 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2006-05-03 15:10
Dear Boarders,
I have just paired the Vandoren top of the line reeds with one of their current mouthpieces (a 5RV Lyre, 88 13 series) and I hope the results are clouded by the fact that I am just in a good mood today. The response and sound are magnificent. I don't even sound like me (this is a good thing).
Boy if it's the reeds, I'm gonna have to knock over a convenience store to help pay for this new addiction.
Let's all hope it is just temporary madness.
.............Paul Aviles
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Author: Bnewbs
Date: 2006-05-03 16:25
I love the great full sound and very easy response with the 56's, but they don't seem to last well. I don't 3 weeks of playing out of a 56 reed. I get about twice that on an Oliveri. Have fun with those, but be ready to change reeds an awful lot.
Ben
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Author: larryb
Date: 2006-05-03 16:50
Maybe when you come down off of your crack high, they won't sound as good.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-05-03 17:09
I find they have a short but good life.
The light that shines twice as bright shines half as long.
Though it's probably much easier to get crack cocaine than it is to get 56 Rue Lepic reeds from the local music shops!
Not that I'm saying we should all become druggies by any means. Keep away from the stuff.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2006-05-03 17:14)
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Author: Katherine Handcock
Date: 2006-05-03 17:18
Just an observation on how long the Rue Lepic reeds last...have you been playing them right out of the freshly-unsealed box? I live in Nova Scotia (which has just slightly different humidity than France ;-), and I found when I tried the first of these reeds, they lasted less than two weeks...but the ones I'd waited to play lasted much longer. It's just a theory, but I think that the sudden humidity change from opening the package plus the stresses of being played right away combined to shorten the length of the reed's life. Now, when I buy a box, I open the seal right away and leave them for a week before trying any, and they work perfectly for me. Just something you might want to try...and it probably depends on your area whether it's necessary or not.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-05-03 17:25
I broke the seal when I bought them, and some only last for 2 hours before going soggy whereas some last for up to 2 weeks. I think I'm near the end of the box now, but I'll try the used ones again to see if giving them a rest has done any good.
Though they do perform well compared to standard or V12 reeds - but I use V12 on my crystal mouthpiece and 56 reeds on my M15.
If only they'd last longer.
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Author: Sean.Perrin
Date: 2006-05-03 22:15
I like V12s... the 56's have a really nice box that is reusable, but the extra cost is not justafiable to me as I really dont' find the reeds that much better. Dont' get me wrong, the reeds are DIFFERENT... but I just don't think they're better.
Call me crazy but this summer for practice I've actually decided to just use Legere reeds, I wont' be performing all that much and I can save a considerable amount of money by not using cane reeds for technical practice. Does anyone else do this?
Founder and host of the Clarineat Podcast: http://www.clarineat.com
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-05-03 22:31
I used a Bari plastic reed (with my original A1 crystal) to do a concert of Richard Strauss and Mozart 13 wind instrument works in my last year at college (a significant year for Mozart as it was 1991) - my teacher didn't even realise until afterwards when I showed him what I used - although he didn't like the idea he couldn't fault my performance.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2006-05-03 22:34
I wonder if any of you have a similar experience with the matching of the 56s and the newer Vandoren mouthpieces. The first trial I had was with the Hite I was most currently using and the longer vamp of the 56s made the setup sound thuddy. The Vandoren on Vandoren match up was so dramatically better that I couldn't believe they were the same reeds.
Thanks for the heads up on the longevity.
............Paul Aviles
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-05-03 22:47
The 3.5 Rue Lepics definitely work well for me with the M15 facing.
It was a chance discovery - there were single pack foil sealed promotional freebies of them in a card, I didn't realise the strength until I opened one and it was 3.5 which wasa bit too hard for the 5RV Lyre I used to use, then I found standard 2.5 Vandorens were too soft for the M15, 3's weren't much better and 3.5 were too hard - so I put the Rue Lepic 3.5 I had rattling around in my case on and found the holy grail. And bought a box.
Now it looks like I'll have to shell out for some more if I can get them. Maybe try a 3.5+ as well while I'm at it.
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Author: RobinEarle
Date: 2006-05-03 22:50
Reeds can be subjective. If you think it is a good reed then you will be more optimistic about it - for a while.
I believe the secret of a good reed is in the nature of the cane - its character and the quality of the cane after seasoning. Then come the balancing of the reed by adjustments by the player to suit his aim and his mouthpiece.
To find the best reed in the box drop them all on the floor - the best one is the one that gets broken! Such is life.
robinearle22@gmail.com
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Author: Bnewbs
Date: 2006-05-04 03:32
The #3.5+ works great on M13 for me. I dont care for them too much on my Selmer C95, Oliveri's seem to work better. They work okay with my Grabner/Hill, but articulation is not as clean as with Oliveri Elites.
Ben
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Author: Tavis the Repertoire Guy
Date: 2006-05-04 16:56
The 3's on a Gregory Smith C works wonders...
Also after prepataion, my reeds last on average for about 3 months... is this just because I'm in Australia?
Anywhos, take care tooterers.
Tavis
Email me if you want to be in the mailing list for my clarinet repertoire collection.
Post Edited (2006-05-04 16:57)
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Author: tetiana
Date: 2006-05-04 20:00
Are you breaking your reeds in gradually? The first time you play a new one, try to only play for one or two minutes max and nothing higher than the clarion register. The next day play for a full session. I then rest my reeds - rotate about eight of them one after another.
tetiana
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Author: Bnewbs
Date: 2006-05-05 00:44
I always break reeds on in gradually. I play the a scale or two and a little real music, about 5 minutes the first day. and add five more each time a play the reed for the next five times, then usually sand a little to balance it out. I keep a five reed rotation of good ones. I do the same thing with Oliveris & vandoren alto clarinet reeds, but these just do not seem to last as well as other types & brands.
Ben
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Author: StephanieG
Date: 2006-05-05 04:53
i just started using the 56's about a month ago and i loved them....at first .... and i still do to some point but i go through them at what seems like a fast rate for me. i remember that i didn't go through the V-12's that fast and once i finally get the 56's broke it they sound awesome....
just my 2 cents worth!!
:)
steph
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Author: Kchui999
Date: 2006-05-06 02:00
I like the 56's. Really good response, decent life-span for me, at least, but definitely not comparable to crack. I dont think i've found a reed thats as good as crack yet, but when i do i will let all of you know. 56's are more like...marijuana maybe? For me, they're really good, but im still switching between them and 3.5 hand selects.
~Chui
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