The ‘Excellence’ & ‘Classique’ reeds
Ever since I opened my first workshop in 1982, I have always remained loyal to the reeds produced by Franco Rigotti.
The cut might not always have been my favourite, but the excellent quality of the cane, grown, harvested, sun dried and age cut with great care in the Var (French Riviera) by Rigotti, has always been satisfying throughout the years.
By constantly working on my own reeds and advising the sax players on the way to optimize them, the collaboration with the Rigotti Company became essential and grew into a reality. I knew their cane pretty well (its qualities and potential) as well as the expectations of many sax players at the highest level with whom I shared the last 30 years of fertile work.
The creation of a Francois Louis® reed became a need:
the “Excellence Reed” was born.
The “Excellence” has been developed to meet Jazz saxophone players’ expectations: consistency, strength and durability. Its progressive flexibility on the longer portion helps to produce a fuller and deeper tone on most popular “jazz” mouthpieces while maintaining body and stability in the higher register.
I couldn’t leave the classical players behind and also developed a “Classique” reed for alto sax players and clarinet players. My experience as a saxophonist combined with the advice of many classical musicians, who have tried prototypes and confirmed my selections, helped breed this reed. But I did not master the clarinet enough to achieve such a journey alone.
The constructive collaboration with the excellent Belgian clarinet player Fabrice Alleman has been extremely precious. It is his patience and “live tests” that allowed us to confirm every microscopic modifications of the cut on the sound produced and the ease of playing, thanks to him I’ve been able to elaborate a reed in perfect balance with the “philosophy” of all my work.
Download a chart of FL Reeds strength compared to other brands and makes :
FLReedStrength.pdf [157.26 kB]
Download: 13647
I wish you an unlimited playing pleasure using these new reeds.
Sincerely yours,