free-reed vs reed

free-reed and reed both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
free-reed	Yes	No	No	No
reed	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, reed is a hypernym of free-reed; that is, reed is a word with a broader meaning than free-reed:

Other hypernyms of free-reed include beating-reed instrument, reed instrument.

free-reed (noun)	reed (noun)
a reed that does not fit closely over the aperture	a musical instrument that sounds by means of a vibrating reed
	a vibrator consisting of a thin strip of stiff material that vibrates to produce a tone when air streams over it
	tall woody perennial grasses with hollow slender stems especially of the genera Arundo and Phragmites