Klarinet Archive - Posting 000457.txt from 1996/02

From: Jacqueline G Eastwood <eastwooj@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: V-12's on Gregory Smith M.P.
Date: Thu, 15 Feb 1996 12:46:27 -0500

Hi Emily,

If you are taking V-12's straight out of the box and have them sound
awesome with absolutely no break-in period, then I would venture that
they are about a half to a full strength softer than what you need. It's
very tempting to want to open the box and go, but 99% of the time, the
reed that sounds great will die the fastest. I usually soak & dry them
for a couple of days WITHOUT playing on them before I will even try them
out. Seems to work better.

Jacqueline Eastwood
University of Arizona/Arizona Opera Orchestra
eastwooj@-----.edu

On Wed, 14 Feb 1996, EMILY
MARLOW wrote:

> Hello Everyone
> I recently purchased a Gregory Smith mouthpiece( the 1* facing)
> and it's working great for me. It was recommended to me that I should
> play V-12's with it for maximum results . Having tried these
> reeds with my previous mp( Robert Marcellus), I found that they
> "pooped-out" rather quickly and just plain wouldn't work at all after
> that. I soon switched back to regular vandorens which for some reason
> I was more comfortable with. However, with my new mouthpiece I decided
> to give them another try and perhaps finally get to experience the
> reed euphoria I've been reading about with regards to the v-12.
> Ah! Same thing again. I bought a box, played them in orchestra
> rehearsal that very day and they sounded awesome. They were so beefy
> and resonant, I loved it! I was sure the reed gods had blessed me at
> last. I even rotated the suckers, which is something I find hard to
> do. Anyway, they have all died since then with minimal playing time
> on them.
> Is it just a coincidence or do v-12's not work for me in
> genaral?
> Also, anyone who plays my horn finds my reeds way too hard. My
> teacher and a principal symphony player included. They're the regular
> Vandoren 4's. Why do I feel I need so much resistance to control my
> tone and how can I learn to play on a softer reed?
> I can't stand playing on reeds that sound wanky when I play louder
> than a mf.
> I would love to be able to sound the way I want with less effort than
> I am using now.
> Does anyone have any commentssuggestions for any of my questions?
> Thanks in advance,
> Emily
> P.S.If you wish, you can e-mail me directly at 002828m@-----.ca
>