Klarinet Archive - Posting 000280.txt from 1995/08

From: John Baetens <JSBtens@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: reeds
Date: Mon, 21 Aug 1995 23:03:29 -0400

>I have been having trouble finding quality reeds for my
>students at school. I have trusted Mitchell Lurie reeds
>for years because they seemed to be pretty consistently
>playable "right out of the box." Does any one know why
>they have seemed to become less reliable? Many of my
>collegues have commented on this as well. Any
>suggestions for reed brands suitable for students not yet
>working with reed knives, sand paper, etc. would be
>appreciated.

As a casual player who does not like to mess around with
shaving reeds and spending a lot of time breaking them in,
(and probably not as picky as those who play for a living) I have
found that LaVos reeds work well for me. They play pretty
decently right out of the box and are very consistent. One
problem though, is they don't seem to last long. I buy them
by the box and find that every reed in the box is playable,
which is more than I can say for most Van Doren reeds.

John Baetens