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If you've played a saxophone, clarinet, basoon, etc you already know a bit about reeds. The little piece of wood that you clamp onto your mouthpiece can make a good instrument sound bad and a not-so-great instrument sound decent. Basically, finding the right reed can make a huge difference in your sound. Unfortunately, the reed companies have a conspiracy or something since the reeds in a box are labeled, but the reeds are not sorted according to different strengths. Part of the reason for that is that the cane is organic and can greatly vary even if it's cut exactly the same way.

Brands: For beginners a reed like rico is all right to start on, but if you examine their reeds the cut isn't always quite right. Personally I like the V16's by Vandoren, their ZZ's are a little bit too soft for me.

Numbers: Mouthpieces as well as reeds are labeled with a number. This number refers to the opening at the tip. A bigger number indicates a larger opening. In general for a larger tip opening you will want a softer (lower number) reed. For a more closed mouthpiece a harder (higher number) reed works better.

Where to get them: It's great to support local music stores, but buy music or something else from them. Chances are that you know, or will soon know, more about reeds than the people in a shop. Try out some different kinds of reeds and ask your teacher or fellow woodwind players about kinds that they like. Then I would recommend ordering them from the woodwind catalog.

Many players have told me that the moistening and drying out process is what destroys a reed. When I started playing, a reed would be one way on a particular day and then change on me. If it's always wet the chances of this happening are less. I've seen special moutpiece caps with a little sponge that gets the reed a little moisture when you set it down. Some people just leave the reed on the moutpiece and put it away like that, but it can get kind of nasty. Lately I have been soaking it in a mixture of scope and water for ten days and then keeping it in a plastic bag between playing. My sax teacher has kept her reeds in a small jar with vodka.