My Falcon has Salpa reeds and we've compared them quite a few times. The Salpas are pretty close but they still don't have quite the same ring and crisp tone to them that his old German reeds have. If you were to hear just my accordion you would think it is spot on the old Sterling/Monarch sound, but if you play it or hear it back to back with his accordion like you suggested, you can definately hear a difference.