 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Igloo Bob
Date: 2004-05-15 00:16
http://www.wwbw.com/Rico-Bass-Clarinet-Reeds-i68101.music
Rico Bass Clarinet Reeds
"High quality reeds designed for a wide variety of playing situations, Rico Reeds are cut of our most flexible grade of cane. The ease of play, affordable price and convenient packaging options are why more professional and music educators worldwide find Rico the best value. Box of 10."
"High quality"? And dear God, I don't even want to know what professional supposedly considers Rico "the best value".
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Author: ron b
Date: 2004-05-15 00:32
Depends on your viewpoint, I guess, Igloo Bob. I get about 94% playable reeds out of any boxed batch. So, from my viewpoint Ricos are about as good as any. I'm the kind of fella who doesn't mind a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch every day - so maybe that's an indicator of something relative to my taste in reeds. Opinions and experiences vary... a lot 
Happy Tootin'!!!
- r![[cool]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/cool.gif) n b -
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Author: Brandon
Date: 2004-05-15 01:09
You didn't think WWBW would say the products they sell are crap would you? Besides, after seeing the same message in different catalogs, I would say it would be a safe bet to say that the product writes its own sales pitch.
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Author: mw
Date: 2004-05-15 01:15
Typical advertising; they say the same thing about FOF & Vandoren, etc. too.
Actually, like many catalogues you can learn a bunch from it. Look at the Bore Comparison Chart that WW&BW supplies (or at least the last catalogue I looked at).
Looking for models which are undercut v. no undercutting. Poly-cylidrical ?
WW&BW's "B Stock" page is usually a good laugh - it seems they charge higher prices for some of these BLEMS, "2nd line now that it has a defect".
Mouthpieces de jeure', same for reeds.
Summer Sales should start to (really) swing here before long ...
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2004-05-15 03:58
IB,
As a saxophone reed, the old standard Rico wood-grained box reeds (you can tell I'm a little antique here) were always very dependable. At the time I used them, VD were not a very good sax reed.
About your statement "I don't even want to know what professional supposedly considers Rico "the best value"." I'm not sure what you mean but I'm a working professional and this is what I use. I now play La Voz MH (a Rico product) and VD Blue Box on clarinet and use only La Voz and/or Rico Royal on alto, tenor, and soprano. They perform just fine for me and are a terrific value as well. I would expect a symphony player to use a more expensive reed.
Also, I did not find the "proof" that WWBW's item summaries are worthless in your post. Was something accidently deleted?
HRL
PS I think if you check Sax on the Web you'll find a lot of Rico Orange Box users there as well.
Post Edited (2004-05-15 22:04)
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-05-15 04:38
Hank is correct.
There are many working pros who use Rico reeds. Take a look at the list of equipment set-ups of many of the most famous saxophonists and you will see a large number that play Rico reeds.
http://www.mouthpieceheaven.com/content/player.htm
btw - Charlie Parker used Ricos right out of the box ... never seemed to hold him back ...GBK
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Author: msloss
Date: 2004-05-15 19:20
FWIW, when putting the websites together, outfits like the Woodwind generally lift the copy about the products directly from lit provided by the manufacturer. I'd be willing to bet if you went to the Rico website you would find very similar language. If you think about the massive number of products they carry, it really isn't plausible to expect than to come up with deeply insightful words on everything in the warehouse. You want analysis, read this board. You want marketing, read their website.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2004-05-15 19:56
Chillout Igloo....Ricos have been used for many years by many players
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Author: Igloo Bob
Date: 2004-05-16 00:55
I have no issue with Ricos for any other instrument, because I only play Clarinet and Horn, so my experience with Ricos would be limited to the former. Also, I have no problem with the other types of reeds Rico puts out - I used La Voz for at least 2 years, and loved them, though they did tend to wear out very quickly. But when it comes to plain Rico reeds for the Clarinet, I've yet to meet any Clarinet player who considered them even adequate (perhaps there are some people on this board who do, but I'm talking people I know "in real life" as it were), and I could probably make a horror story out of the short time I used the things. Even now, I can't stand to even look at the box. I remember last year a member of the Bass Clarinet section had bought a box of the things, and I and another Bass Clarinetist each gave her a box of Vandorens in exchange for her box of Ricos, then after class was over, took them outside and stomped the Ricos into oblivion. Stupid and irrational? Perhaps. But the sound you get off of those things, even moreso for the Bass, is God-awful, and they are one of the few things I let myself be irrational about. I'm sure a master of the instrument could make even a Rico reed sound beautiful, but that's not me, or anyone else in the high school symphonic band section that I take the blame for if any unfortunate sounds come out of the section. Bah to Rico, I say.
In any case, the only reason this has any significance for me is because I was looking into Bass Clarinet mouthpieces on WWBW, and had a list of about 15 that all sounded wonderful from the product reviews. Now I think I can start whittling that down. I know, I know. Can't expect a business to tell you when a product they're selling is garbage. And in all fairness, I suppose my "proof" wasn't really proof at all, so I mistitled this topic, but it at the very least, put things in perspective for me. Now I'm curious as to whether the Pomarico Jazz Mouthpiece is really jazzy at all... *eyeroll*.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2004-05-16 01:12
Quote:
There are many working pros who use Rico reeds. Just wondering. Could that be because that there are thousands and thousands of what could be considered professional clarinetists in this world and maybe only a small handful of reed makers out there? I just woulda figured that the odds alone would say that there are probably lots of professionals using them.
I mean, I never thought anyone in their right mind would buy and use that 300 dollar glotin chedeville remake. Or pay 600+ for one off of ebay. But people do!
Just some observations.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2004-05-16 02:32
IB,
"Stupid and irrational? Perhaps" Your words, not mine.
HRL
Post Edited (2004-05-16 11:37)
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-05-16 03:05
I play along side of some fine saxophonists who use Rico reeds straight out of the box, often putting on a new reed after each set (45 minutes).
They consider Rico reeds to be "disposable". If they get one good set (or maybe even 2 sets) out of a new reed, before throwing it away, they are very happy.
When playing alto sax, I do the same with Rico Royals. (They seem to match the Link mouthpieces perfectly) . I also consider them "disposable" - but I am usually able to do an entire gig on 1 reed before throwing it away.
No break in - no adjusting.
Play it to death and then toss it out ...GBK
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Author: John Scorgie
Date: 2004-05-16 07:27
Most of us doublers have played Rico sax reeds with satisfactory results, but since one of the posters above requested comments on Rico clarinet reeds, here goes.
While I suppose that we can all agree that the plain Rico reeds do not approach the quality of the premium brands, including Rico's own Grand Concert, I feel that much of the bad rapping of the Rico stems from a few basic misunderstandings.
First off, the standard Rico reed is made to sell for the lowest possible price consistent with its threshold level of quality. It is unfair to compare the basic Rico with the Vandoren. The proper comparison would be between the more expensive Rico Grand Concert and the Vandoren.
The cane in the basic Rico is fair to good but not great, altho the occasional Rico reed will last a long time. A box of plain Ricos will contain some duds. Others will play fine for awhile but then poop out. See GBK's excellent commentaries above.
Second, basic Ricos are not numbered the same as many other brands of reed such as Vandoren or Rico's own Grand Concert. For example, if you prefer Vandoren #3s then you will find that most Rico #3s are way too soft for you. To match the resistance of a median strength Vandoren #3, you will need to buy Rico 3 1/2 or 4.
Third, while all clarinet reeds are cut basically the same, there are significant differences in geometry between brands. The basic Rico cut is different from the Vandoren, not better or worse, just different. Many players, especially sax doublers, prefer the Rico type of cut.
Any player who is armed with a single edged razor blade plus a little experience in reed adjusting can modify a basic Rico to approximate the geometry, and therefore the response, of the Vandoren cut.
IMHO, the great majority of amateur clarinet players, who are not skilled at reed adjusting and therefore are obliged to play their reeds just as they come out of the box, are well advised to avoid both the basic Rico and the pricey brands such as the Vandoren, and will achieve the best results by buying reeds which are slightly more expensive but also more consistent in quality than the basic Rico, such as the Rico company's own Rico Royal, Mitchell Lurie or LaVoz.
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