Klarinet Archive - Posting 000595.txt from 1995/12

From: "Lorne G. Buick" <mcheramy@-----.CA>
Subj: Re: REED$
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 1995 13:43:06 -0500

>Does anyone know where I can get the best price on V-12's?
>Currently, I'm paying $16.00 for a box of 10. Is there maybe a catalogue
>that's cheaper? Keep in mind, with added shipping costs, if it's only a
>difference of a buck or two, then having to wait for them isn't much of a deal.
>

Houston Band Instrument Co. (800-779-7400) has been running an ad in the
Clarinet magazine for months (years?) offering "Vandoren Reeds- Half
Price". (Of course, their regular price may be $32 ;-) I've never dealt
with them, so I can't say whether their service is good/bad, fast/slow,
etc.

>Also, over the last few months, I have become increasingly dissapointed with
>the quality of the V-12s I've been getting. Bad cane, poorly cut ( ie:
>crookeder than most politicians,) etc. Is it just me, or maybe is my supplier
>not getting the best ones? Any suggestions?
>

I remember reading in one of the books on the history of the clarinet (I
think it was the one by Oscar Kroll) a letter from one clarinetist to
another in the late 18th century, complaining of the declining quality of
reeds. If they've been getting steadily worse for 200 years, imagine how
great they must have been back then! No wonder clarinets only needed 5
keys!