Klarinet Archive - Posting 001109.txt from 1998/09

From: Roger Garrett <rgarrett@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Bass Cl reeds
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 14:27:06 -0400

On Mon, 28 Sep 1998, ROBERT ABRAHAM wrote:

> My dislike for tenor reeds on bass clarinet is *personal* and will
differ from person to person. I typically have liked La Voz bass clarinet
reeds (although it's been a while since I did the bass thing). I dislike
Vandoren tenor sax reeds altogether, and the La Voz tenor reeds I used
were not the greatest for bass clarinet. The reeds were not great for the
ligatures I used on bass clarinet, because I was using a two screw
ligature on bass, which did not support the reed evenly to get good
response. Thus, the perspective. With a different setup, my perspective
might have been different.

There is nothing wrong with a two screw ligature on bass - it supports the
reed quite well. The Charles Bay ligature I use is excellent - and I
notice many professional bass clarinetists using the same ligature.

I have found the LaVoz to be trashy reeds on the bass clarinet - the
Vandoren tend to work very well for me - regular old bass clarinet reeds.
I have used T.Sax reeds, but not the V16's as recommended by some.
Still....I agree with the earlier post that Bs. Cl. reeds and T.Sax reeds
(in Vandoren) measure identically.

Find a good mouthpiece (Fobes makes an AMAZING professional mouthpiece,
and his less expensive student model is quite good as well) - and then try
LaVoz against Vandoren - and make sure you are using a 3.5 or something
around that strength (unless your tip opening is HUGE)........you may find
that you change your mind.

Roger Garrett
IWU

-------------------------------------------------------------------------