Klarinet Archive - Posting 000255.txt from 1996/04

From: Nick Shackleton <njs5%cam.ac.uk@-----.BITNET>
Subj: Re: Vandoren Black Masters vs V12s
Date: Wed, 10 Apr 1996 14:28:31 -0400

I can't contribute directly but it is perhaps useful to have some
background, which I know only for the Black Master (I hope that others can
amplify/correct what I say)
The Black Master is one of the two styles that Vandoren designed for the
German-system world (the other being the White Master). The Black Master was
intended specifically for the Austrian market and the White Master for the
German market. Initially (at least in Europe) the Black Master was ONLY
available in Austria whereas the White Master was quite widely available.
I personally use a mouthpiece with a rather long (22mm) lay and a relatively
close tip opening and for this lay the Black Master seems to work the best
of the reeds I've tried. Looking at the advertised specifications for the
Vandoren mouthpieces for the German-speaking world it seems to me that this
lay may approximate the specifications that they envisage for the Black Master.
None of this means that the Black Master can't be used with a totally
different setup but I think it is useful to know what was behind its design
(or behind its marketing). I hope that somebody can contribute the same for
the V12 as well as providing the "comparative description" that Stan requests.
Nick
>I would be interesting in hearing a comparative description of the Vandoren
>Black Master reeds as compared with the Vandoren V12 reeds. Thanks.
>
>Stan Geidel
>Dr. Stan Geidel
>Editor, The Online Clarinet Resource
>
>Visit OCR at
>http://www.iquest.net/~sgeidel/
>
>