Author: Topher
Date: 2004-06-24 02:29
Hey everyone, I mentioned a few weeks back that I would tell you what I thought of the Alexander Classique bass clarinet reeds. First, I don't work for anyone, not a paid endorser, nothing. Second, I use a Buffet 1180 bass with Vandoren B45 mouthpiece and a Rovner dark lig. Third, I am still in high school, so take my words with a grain of salt.
I would like to say that these reeds come in a beautiful case, and all are visually perfect from the box. All the cuts are exactly the same, the reed is clear of rotted or pitted spots, they have the pretty brown-flecked gold color that some of us dream of at night, and they are perfectly flat. The problem is that while they play okay if you just slap them onto your mouthpiece, if you use proper break-in procedure and/or use them straight from the box for more than an hour, they warp. And I don't mean warp, as in need a little sanding, I mean they WARP to the point that almost a full two millimeters needed to be taken off the bottom to make them flat and therefore playable. By the time the reed is flat again, it has that nasty buzzing sound of an over-adjusted reed.
Please anyone tell me if I am doing something wrong, but it happened to every Alexander reed I used, and not to any of the Marca, Vandoren, or Riglotti reeds that came in the same shipment. I will continue attempting to adjust them, but in the mean time, two thumbs down.
topher
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The Clarinet BBoard
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