 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Bino
Date: 1999-11-22 20:41
Can anyone tell me the differences between Vandoren's Black masters reeds and the V-12's...Which tends to be a better reed or your personal preferences between the two...
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: James
Date: 1999-11-22 22:42
Black Masters are for use with German mouthpieces. As the name suggests it gives a very dark tone. I personally think that the V-12 are the best reeds in the market. The reed quality (the wood)is unmatched by any other brand I know and the sound is even, full, dark, rich. The major problem with this reed is that in a box of ten the reeds can very in shape, thickness, etc. and therefore vary tremendously in playing quality. I usually throw away HALF of them. There is usually one or two real good reeds in a box. I usually practice with them carefully and save them for auditions and other important events.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Jessica
Date: 1999-11-23 05:10
The V-12 is very thick at the back of the reed. It is a bit more epensive than the regular Vandoren reed, but lasts a bit longer. The V-12 reed was designed by Anthony Gigliotti. Apparently he went to Paris and told Vandoren that he liked the cane they use but not the cut. He then had them change one machine to make reeds with the dimensions that he liked. He told this story at a master class I attended a few years ago. BTW, he likes his P34 mouthpiece with a V-12 strength 4, and the P mouthpiece (which he played) with a V-12 4.5.
The Blackmaster is cut to the dimensions of the Vienna school of clarinet playing. It is a bit shorter than french reeds and is very thick with a lot of wood throughout the reed. It fits well on American mouthpieces (unlike the Whitemaster, which is too narrow). It has a dark, fat sound. I like it, but it's not for everyone.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Katherine Pincock
Date: 1999-11-23 12:16
By the way, on the topic of V-12 reeds and the inconsistency:
Vandoren actually intentionally includes reeds of different strength in the boxes, so a box of 4s will vary from about 3.7 to 4.3 This is designed to provide everyone with a reed they can play in that range. It does, however, mean that you get fewer reeds straight out of the box. HOwever, if you take some 600 grit wet-dry sandpaper, and polish the back of the reed and the sides of the reed across the paper a few times before trying it, you'll get a lot more good reeds out of a box--I now get 5 or 6 where I used to get 2 or 3
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: angella
Date: 1999-11-24 01:32
i've found the black masters to be overall "chirpy" - maybe because the tips are too weak? i'm not sure. when they're good, they're good, and pretty comparable to the v 12, but i've had too many that are just plain chirpy, and that's too annoying to deal with.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Jeff
Date: 1999-11-24 02:29
Has anyone noticed that some reeds are great for some people but horrible for another person? It seems weird to me that a reed that is good for one person isn't good for another person. My teacher gave me a reed that she didn't like and it was an awesome reed for me.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Jessica
Date: 1999-11-24 07:45
As for the "chirpy" sound of the Blackmaster, when I first played one I squeaked all over the place. It is not balanced like the French cut, so it takes time to get used to. I quit chirping on them after a few days.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Jonathan
Date: 1999-11-27 02:09
I don't know why after I have adopted to use Blackmaster (2.5 to 3) for few months, I cannot come back to the traditional and V12 and they all sound too bright or feel too hard. My mouthpieces are LC3, B45 dot, M14 and M13 and among them, I usually prefer M14.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
