Klarinet Archive - Posting 000484.txt from 1997/07

From: "David C. Blumberg" <reedman@-----.com>
Subj: V-12 Urban legend
Date: Tue, 15 Jul 1997 20:11:25 -0400

What a ridiculous, untrue, smacks of Urban Legend , dumb (ok, I went too
far) story. The V-12 reeds were made by Vandoren by the recommendation of
several of the Worlds top clarinetists who individually helped Vandoren
design the reed. They wanted to provide a reed with a thicker blank design
similar to the Moree's. Anthony Gigliotti was one of the designers, as well
as many others whom Vandoren gives no recognition to. Leave it to Vandoren
to take a good idea, put their name on it, and give no one else credit for
it. It is a very good reed though. I don't think they have a darker sound
(Yo Dan, what's darker??) at all, in fact I don't think they sound as good
as the regular, but give a lot more playable reeds per box.
My flame retardant suit is on.....;)
David C. Blumberg
Reedman@-----.com
Principal Clarinet Riverside Sym.

licoricestick2@-----.com Wrote::

From: licoricestick2@-----.com (A M)
Date: Tue, 15 Jul 1997 15:53:03 EDT

Craig,

Have you tried Vandoren V-12s? They look exactly like the regular
Vandorens, except they come in a silver box instead of dark blue. They
are thicker than the regular Vandorens, and better. Much darker sound.

Want a story? Here is the story behind the V-12s, as I can remember it (
was from a former teacher):

Once, long long ago, there was this fantastic reed maker. He
custom-designed a reed-making machine and it was wonderful. Everyone
wanted his reeds. People from every major orchestra in the world used
his reeds exclusively--that is how good they were. He was very rich and
very popular among clarinetists because of his wonderful reeds.
One day, the guy snapped. He had a mental breakdown of some
sort. He destroyed all of his reed-making machines, and he then killed
himself by a shot to the head. The clarinet world was devastated because
there were no other reeds with that quality. So Vandoren went around
interviewing people about the reeds and got the specifications and got
ahold of some old reeds made by that guy. They then created the V-12
line of reeds, which is very close to the guy's reeds, but not exactly.
However, they are very good.

Okay. That's the story. So anyway, check into V-12s. They last longer
than regular Vandorens and they play better too.

Anabelle
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LicoriceStick2@-----.com
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David C. Blumberg
reedman@-----.com