if you order these reeds.

I use these reeds for balkan clarinet playing and they hold up really well in comparison to other brands that I use, such as the hot and swing rigotti. The good thing about these reeds is that the plastic coating makes them a bit sturdier and easier to mess with in various conditions.

I have tried several different brands and types of reeds including a Venn. The Plasticover reeds are my favorite of all of them.

I am an occasional player of my clarinet. I needed reeds that would give me a good tone and that would be durable enough to last when I haul the clarinet around to rehearsals, assembling and disassembling it and carrying it around the site. These reeds worked well for me. I'm strictly amateur, so I can't speak to how a better musician would find them.