Klarinet Archive - Posting 000783.txt from 1995/05

From: Christopher Vaughn <cvaughn@-----.NET>
Subj: Re: RE>Vandorens vs. Mitchell L
Date: Sat, 27 May 1995 17:07:02 -0400

Well after lurking on this list for some time, I'm going to finally take
the plunge again into the middle of this one too. In my humble opinion
(and in my 9 years of using Vandoren's exclusively) I must say that the
V12's outperform both the standard Vandoren and the ML's consistently. My
biggest problem with the standard Vandoren's are the inconsistency out of
the box. Someone on this list mentioned his process for "breaking in" the
reeds that took about 3 weeks. Forgive me, I intend no offence, but I
don't have the time, nor the patience to spend 3 weeks breaking in some
reeds. In my experience, even when trying my darndest to break in a normal
Vandoren, it hasn't come close to giving me the control, the consistency or
the tone that the V12's have. As for the Mitchell Lurie's, for me they
aren't even in the running. I used to recommend them to my students
because they are cheaper than the V12's. Anymore, I only recommend the
V12's unless they can't afford them (or the parent's just don't want to
spring for them). I played on the ML Premium's (size 4) for years (about
7th through 10th grade) and thought they were pretty good. I then moved to
normal Vandoren's, which I thought were better--but *much* more
inconsistent (esp. right out of the box). Finally I tried the V12's and
have been absolutely hooked ever since. I've tried other reeds
(Oliveri's(sp?), etc...) but still haven't been as satisfied as with the
V12's.
I find that the V12's, especially in the upper range of the horn, give
me much more control than any other reed. Control over tone color, over
dynamics, over resistance (i.e. I don't feel like I'm about to lose it and
squeak). The overall tone I can produce on my clarinet's (Yamaha
72's--both of them) I find to be much better--not airy, but solid and
focused instead. As far as the argument that they wear out faster, I have
no defense there, it's true. However I do use Hydrogen Peroxide on my
reeds often and this does considerably extend the life of the reed. I'm
willing to pay for reeds more often (especially when bought mail order...so
much cheaper!) when I know I'm not going to have to break them in for weeks
at a time, and when I know that the end result will be peace of mind for
me...and a better sounding product for my listeners.
Just my, oh, about 4 and 2/3 cents worth.

Chris Vaughn

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"There is a fine line / Send me a giraffe, we need a /
between ignorance /-- giraffe around here. /--
and stupidity... /---- /----
Only I have managed ----/ Christopher J. Vaughn ----/
to erase that line." --/ Supreme Music Teacher Guy --/
--Dr. Science / cvaughn@-----.net /
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The thing I really like about deadlines is that sound they make when they
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