 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: larryb
Date: 2004-11-10 19:58
don't know if this has been discussed lately or not (quick search of the database didn't turn up anything recently):
have reed prices gone through the roof world-wide, or is just a U.S. thing, given the weak dollar?
I just dropped $80 for four boxes of reeds at my local retailer (cost includes sales tax). Looking at some Sponsors here, it doesn't look like I over-paid. Other European brands are more expensive, even Argentinian sourced reeds are as expensive (didn't check the Australians yet). Would it be cheaper to makes ones own reeds?
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2004-11-10 20:25
Depends on what kind of reeds. I just picked up some V12s at $17 a box on WWBW (10% discount from buying other stuff). Gonzalez runs $20 or so, Vandoren 56 is about $27. Those are the only brands I keep stocked for myself, though a search will confirm that opinions vary greatly.
I think I've paid about the same for reeds, if not more, for the past 6 years or so.
Making your own reeds can save you financially (after the initial cost of tools), just realize that it's a significant time commitment for an end result that will likely be just a bit better than store-bought, once you get good at it. Compared to double reed players, we have quite a bargain.
I only go through the equivalent of 2-3 boxes a year (4+ now with the Eb), with my current rotations, so the cost is minimal, especially compared to how much I recently shelled out for an A and an Eb.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: psychotic lil clarinet girl (don't as
Date: 2004-11-10 23:11
wow... I've gone through maybe 4-5 boxes just this marching season! Wow... yeah, I should have bought a Legere... But they do get expensive... My mom refuses to take me to the music store sometimes because I go through so many of them, so I am currently mooching off of my band director's stash (which I raided last month) and/or my fellow clarinetists...
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Author: Igloo Bob
Date: 2004-11-10 23:29
Well, in comparison with Bass Clarinet reeds, Sopranos are quite inexpensive... virtually half the price, in fact. I pay around $15-17 for 5-packs of Vandoren Bass Clarinet reeds bought from local stores, which is only a few dollars cheaper than a 10-pack of V12s. So I guess it's all about perspective! Until I have to pay $34 for 10 soprano reeds, I'll be fine.
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Author: Contra
Date: 2004-11-11 00:57
That they do. I had one contrabass Rico reed that lasted for a year. I still have it, too. It doesn't play well, though. Although I think Rico has gone downhill in their quality lately. That's pretty bad considering that it's Rico.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2004-11-11 04:11
I didn't know Rico could go downhill 
Well I guess I'm "lucky" that I like Grand Concert reeds. $16 for a box of 10.
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Author: Igloo Bob
Date: 2004-11-11 04:22
Do they? I can play a larger reed for a longer time, perhaps, but not with a sound I enjoy - I average 3 months on a Bass Clarinet reed before throwing it out because of an over-edgy sound. I tend to use Alto Sax and Soprano Clarinet reeds a lot longer than that. Perhaps it's just me, I could have a more critical ear for the Bass.
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Author: nobbsie
Date: 2004-11-11 05:22
You guys are lucky, out in Australia reeds are at shocking prices. I am paying $60 for a box of 10 Vandoren 56 reeds at the moment. It's a joke so i'm going to start buying of the net.
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Author: Igloo Bob
Date: 2004-11-11 09:08
Is that in US money, nobbsie? I'm a bit ignorant of Australian currency, so please forgive me.
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Author: donald
Date: 2004-11-11 10:22
at US$ 20.00 per box (and you can find them a bit cheaper than that) Reeds are quite cheap in the US. V12 cost $nz65.00 per box here in nz (that's $42.00 in US$). i remember them being about the same price (after adjusting for the exchange rate) in Germany and in England (though i understand there are places in the UK that can compete with the US price.)
$20 US a box is a very reasonable price. Reeds are so expensive here our government is considering invading Australia to gain control of their reed plantations etc. Only, knowing our Prime Minister she will wait until we've negotiated a UN mandate.
donald
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Author: jo.clarinet
Date: 2004-11-11 13:53
In England, a box of V12s usually costs about £14 - £15. Gonzalez FOFs are £20 a box, and you can hardly get them anywhere - luckily they stock them in Howarths, which I often visit when I'm in central London.
Joanna Brown
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2004-11-11 14:47
[ Since there are a number of US sources for Gonzalez reeds, depending on the retailer, the total cost of mail order and shipping from the US to overseas may be less than buying them locally - GBK ]
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Author: CJB
Date: 2004-11-11 16:39
Joanna
Check out Dawkes for FOFs - £12.13 a box, V12s £11.28.
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Author: jo.clarinet
Date: 2004-11-11 20:25
CJB - have just checked their website - thanks for the info! The FOFs are £14.25 with the VAT added though, but still a VERY good price so I've added Dawkes to my 'favourites' list for future reference. But it seems they don't do the quarter sizes - I like the 2.75s best at the moment! I have a reasonable stockpile of them anyway, so I'm OK for now!
Joanna Brown
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Author: beejay
Date: 2004-11-14 20:57
Try foglietta (www.foglietta.de). I find them very consistent and nice to play, and they are fairly priced, at least over the Internet.
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2004-11-14 21:33
Mary: When playing a new reed, play it for 5 minutes each day, working gradually up to 15 throughout the next 10 days. After that, enter them into your normal rotation, and don't play the same one day after day. A breakin procedure (like this greatly simplified one) should extend reed life significantly.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2004-11-14 21:35
And if you learn to adjust reeds (whatever the method), I'd buy a reed clipper (most people here seem to suggest Cordier clippers) and when it seems like it's life has left, clip it down a bit, sand the back flat again, adjust it back to whatever strength you like, and you can extend it's life just a LITTLE more in that manner.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2004-11-14 22:21
Re: reed clippers, especially when just starting: Use them sparingly. I remember in high school I was convinced that if a reed doesn't have a chipped tip and a sound comes out of it, it MUST be a good reed, making a clipper (and my clarinet in general) a very dangerous thing.
As alexi suggests, be sure that clipping is followed by proper adjustment, except in the off chance that the clip alone DOES make a fantastic reed.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: RAMman
Date: 2004-11-14 22:27
We seem to be staying pretty constant in the UK...with a box of Vandoren V12s coming in at £12.75 (what's that? Say US $19) on mail order, or £15 ($23) through a shop.
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Author: Firebird
Date: 2004-11-15 04:17
So I guess clarinettists in my country here are considered to be very lucky? We can easily accquire a box of 10 Vandoren Traditional reeds at USD 16, assuming SGD to USD exchange rate is 1.8: 1.
V12 goes for 18 USD, Zonda a box of 5 at USD 8.50
Maybe you guys should think of making me your supplier of reeds. Haha.
The most expensive brand I have came across is Alexander Superial at USD 11.20.
That's assuming exchange rate is at 1.8: 1 of course which isn't already the case now.
Chan
Post Edited (2004-11-15 04:22)
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Author: ned
Date: 2004-11-15 06:50
''Is that in US money, nobbsie? "
I'm sure it isn't actually. We wouldn't automatically do the currency conversion just because you are American.
As a matter of fact, I'm sending emails to my American work colleagues constantly and $$ are $$, similarly I don't ''convert'' dates for them either - when I write 1/10/04 - I mean 1st of October 2004, not 10th of January - most people do similarly I would think.
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Author: RAMman
Date: 2004-11-16 17:32
I stand corrected....I hadn't realised the dollar was so weak....
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2004-11-16 18:01
Variations on a Kid's Rhyme:
"Reeds, reeds, the musical board:
the more you play, the more you hoard;
the more you hoard, the fewer you buy;
so play your reeds, then thoroughly dry."
Oh well. Not every poem can be a classic...........
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