 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Marty J.
Date: 1999-11-18 00:29
First, watch out where you buy the Legeres. I was quoted prices of 12.50, 13.85, and 18.00 from the three different music stores.
Having tried the Legere reeds for a while, I have a few observations. You better have a few if you are using them for an extended performance or practice session because they get soft fairly quickly. I use Grand Concert Select 3.5s on a Ridenour mouthpiece, and after a short time,the Legere 3.5s do not play on it. The 3.5s do play well on the Vandoren B45, but I usually use Grand Select 3.0s with that mouthpiece. I find them difficult to control when slurring from a higher register to a lower register. I find they are less forgiving concerning their placement on the mouthpiece. They are prety close, but not as consistant as I was lead to believe. All tht said,I think that they sound very good, but it would be an expensive process for to get the right setup with a mouthpiece.
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Author: paul
Date: 1999-11-18 15:59
I personally use Legere 2.5, 2.75, and 3.0 reeds on my B45 mouthpiece as an adult novice. They do tend to get softer as they warm up, leading me to believe that the 2.5 performs more like a 2.0, the 2.75 is more like a 2.5 or so, and the 3.0 is more like a 2.75 or so. I too have noticed the lack of frequency response in a warm Legere reed from low to high (chalemeau, clarion, altissimo) and high to low. The Legeres also tend to gather a lot more moisture than natural cane reeds. I still haven't figured out why. At my novice playing level, the extra moisture build-up gives me a chance to take a mid session break, which is often very welcome. There is no break-in for a Legere reed. Just attach it and start playing. There is usually no taste with the plastic Legere reed. I can easily sterilize a Legere reed in a mild household hydrogen peroxide and water solution with no detrimental effect on the reed's peformance. I believe that the Legere reeds are much tougher than natural cane, which would make the Legere reed ideal for rough playing conditions, such as marching band, or young student use. Yes, Legere reeds cost about 10 times the price of a natural cane reed, but I haven't heard of a Legere reed getting retired from wear yet.
On the other hand, almost all of my Vandoren V-12 reeds need to be customized to eliminate the left/right imbalance and they need to be properly broken-in. There is always a little taste of grass to the natural cane reed, which is expected, especially when new. In my experience, natural cane also tends to hold other odors and odor causing bacteria. The H2O2 and water trick also works great for a natural cane reed, especially if you want to bring some life back into an old natural cane reed. The Vandoren natural cane reeds hold a more predictable strength and resistance during performance and they don't build up spit nearly as quickly. I can buy a whole box of Vandoren V-12 reeds for the price of a single Legere reed, but the Vandorens do wear out. They also chip easily and they are very prone to warping.
So, know what you are buying and know how to use it. There are trade offs for price and performance. Like a good investor, spread out your reed investment to cover lots of contingencies. Better put: "Have a reed for every need".
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Author: Ray Swing
Date: 1999-11-18 20:53
Re: Legere Reeds
Except for the problem in the Altissimo register I've previously noted, I have not had any problems with the reed going "Soft" on me during some long Band practice sessions (2 hrs.)where we were playing a variety of music across all registers. The reed I have was manufactured about 5 to 6 weeks ago and I bought it from W&B about 4 weeks ago. So maybe I need more break-in of the reed before some of the other problems noted show up. If I encounter any others, I'll post them. I also have been using an Alto Sax reed about 3 months and have nothing but praise for it, since it continues to plsy very well.
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Author: Mario
Date: 1999-11-22 12:52
I just bought myself a new batch of Legere. My old set was Columbus vintage. My new set is made on the new equipment recently installed in the factory.
I tried about 20, selected 10, and will end up using about 5 after they have been properly broken in (it takes a few hours to mellow them a bit).
The last vintage appear amazingly consistent and balanced. The differences (if any) were minutes. The overall results continue to be impressive.
A thing to watch though: the numbering scheme has been altered slightly. My Columbus vintage was 3.75 (more or less the equivalent of Vandoren 3.5). In order to get the same strength, the new vintage called for a strength of 4. Dr. Legere moved reed stength .25 up in order to allow offerings at the low end that were not numbered smaller than 2. Marketing...
I also tried using McLube, a teflon-based transparant lubricant used in saiboats to make everything slides smoothly. I spayed a bit on the flat surface of the reed in order to chase water away. It seems to work. More on that as I experiment.
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