 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Topher
Date: 2004-06-08 17:33
Hey all,
Since school is out, I will have more than enough free time (and money) on my hands, and I think some of it will be spent on reeds. I just noticed that Alexander Classique reeds are being made for bass, and I was curious as to whether anyone has tried them yet.
My other question was if anyone knows of a good comparison chart for bass reeds. All I can find is charts for soprano reeds. Are those close enough? Thanks in advance!
topher
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Author: William
Date: 2004-06-09 14:47
No experiance, here, on the ACs. As for the comparison chart question, I do not think that the soprano guidelines would hold true for the bass clarinet as the embouchure and resistance issues are much different with each instruments mpc/reed setup. My experiance is that I use a softer feeling reed for my bass and a much stronger reed for my sopranos, discounting for the fact that my soprano Kasper #14 is less open that my Selmer/Grabner C* bass mpc. A more relevant comparison might be made from a tenor sax mouthpiece comparison chart--just a thought.......
BTW--have your tried the Legere bass clarinet reeds? The #3.0 works well for my setup.
Also, could you explain to me the "more than enough free time (and money) on my hands" theory?? I don't get it--but I would like to.
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Author: graham
Date: 2004-06-09 15:06
Yes, but actually it is their tenor sax reeds I have used on my bass. Surprisingly good if what you want is a well upholstered sound with a smoochy smooth feel. Not so good for cutting through an orchrestra or retaining consistency when played loud. But I did OK (I think) when playing Shostakovich on them recently.
I don't know about Legere but I tried Fibracell and have never heard a reed produce such a ridiculous noise.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2004-06-09 15:07
Topher, I haven't tried Alexander reeds on bass clarinet but I did try them on bari sax once and wasn't too crazy about them, for what it's worth. On bass clarinet I use a variety of reeds including Vandoren, Marca, Rigotti Gold, Glotin, Zonda, Rico Grand Concert, and occasionally Olivieris, in the same strength (#4) as most of my soprano clarinet reeds. I also have a Legere synthetic reed as a backup/outdoor/doubling reed --- good to keep one in the case!
What you might consider trying is, buy one box each of a few different brands, break in one or two reeds of each brand at the same time, mix them up and try them against each other --- find out what works best for you.
I sincerely hope you know how to break in, and adjust (by scraping, or sanding, or whatever) your reeds --- this is especially crucial on the bigger instruments.
Please send me all your spare money, if there's any left after buying reeds.
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Author: Topher
Date: 2004-06-09 17:48
Don't worry Dave, I am pretty competent when it comes to reed break-in procedures. I am comparing Marca, Vandoren, Alexander, and Riglotti reeds, and I will be sure to post my opinion on the Alexanders. I have used Legere's for festivals and honors bands, as they don't get waterlogged from the hours of playing per day, but I have never been a huge fan of the tone. As for the spare money, rember that I am in high school, so my idea of "plenty of spare money" is probably not much money at all. That and I am training to be a cranky, Scroogeish old man when I grow up.
topher
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2004-06-09 18:26
A side note on the Marcas --- have patience with them, they rarely play well "out of the box" without a significant amount of adjustment, but once 'dialed in' they seem to sound good and last a long time -- at least that's been my experience over the years.
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Author: Topher
Date: 2004-06-09 21:23
Any specific adjustments, or will I have to fiddle with each one to find its problems?
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2004-06-10 14:43
Generally I've found the Marcas to be somewhat unresponsive and "dead" right out of the box. I use that to advantage by gradually thinning them down by scraping the bottom-sides flat a bit at a time -- this gets rid of the gradual warpage that's almost inevitable with the bigger reeds, and makes the whole reed livelier. Also, I scrape along the sides from the thicker part of the vamp, completing around the front edge of the heart in a "U" shape if the sounds needs mellowing/darkening, or more of a "V" shape if the reed needs more edge (this is all out of the Kalmen Opperman book "Handbook for Making and Adjusting Single Reeds", by the way). It may take a week or two of daily test-playing and scraping, but the end result is a reliable, long-lasting non-warping reed that sounds really good.
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Author: DougR
Date: 2004-06-11 15:30
Yeah, I agree with Dave S. on the break-in regimen for Marcas, which are the only reed I've found consistently good on bass (with a Selmer C85-115 mouthpiece). The Rico Grand Concerts are pretty good right out of the box, but in my experience they go downhill fast.
Meanwhile, I've been making a pest of myself with Davie Cane, calling frequently to find out when they'll have bass reeds available to sell (It keeps being "try back in a couple weeks" each time I call).
We should re-visit this entire discussion after the Gonzalez bass reeds have been available for a while.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-06-12 03:04
I spoke to Phil Shapiro today and he told me that the Gonzalez bass clarinet reeds are coming very very soon.
They are completing the final template design and will be soon starting large scale production.
Initial reports from those that have tested the prototypes have been overwhelmingly positive...GBK
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