 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: jessicaclair.powers@gmail.com
Date: 2016-03-02 04:33
I had bought a few synthetic reeds for my Yamaha 6C mouth piece and they work good on them. It was suggested highly by the adult band teacher and others I switch for now to a Hite Premiere Mouth Piece and Rovner Dark Ligature. So I did. But now I cannot play any Reed 3 or higher without squeaking. I haven't played in 15 years but I was always told to start at a level 3 reed. Now my synthetic reeds are useless to me for now. Will I eventually be able to use a 3? I can say the Reed 2, with new mouth piece and new ligature sounds so much better than what I had before. I'm just afraid that maybe I won't be able to play something on my #2 reeds.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2016-03-02 04:41
If you're having problems with a 3 then don't hesitate to go down to a 2, or whatever is comfortable for you. Personally I wouldn't start a new player on a 3, probably a 2 or 2.5. The Hite Premier is an excellent choice, as is the Rovner Dark, but be aware that with synthetic reeds the central placement of the reed on the mouthpiece is critical, and if the reed is even slightly off-centre they will squeak. As your embouchure develops you will be able to play harder reeds, but as to how hard it's not possible to say. It depends upon a number of things like the musculature of your embouchure, how much you practice, etc.
Tony F.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2016-03-02 06:16
If you're playing a Legere, boil a pot of water, drop the reed in for 5 seconds and pull it out. This will reduce the strength by 1/2 number or a little more.
Ken Shaw
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Author: kdk
Date: 2016-03-02 06:58
I have read in other discussions here that this reduction in strength is not permanent - once the reed has rested and returned to room temperature, it may also return to its original strength.
I don't know what the facing is like on a 6C. The Hite Premier is described on the Woodwind & Brasswind website as having a "medium facing," so it could well be a little more open at the tip than the Yamaha mouthpiece and also, maybe, the curve isn't as long. Either could explain why a softer reed is needed for the Hite.
It's important to keep in mind that the reed and the mouthpiece function together as a system and that different mouthpieces need different strength reeds to play their best, independent of your embouchure strength or level of refinement. Teachers who insist dogmatically that students start on a #3 (or any other specific strength) are either not clarinetists (such as many of the generalists who teach in school band programs) or are counting on a particular type of mouthpiece to go with the reed.
You may work your way back up to the #3 Legere you were using on the 6C, or you may not, but to my mind the best bet would be to buy a #2 or a #2-1/2 (or one of each to hedge your bets) Legere and put the #3 away in case you're able to make use of it later on the Hite or on whatever else you may move on to in the future.
Karl
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2016-03-02 07:31
The boiling water treatment will drop a 3 to about a 2.5, and after several hours it will gradually return, but only to about 2.75. There it will stay. It only requires the last inch of the reed to be dipped and only for a few seconds.
Tony F.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2016-03-02 07:37
I find it is good to start at least a quarter strength higher than comfortable on Legere (not to say a quarter strength more than comparable Vandoren, just a quarter strength more than you ultimately want on the Legere) because they do soften up that much or even a full half strength after about a week or so of continuous play. After that I find them to stay pretty consistent.
I don't refute the "boiling water" suggestion (never tried it), I just don't find it necessary myself.
......................Paul Aviles
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2016-03-02 17:11
"but I was always told to start at a level 3 reed."
Nonsense.
First, what exactly is a level 3 reed? I ask this (rhetorically) because the number 3 stamped on a reed can vary widely for the same brand, let alone manufacturer, let along among reed producers--especially for cane, as opposed to synthetic reeds.
Secondly, reed strength is integrally tied to, among other factors, the mouthpiece being used. Mouthpieces have many attributes, both describable and not, that help determine the best strength reed for them (as if we could hold the player's attributes constant: which we can't.) Some of the more predominant of these attributes include the mouthpiece's tip opening, and the profile, length, and thickness of its rails.
Thirdly, as alluded to, we can't hold player constant.
===
Jessica--I'm not suggesting that some guidance regarding your embouchure ISN'T in order here regarding your squeaking with all but the lightest strength reeds. It may very well be--I just don't know sight unseen.
But the idea that your reed size be cast in stone is silly. For now, play on the reed strength that you're comfortable with.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2016-03-02 19:22
I could not agree more. Your correct reed strength should be.........what works.
............Paul Aviles
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Author: bmcgar ★2017
Date: 2016-03-02 20:38
If the reed and-or mouthpiece aren't damaged, I doubt if the squeaking is the fault of your mouthpiece, reed, or reed strength.
Someone else, please chime in as to why I write this. I don't have the energy just now.
B.
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Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2016-03-03 04:31
I stopped selling Hite mouthpieces a while back after finding that they weren't consistantly good. You may have bad mouthpiece.
Steve Ocone
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Author: jessicaclair.powers@gmail.com
Date: 2016-03-04 21:54
Well, I finally got over my fear of speaking to someone else. Two things I learned.
1) boiling my legere solved my reed problem with the synthetic. Thank You!! For the steps and info.
That of course I didn't figure out until......
I learned how to put the Rovner Dark on correctly.....
15 years ago when I don't remember non metal ligatures being offered. Or anyone using in my rural community. So this idea of an inverse ligature was strange to me.
Also my embouchure was ok but needs a little work.
Overall a 2.5 makes the best sound on my Hite which I am preferring far above the Yamaha now that I am use to it.
I cannot thank you all for your answers!!
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Author: TomS
Date: 2016-03-05 18:06
I really like the Hite Premier MPs but have found that they are somewhat inconsistent and you may just have a "bad"one. When you find a really nice Premier, they are very good, better IMHO than the Fobes Debut, which is made from the same MP blank. You might try another Debut ... look at them closely for even side and tip rails, examining several if the music store will let you take them from their boxes.
As far as reeds, I bounce between Legere Signature/Classic and Vandoren 56 Rue Lepic. I get mad at cane and revert back to synthetic and vice versa ...
Paul Aviles is correct in that the Legere will reduce strength over the break in period of several days ... IMO about 1/4 strength for the Classic and maybe less for the Signature. As a matter of fact, the Classics will drift softer during a playing session, and you may have to switch reeds after an hour or so of intense playing (like in a concert band) The softening effect with the Signatures is less, they are a harder material and are more stable.
One work around for the initial harder playing characteristics of Legere that I use is to have another MP that is easier blowing (could be same model) while the new reeds are settling down and getting slightly softer.
I'd be afraid of boiling my synthetic reeds, but if it was the final solution, I might give it a try. Heat from your body and ambient temperature will definitely effect the strength ... but I think also internally generated heat from the reed vibrating adds to this softening ...
Good luck and hang in there!
Tom
Post Edited (2016-03-05 18:07)
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Author: Matt74
Date: 2016-03-07 00:48
Part of the problem could be that your reeds were broken in on the 6C. Different mouthpieces have different facing curves, so when a reed is broken in on one mouthpiece it won't work as well on another. Boiling them would probably "reset" them somewhat.
- Matthew Simington
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