 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Kylene
Date: 2000-01-12 02:47
I just got my new Legere reed today, and I love how it sounds! After practicing, It seemed to be more dependable than my cane reeds - even the grandconcerts, which I love. I was playing on a 3 - how does this strength compare to Vandorens, V-12s, and GCs?
thanks!
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Author: Wyatt
Date: 2000-01-12 05:23
My 3 1/2 Legere plays softer than a 3 1/2 V-12, for me.
Wyatt
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Author: Ray Swing
Date: 2000-01-12 15:12
I've been playing on the Legere for both sax and clarinet for 4 and 3 months respectively and believe they may be a tad softer than the Vandorens. I use them almost exclusively now because they play very well and I don't have to worry about the clarinet reed drying out while I'm sax. I can grab it anytime and it plays right away. I do have a bit of a problem getting the clarinet to speak above A with the Legere.
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Author: paul
Date: 2000-01-12 15:29
I'm a mere adult novice, so my embouchure and air support aren't quite up to par just yet. I find that the Legere reeds match grade by grade the regular Vandoren reeds very closely. When they are fully broken in, my Vandoren V-12 reeds seem to be about 1/4 or so stronger than the equally graded Legere reed. As an adult novice getting less pratice than I should, I seem to have comfortably settled into a Vandoren V-12 2.5 strength or a Legere 2.5 strength reed for a Vandoren B45 mp, or a Borbeck pro grade 13 mp (either with a standard metal lig), on top of a Buffet Festival. Keep in mind, as the Webmaster likes to say, your own mileage may vary.
I like my Legere reeds. They are thoroughly consistent. I like the fact that the reeds have ridges on them so I can learn how to place my lip for the correct embouchure for each register of my clarinet. I believe that Legere reeds make superb novice training and marching band reeds. I give credit where I believe it's due. The Legere reeds helped me learn how to play the altissimo register and smoothly transition across all registers. For me, that's a huge accomplishment. I believe that if you coupled a nearly indestructable Legere reed with a good plastic based clarinet, you would have a horn that's almost as tough as a trumpet for outdoor work. No more warping, splitting, or climate sensitivity. On the other hand, I've personally found that my original batch (circa 600 serial number) of Legere reeds could not respond to significant leaps (like clarion A to altissimo D) as fast and smoothly as a Vandoren V-12 natural cane reed. My recent batch of Legere 2.5 reeds (circa 100,000 serial number) are much more responsive. I can tell that Legere made some improvements to the product. The only thing that Legere needs to solve is what I see as an excess moisture build up problem. I can play a Vandoren natural cane reed for about 30 minutes before I have to swab out from top to bottom. For me, a Legere reed makes moisture build up and interfere with the entire horn in about 5 to 10 minutes. Again, your personal mileage may vary. For instance, the softer the Legere reed, the less I see this problem.
Legere reeds are not cheap. They cost about the price of an entire box of Vandoren reeds. However, if the Legere lives up to its reputation, the 10:1 ratio of playing longevity, viability, and ruggedness makes the Legere reed a good bargain in the long term.
I have also had the pleasure of personally working with Mr. Legere on a particular reed problem. When I wasn't happy with a reed, Mr. Legere gave me another brand new reed for free. There are very few companies I know of that have this fantastic level of customer service. Now, I understand how Legere went from a mere 600 reeds or so to over 100,000 reeds in about 6 months. It's a solid product with superb customer service. Stealing a line from Gershwin, "Who could ask for anything more?".
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Author: SusieQ
Date: 2000-01-12 16:27
Have any of you tried Legere Bass Clarinet reeds? I am currently using Rico Plasicover #3, and they work fine except I pay a lot for a box of 5 and if I am lucky I can get 1 great reed and 2 OK reeds. I tried a plastic reed a few years back and didn't like it, but I am willing to try something new. I don't like cane reeds on Bass Clarinet. They don't hold up, so in the long run they cost me more than the Plasticover. Thanks in advance for any advice on this.
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Author: paul
Date: 2000-01-13 20:05
I haven't had the pleasure of using a Legere bass clarinet reed. Legere makes sax and bass clarinet reeds, so let's hear responses from those folks if we can.
BTW, didn't I hear that Legere was going to take a whack at double reeds for oboe and bassoon? Or was that just my imagination?
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