ZZ reeds give the player a rich, colourful sound with quick response. Developed in 2002, the ZZ jazz reed is immediately responsive without sacrificing the brightness or tone quality required for this style of music. Vandoren ZZ reeds are designed to supply what are often mutually opposing characteristics in a reed–depth of tone and immediate response. Added to this seemingly impossible solution to one of the reed musician’s most enduring conundrums is the fact that ZZ reeds are free blowing and easy to play. Impossible you say? Put the lie to this bold claim if you can. Try them; you’ll become a believer. Vandoren’s ZZ reeds feature a unique relationship between the heart of the reed, where the tone is produced, and the thickness of the tip, which is responsible for vibration. The result is a reed with extraordinary tone and immediate response that is free-blowing even in the altissimo range. The ZZ reeds accomplish this immediate response without sacrificing brightness or tone quality.