 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Austin H.
Date: 2023-12-14 05:31
Anyone use the new Gonzalez GD reeds and can compare the hardness to, say, VD 56? There's some conflicting reports out there - I've seen their website say their 3 is the same as a VD 3 but weinermusic would say theyre about a 1/2 strength harder.
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Author: Bob Barnhart ★2017
Date: 2023-12-16 00:19
Austin,
I played the "old" Gonzalez GD reeds years ago, but then they disappeared.
Within the last 3-4 months I've been playing the "new" Gonzalez GD reeds and have found them to be quite superior to the equivalent Vandoren V12s, both in tone and response, as well as price. (However, they can still be difficult to find in stock)
As I've not played Rue le Pic 56s much, I will say that a new GD #3 (which I am now playing) is perhaps 1/4 strength stiffer than a V12 #3 and perhaps about equivalent to a VD Traditional #3.
Although I played V12s many years ago, these days I find them to be made of harder, less pliable/responsive cane. This might work if you play a closer facing, but I favor more open facings (e.g., M30-B40 style mouthpieces) and for me the new GDs are more responsive, warmer in tone and easier to adjust. While the CDs are very consistent, I find that the #3s sometimes require a bit of adjustment. The cane is very workable and with modest effort I can adjust the strength, response, balance and tone (using a Reed Geek) to get exactly what I'm looking for.
I highly recommend the new GDs to those who like V12s. I think you would like them.
Bob Barnhart
PS: FWIW, I've also recently switched to Gleichweit mouthpieces [BW 7-1, 7-4, 8-4] which I find play/sound better than all my many Vandoren and Zinner mouthpieces. I also highly recommend them. Caveat: the BW bore is pitched more like the VD 13-series at A-440 and the B bore is more like the European A-442 pitch. The ones I play have an M30-B40 style facing and all play well with the new GD #3 or even #2.75. Personally, I found the GD #3.25 a bit heavy for me.
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Author: adam_s
Date: 2024-01-13 02:37
I also have loved the new GD reeds since they came out. The "old" GD were good for a while, then fell off for a few years around the beginning of the pandemic.
But now, I'm afraid there are some issues again. Has anyone tried any of the new boxes, labeled "Harvest 2017"? The first box I bought was actually a strength lower than I usually get, since alot of the 3.75s were taking a good deal of work to get to be playable. So I tried two boxes of 3.5s in the new harvest. They were much, much harder than the box of 3.75s from the old harvest! (2016) And alot deader than usual. I hope this is just temporary, because the GDs have been such great reeds!
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