Klarinet Archive - Posting 000465.txt from 2001/10

From: EClarinet@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] Thumb Rest/Vandoren's suck?
Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2001 21:34:01 -0400

Andrew said:
<< I know it's off topic and realize that pretty much anything is better then
ricos, but vandoren's suck, they are incredibly inconsistent, if your lucky
you might get 1 concert reed from 2 or 3 boxes, what a waste of money.>>

OK---Vandoren's obviously don't suck or so many people all over the world
wouldn't be using them. It is true that the strength varies greatly in a
box. The company does that on purpose. I can't quote their literature
exactly, but they basically say they deliberately put soft, medium and hard
reeds in each box, so that there is something for everyone!!

You don't say whether you are playing the French cut (navy blue box) or the
American cut (grey box V-12's), but I can usually get about 7 or 8 of my
V-12's to play, and 2 or 3 of them are good enough for concerts. I cannot say
the same for the French cut Vandorens, which is why I don't buy them anymore.

A brand of reed that is much more closely graded in terms of strength is
Zonda---you can really get just exactly the strength you want, since they
make 3 levels of each strength, for instance #4L (soft 4), #4M (medium 4),
and #4N (hard 4). I even use different reeds for different settings, like if
I am sick or something, when I can't really blow, I play a #4M, and if I am
playing outside, and need something harder, I might use the #4N or #41/2O.

You could try that or other options people have suggested.
Hope this helps in the great reed struggle! :-)

Elise Curran
Orlando, FL

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