Materials
Most reeds for woodwind instruments are made from cane, but synthetic reeds are used by a small number of clarinetists, saxophonists, and double reed players, as well as by bagpipers. Synthetic reeds are generally more durable than their natural counterparts and do not need to be moistened prior to playing. Many players consider them to have inferior tone quality.
Recent developments in synthetic reed technology have produced reeds made from synthetic polymer compounds, and as technology in this area has progressed, synthetic reeds have gained more acceptance. Synthetic reeds are useful when the instrument is played intermittently with long breaks in between, during which time a natural reed might become dry.
The dizi, a Chinese transverse flute, has a distinctive kind of reed (a di mo), which is made from a paper-like bamboo membrane.
Read more about this topic: Reed (instrument)
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“In daily life what distinguishes the master is the using those materials he has, instead of looking about for what are more renowned, or what others have used well.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)