Klarinet Archive - Posting 000610.txt from 1996/05

From: Dennis Nord <nordden@-----.COM>
Subj: [Fwd: Reeds & mouthpieces]
Date: Tue, 28 May 1996 09:57:24 -0400

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I sent this message to the saxophone list. It might be of interest to
doublers here on KLARINET.

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Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 17:30:28 -0400
From: Dennis Nord <nordden@-----.com>
Organization: MIL Tech Pubs
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To: saxophone@-----.EDU
Subject: Reeds & mouthpieces
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Reeds --

A guy in our big band uses Bari reeds on tenor and baritone. They sound
fine. You can't tell the difference from cane. Tried them myself and
was disappointed. They were $9.95 each at a local music shop. They
come in three grades, soft, medium and hard. I found the soft was
harder than the medium. They have a pronounced double cut with a ridge
down the vamp. They were both very harsh right out of the box, so I
used a micrometer to copy the shape of a good cane reed. The result was
much too soft--ruined the reed.

Not too long ago I spoke to Ralph Morgan of Morgan mouthpieces. (A
wonderful, kind gentleman--full of useful info!) He said that Vandoren
V16s are really cut for bass clarinet, Javas are slightly thicker and
more suited for tenor (my instrument).

Mouthpieces --

I'm currently trying tenor mouthpieces from Woodwind/Brasswind. For
what its worth, here are my impressions so far:

Present mouthpiece is a Berg Larsen metal 100/2. Good jazz sound, just
a little too edgy for classical. Palm keys are sharp. Low notes (below
G) are extremely difficult to get out, pianissimo is impossible. Bell
notes are sharp. Intonation is unstable--requires a rock-steady
embouchure.

Vandoren Java T35. Terrible. Brittle, brassy sound. Couldn't find a
reed that worked. Low notes difficult. Intonation bad. Workmanship
mediocre for a Vandoren. Table was not flat (unless is was slightly
convex on purpose.)

Morgan 5L. Sound was like the old big bands, just as advertised.
Workmanship extremely good, obviously handcrafted. Intonation very
good, especially the upper octave. The tone here is like the upper
octave of a baritone. Low notes a little quirky and less responsive.

Rousseau Studio Jazz SDX4. Workmanship very good, like the Morgan.
Sound is similar to the Berg, but far more responsive in the low end.
The best of the bunch so far. Not quite the sound I want.

The next three will be classical designs. I'll report later. The horn
BTW is a Martin Committee, vintage 1960.

Dennis Nord
nordden@-----.com

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