 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2024-05-05 01:06
Take a pretty adequate cane reed from your reeds in rotation.
It's not the best reed you've every come across but it's--all things considered--pretty good.
For you personally, how well would a synthetic reed have to perform compared to this good cane reed for you to abandon cane for synthetics. For example, someone might say, "I'd need a French Legere or Vandoren synthetic to perform at......93% of what a decent cane reed would perform at to make the switch, and last for a few weeks at least."
Some background. I carry synthetics in my bag mostly as a "safety net." I like them. I often wonder if they sound the same to listeners despite feeling a little different to play.
I play varied brands of professional reeds and can actually get most to some level of play using variations the ATG reed method, and a Reed Geek, and maybe a very reed friendly mouthpiece like my Vandy M15, and an attitude towards cane that accepts imperfection.
But the other day I was having a bad cane day and determined to get in some practice time rather than spend it on adjusting reeds. I reached for a French Legere and was really for the first time considering not looking back on cane.
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Author: lydian
Date: 2024-05-05 01:38
I'm only a doubler on clarinet, so I switched to synthetic a while back. Yes the tone quality and feel are inferior to cane, even the much loved Legere French cut. But since I play so sporadically on gigs, it's a necessary evil in order to have something that won't be dried up and warped when I haven't played for 10 minutes. Legere is still not acceptable to me on sax. It's close to being acceptable on bari and bass, but still a little too buzzy, hard to control in the upper register and not very long lasting on bass sax (only 2 weeks).
Long story short, as a second instrument, I'll tolerate it on clarinet, but not on other woodwinds. I still wish it were closer to cane. I've been wishing that since I tried by first synthetic 50 years ago. Significant progress has been made in the last 15 years or so, but we're still not there yet.
Post Edited (2024-05-05 01:39)
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Author: David Eichler
Date: 2024-05-05 04:40
I am an amateur player who plays alto sax and clarinet.
There are quite a few top professional players using Legere reeds and sounding great, so clearly it can be done. I have made the transition to Legere on alto sax, but for whatever reason have not as yet been able to do that with clarinet. The sound is there with the Legere, but I just cannot get used to the different feel with them on clarinet to control them in the way I want. For one thing, I really like the feel of the better thick cut cane reeds (like those from Vandoren), which I don't get with Legere. Also, I seem to find it takes noticeably more embouchure effort to control the Legere reeds on clarinet, compared with cane, for the same blowing resistance.
Post Edited (2024-05-06 05:37)
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2024-05-05 10:14
For me it would need to be somewhere around 98% or better, in other words barely noticable. The one VK-1 I have is about 92% - not nearly good enough but it gives me hope that we might get there during my lifetime.
I think the real issue is that when you know how to adjust reeds well you can get picky and stop being willing to 'play the reed; rather than 'play the music'. The reed doesn't just interact with the mouthpiece. The player's unique physiology and approach to playing are also part of it.
A synthetic reed that would really replace cane might have to be as adjustable as cane. Not having to futz with the reed is, i think, one of the goals of being able to fully enjoy synthetic reeds.
Anders
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2024-05-05 20:27
nellsonic wrote:
> A synthetic reed that would really replace cane might have to
> be as adjustable as cane. Not having to futz with the reed is,
> i think, one of the goals of being able to fully enjoy
> synthetic reeds.
>
So, for the synthetic to replace cane for you you'd have to be able to adjust it, but in so doing, would that not take enjoyment out of the synthetic reed for you that might motivate your unwillingness to migrate to it over cane all else equal in the first place?
Post Edited (2024-05-05 20:28)
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2024-05-05 23:05
SecondTry wrote:
> So, for the synthetic to replace cane for you you'd have to be
> able to adjust it, but in so doing, would that not take
> enjoyment out of the synthetic reed for you that might motivate
> your unwillingness to migrate to it over cane all else equal in
> the first place?
Yes, that was partially my point. However, there may be ways around that in this hypothetical future. If synthetic reeds reached a very high level of consistency any adjustment needed might become a quickly applied formula that wouldn't require testing the reed repeatedly - just a couple quick swipes of sandpaper just so in this spot and it's good to go every time ... OR, if the reeds became that consistent the mouthpiece could likely be adjusted to match the reed and the player. I know that mouthpieces have already been optimized for synthetic reeds by some makers but let's face it, synthetic reeds are still not consistent enough for this to be the magic bullet.
Also, if synthetic reeds improved to the degree discussed but were still very long lived - it might still be worth the trouble of adjusting, knowing that much less time would need to be devoted to that activity in the long run, considering the generally shorter playing life of cane reeds.
I remain skeptical but hopeful.
Anders
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2024-05-05 23:48
I sort of get what you're saying but can't help but believe that it imposes an inherent bias against synthetics.
You want them adjustable but are turned off by the idea, if adjustable, of having to adjust them.
Granted the ease, consistency of adjustment, and mileage you get out of them once adjusted might, to some extent, ameliorate these limitations you see.
Post Edited (2024-05-05 23:50)
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Author: David Eichler
Date: 2024-05-06 05:44
SecondTry wrote:
> I sort of get what you're saying but can't help but believe
> that it imposes an inherent bias against synthetics.
>
> You want them adjustable but are turned off by the idea, if
> adjustable, of having to adjust them.
>
> Granted the ease, consistency of adjustment, and mileage you
> get out of them once adjusted might, to some extent, ameliorate
> these limitations you see.
>
>
> Post Edited (2024-05-05 23:50)
To use a certain type of synthetic reed, it might be necessary to use a different mouthpiece, or adjust the one you have now, for optimum results. I have heard some players say they needed to change mouthpieces in order to switch to Legere.
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