 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: theclarinetist
Date: 2003-09-03 03:19
With all the Gonzalez talk, I figured I would let everyone know that I, a sworn V-12 fan, have ordered a box of Gonzalez reeds, strength 4.75 (compared to my usual V-12 4.5s). I've only played on 1 so far, so it's to early to make any definite judgements (and my first impressions on reeds, mouthpieces, ligatures etc, are almost always wrong). However, I will do my best to consider them subjectively and give a good "review" (I realize they have been reviewed before... and probably more aptly than I'm capable of doing, but I figure as many different views are never a problem... now whether any cares to read it is another story...)
I made no attempts to break in the reed I played, but it played nicely right out of the box, and was to my pleasant surprise very hard, but played well without much "buzz" or "fuzz" (whatever you call it). You may think "it's a 4.75. Of course it's hard!!!", but I V-12 4.5s get soft on me quick, so it's all relative to me... Anyway, I'll give them a sporting chance, then let everyone know what I think of them.
Donald hite - theclarinetist@yahoo.com
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-09-03 03:44
You might want to recheck the strength comparisons between the Gonzalez FOF and Vandoren V12 reeds.
Phil Shapiro recently posted a very helpful chart on the Davie Cane web site. Look under the FAQ link.
http://www.daviecane.com/Pages/Home.html
According to the chart, a Vandoren V-12 4.5 reed would be roughly equivalent to a Gonzalez FOF 4.25 strength...GBK
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Author: theclarinetist
Date: 2003-09-03 06:41
Cool. Thanks for the advice! I actually used the WWBW which indicated the 4.75 being about the same as a V-12 4.5. I almost went with Gonzalez 5s, because in the past I've found reed charts to be deceptive and the reeds I order (which supposedly corresponde to 4.5 v-12) are almost always too soft, or become too soft very quickly. The Gonzalez 4.75 seems slightly harder than the V-12 4.5 (indicating that your sources are most likely accurate), however I can play the reeds nicely, and while they are hard, they are still quite responsive and not buzzy at all (thank goodness). While I have no particular problem with the v-12s (honestly, I like them alot and have no problem), it's always nice to experiment and see what else is out there. I've heard so many good things about them on this board that I figured there was no harm in trying (unless I ordered the wrong size...), but sometimes you gotta take a risk if you want to discover something new (and I realize 19 bucks isn't much of a risk in the long run, but for a college student it's still a substantial amount of change to dish out in vain...) Luckily, it appears as though the strength was accurate enough that i can make them work (and quiet nicely from what I've seen thus far). Thanks for the input. I'll check the chart out and hopefully it can help me from making future errors in selection.
Don Hite
theclarinetist@yahoo.com
PS - I know this stupid, but I really was impressed by the little paper holders the reeds come in. They seem very protective, yet lack all the sharp edges and ridges (that inevitable scratch your reeds, even from just initially sliding them out) that Vandoren reed cases have. It's a little thing, but I was impressed = )
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2003-09-03 11:07
DH,
I liked those little paper holders too! To me they look so sophisticated. Not cheap, like plastic, but elegant and more refined. It made me feel all special and tingly inside . . . . ![[wink]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie3.gif) .
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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