D'Addario Woodwinds Day - 10th May 2026

What better way to spend your Sunday than finding that new magic piece of the instrument puzzle to enhance your playing! For clarinet and saxophone players – that’s exactly what happened at Play It Again on 10th May 2026, with Tom from D’Addario Woodwinds bringing the best in the D’Addario range for mouthpieces and reeds.

From high end marble effect mouthpieces to gold plated H-Ligatures and synthetic reeds, the chance to try out these lovely accessories is always a super opportunity!

  Tom from D’Addario is the Product Expert on all things woodwind – and   being an experienced player himself - is very passionate about helping other   players get as much as they can out of   their setup. Within his free sessions, you can discuss what it is you’re hoping to enhance or achieve, and Tom is on hand to listen and provide you some awesome options and insight.

[Left: Tom explaining products to young saxophonist]

Several of Tom’s consultations lead to players discovering VENN synthetic reeds as a consistent extra or replacement for their usual cane reeds. A synthetic reed is a great accessory to have when your regular cane reed may have an accidental chip or start getting dull, therefore nearing at the end its life. Synthetic reeds are super consistent and last a lot longer than wooden reeds. They do give a different feel or tone to your playing, but they are truly responsive, bright and reliable. Their materials are an unique layering of polymer fibers that give VENN natural flexibility, for response and articulation like a cane reed. They also include natural cane particles to allow the reed to mimic cane, giving a warmer and richer sound. These are available for Bb Clarinet, Alto saxophone and Tenor saxophone.

Reserve and Select Jazz mouthpieces were popular choices amongst several alto saxophone players that sampled them - feeling and hearing a marked improvement and difference in their tone compared to their current one. Both these collections are available in various chamber widths. The differences in widths mean the column of air travelling down through the mouthpiece alters the smoothness and wholeness of your sound.

Reserve mouthpieces are a superb all-rounder for most types of player and genres. This collection harnesses modern technology to recreate the incomparable craftsmanship found in these legendary works of art. Milled, not molded, from hard rubber for a higher level of consistency.

Select Jazz mouthpieces are digitally milled to provide a consistent shape and a full, robust sound. These are in regular and marble versions that, as well as beautiful to look at, gives a whole new edge to your tone with this material finish. The Select Jazz mouthpiece initiates a perfect union of tradition and innovation so you can always play your best and gives you greater projection, being recommended for styles such as Big Band, Jazz, Rock and Pop ensembles. [Right: Vicky testing a Select Jazz marble effect mouthpiece]

One customer commented on how Tom helped with discussing breathing technique, having been in recovery from an operation and time off from playing saxophone. He was after a few traditional cane reeds to experiment with, and talked about how to improve breath control, taking away some great tips.

Another young player upgraded her clarinet ligature from the standard factory one that originally came with the instrument, to a very nice gold-plated H-Ligature. Although a small change here - it sure made an improvement in her tone because of how the reed vibrates with better contact points from the ligature and higher quality materials, enabling a much better sound overall.

All our customers were pleasantly surprised with the products on offer, having previously not considered the various options from D’Addario Woodwinds. Feedback with having the chance to test these items was that it is a fun and informative exercise to get better ideas of what you want from your instrument - and how a couple of changes to your setup can rejuvenate your playing and encourage more versatility for you. Thus, keeping you playing and enjoying music for many more years. Thank you so much, Tom, for bringing us the opportunity – we hope to see you again soon!

At Play It Again, we are always happy to talk to our valued customers about trying out new accessories. If you would like to know more about products or future events, give us a call on (01202) 667320 or come visit us inside Absolute Music.  For more details and to see the D’Addario accessories range that is available to order, visit: playitagainuk.com.