Klarinet Archive - Posting 001219.txt from 1998/10

From: "Diane Karius, Ph.D." <dikarius@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Reeds + Studies
Date: Wed, 28 Oct 1998 11:09:21 -0500

Regarding my comment on using Grand Concerts; Zonda's and Vandoren
V12's, Mary J. wrote:
> What variance in reed strength do you use from one brand to the next.

For what its worth, I find that they are reasonably similar,
although the Vandorens are consistently the stiffest. I use
4 1/2's for the Vandorens; 4 1/2 Zonda's with "P" or "Q" as the last
letter in their code (P = middle of the road, Q=slightly harder 4
1/2 according to the info posted here by the company - based on
comments from my teacher, the "P" really is likely to be softer than
the Q (comment = "that reed sounds soft")); and 4 1/2 or 5 on the
Grand Concert.
I can get almost all of the reeds to play from any of the boxes with
relatively little adjustment to the reeds (occassional dutch rush to
clean up one part of the range or another). The Vandorens are more
likely to need significant balancing (although I can't decide why - I
would think their packing would be far more likely to prevent the
warping etc... than the packing of the Zonda's or the Grand
Concerts. I must not understand the forces acting on the reeds.).

diane k.

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