Klarinet Archive - Posting 000226.txt from 2000/12

From: "MD (also: ubc@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Reed questions
Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2000 20:17:47 -0500

>I'm asking because my clarinet teacher wants me to start using 4's
>instead of my current 3-1/2 reeds. So last weekend I went out and bought
>a box each of Rico Grand Concert, Vandoren V-12 and Mitchell Lurie, all
>4 strength. The Mitchell Lurie reeds play nicely right out of the box,
>while the others feel and sound like plywood (I tried the entire box of
>Luries and several from each of the other two boxes, so I don't think
>it's just a case of one or two oddball reeds).

From my experience, Vandoren V-12s have been a half or quarter size
harder than any of the other brands. I personally play on V-12 3-1/2
with little modification except balancing. Have your teacher balance
the reeds you are trying, you'll find they play much better. (BTW,
I'm a 4th year clarinet student at UBC studying with Wesley Foster of
the Vancouver Symphony) The highest reed strength I've heard of is
5+, which I presume is all the reeds that don't fit through the 5 or
4-1/2 slot in the old reed sorter. My theory is that they put one or
two good ones in the box and fill the rest with "average quality".
How they manage to get this consistant assortment, I can't even guess.

--
Mike Dowler
--
http://www.mp3.com/mikedowler

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