 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2007-06-08 12:09
Was testing out a bunch (over 12) of different brands of bass clarinet reeds last night and what I thought I liked was not what I found actually sounded the best. I have a Buffet Prestige bass to low C with a Grabner mouthpiece and Van Doren Optimum ligature, so some of my comments might be related to that horn
Had been playing Gonzalez reeds (#3) for the past year. I thought their sound and response were quite good but last night the Grand Concert reeds sounded much better, responsive over a greater range and able to hit ppp on almost the entire range. The quality of sound on the best notes on the Gonzalez may have been better. On these notes it seemed to give a fuller tone but it was less consistently good over the range of the horn. The Grand Concert reeds also required less adjustment so it might be the Gonzalez reeds will eventually be as good or better.
In the past I was a tried and true Van Doren user, like I guess most of were/ are. Anyway, I'd appreciate comments on these brands or any others. What have you tried and what do you like?
Thanks!
Eefer guy
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Author: LarryBocaner ★2017
Date: 2007-06-08 13:46
Eeferguy, like yourself I am a former Vandoren user who has switched to Grand Concert and, more recently, Gonzalez reeds for bass clarinet.
I was one of the "beta" testers for the Grand Concert product, and even years after the conclusion of the tests I found myself using some of the test reeds. They were (ultimately) well cut and made with very dense cane that remained stable and resilient even after weeks of playing. To my dismay, when I actually had to go out and buy some GC reeds after my "free" supply dwindled, I found quite a different product -- inferior cane that sounded good for the first day and then went rapidly downhill to the point of unusability. Sort of like Mitchell Lurie Bb reeds from the same company.
More recently I've switched to Gonzalez, which sound just fine with my Garrett Zinner-based mouthpiece and seem to keep their playability for a reasonable amount of time. The Gonzalez reeds seem to run softer than some other brands so I've worked my way up to #3-3/4 strength -- might even eventually go to #4's. I suspect that your #3 Gonzalez's ought to be compared with #2-1/2 Grand Concerts or Vandorens to give you a more even playing field for your experimentation.
Larry Bocaner
National Symphony Orchestra (retired)
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2007-06-08 14:07
I haven't tried Gonzalez reeds myself so can't comment on them, but over the years I've found that the two brands I keep going back to on bass clarinet are Vandoren and Marca -- with the caveat that the latter reeds usually are resistant and dull-sounding out of the box and need to be scraped/sanded in order to play well. Once prepared, Marcas last long and play nicely, as do Vandorens generally. With the Rico Grand Concerts, I've had exactly the same experience as Larry Bocaner -- they sound good for a day or two then die a premature death.
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Author: William
Date: 2007-06-08 14:29
I play almost an identical set-up--Buffet Prestige low C 1193-2, Grabner CXBS mpc (discontinued--replaced by CZLB)--but with a recently aquired Winslow ligature. Before that, I used a Vandy Optimum with the parallel rail insert. About three years ago, I gave up on cane reeds (VD, 3.5) and started using Legere 3.0 and 3.5 reeds exclusively for all concert band and orchestral playing. They are hassel free--no break-in or drying out halfway through the concert, "die a premature death", etc--and play with the same range of dynamics and tone quality as any cane counterpart. I only wish that they worked as well on my soprano clarinets where I continue to use VD Trad 3.5 or 4.0's. My two-cents worth this am............[exits basement for more coffee]
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2007-06-08 14:45
Thanks for your comments on the Grand Concerts. I had bought a box, thought i had liked them, then switched to the Gonzalez reeds. There were two Grand Concert reeds that came in the case with my new Buffet and I tried them by chance the other night and was impressed and wondered WHY I had given up on them! Must've come to the same conclusion as you guys as there were four unused ones in an old box.
I may mark these as emergency spares for a concert as they do seem to respond beautifully out of the box. Hopefuly they'll at least make it through a concert!
Tonight I'll be working on Gonzalez reeeds again! Also found two boxes of well-seasoned Van Doren's. Could be some gems in there too.
Again many thanks.
Eefer guy
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Author: glin
Date: 2007-06-08 14:53
I like Vandorens on bass clarinet. I can't speak for the Grand Concerts on the bass, although I find them (easy to play with less reed prep work) on the soprano clarinets.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2007-06-08 18:47
I've tried Legere synthetics on most sizes of clarinets and saxes and keep a few in each case for backup and outdoor work, but I find that in general, they don't have as centered a sound as good cane, especially at lower dynamic levels, and on saxes they don't play as well in the altissimo. They are pretty darn good, though, and it's probably just a matter of time before they are the equal of good cane reeds in all respects.
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Author: LarryBocaner ★2017
Date: 2007-06-08 21:52
I like Vandorens, too; but when I have to buy two or three boxes (of 5) to get three or four usable reeds, I've abandoned them for economic reasons!
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Author: DougR
Date: 2007-06-08 22:13
I think gonzalez reeds are pretty good, and pretty uniform, compared to most. I just wish they came in a 4.5 strength, since the 4 is a little soft for me.
Dave, if you're reading this, how on earth do you get Marcas to work? I buy a box of marca 4's every year or so, just on the off-chance that I might get a box with a nice flat backside, and invariably they're all so warped longitudinally convex that they just don't seat. I don't mind a little carpentry to get them to sing, (you're right, they ARE dull out of the box) but I draw the line at re-profiling the reeds on a belt sander to get them flat.
anybody tried Rigotti Golds?
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Author: glin
Date: 2007-06-08 23:03
I second that query about the Marcas. I gave up on them after much scraping, reedrush, and sanding.
Dave Spiegalthal could probably play on a reed made out of oak.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2007-06-09 00:57
Hey, what's wrong with oak??
![[grin]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie5.gif)
But all seriousness aside, with Marcas I always start with them at least a half-strength heavier than the desired final result, and (eventually) will have scraped a considerable amount of wood off the bottoms to make them flat (as well as scraping elsewhere on the vamp side per the Kal Opperman book, to make them more responsive). The best way to do the bottom scraping, I think, is a bit at a time while breaking them in: Soak them for ten minutes, scrape the bottoms flat, dry them, let them sit for a day 'on their backs' to thoroughly dry. Repeat this process every day for maybe a week. A bit time-consuming, but you'll end up with reeds that play well and last a long time.
Marcas are NOT a good choice for folks who like to pull reeds out of the box and just play them without doing any work on them!
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2007-06-09 05:19
I've tried Grand Concert reeds on bass clarinets and thought they were good. I've tried tried Gonzalez and thought they were also good. I've many other reeds, including all the ones mentioned in this thread, and I end up with Vandoren. Not sure why, I would not mind playing any of the several good reeds I found, but I just like Vandorens more.
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Author: DougR
Date: 2007-06-09 10:10
Hey Dave--
thanks for the info. Next time I decide to afflict myself with a box of Marcas, I'll follow your regimen with them. Sure wish they'd lick the warpage issue once and for all, though. When they're well adjusted and nice & flat, they're superb.
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Author: swkeess
Date: 2007-06-09 12:23
I also play on a Buffet 1193 and Grabner CX_LB mouthpiece, with a Spriggs floating rail ligature. I have found that Rigotti Gold 3.5 Medium reeds work the best for me, usually right out of the box. They also last a good long while - my favorite reed now has been playing well for at least six weeks.
Susan Keess
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2007-06-09 14:06
Susan,thanks for the comments on the Rigotti's. I was fuming over Eb reeds for this last concert and settled on a Rigotti too. The Gonzalez reeds were better at home on a warmed up instrument but the Rigotti semed to be better in waming back up after a long (1h) break and come in on a pp attack in the high C#. Have not tried any Rigotti on the bass so thanks for the suggestion.
Have any of you tried the Studio Plus reeds on bass? I thought they were good on Eb and Bb but hven't tried those on bass either.
Thanks for the comments on the Legere reeds. Maybe as a doubler these should at least be in my case. Howevere in this upcoming concert I have a number of solo licks and really want the horn to sound at its best.
Actually probably worthy of another thread, but I had always used the alternate (trill) side key fingerings on my Selmer bass when I need to play a B or C above the break but when the rest of the phrase was below the break. There's a good example in Mahler 1 where if the B or C is fingered normally, it sounds out of whack timbre wise (stuffier) with the other notes. This is especiallyobvious as the note is gthe high point of a progression. On the Buffet these notes seem especially NOT in tune (by a good bit). Have any of you come up with suggestions for the most in tune fingerings of these alternate notes???
This has been a most interesting series of posts!
Eefer guy
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Author: William
Date: 2007-06-09 15:44
Just to follow up on Davids comments regarding the Legere reed, I agree that they are not as good for the saxophone as cane. I have tried them on my Selmer BA alto--"Hollywood" Gregory mpc, Winslow lig--and my Selmer VI tenor--Guardala "studio" mpc, Winslow lig--and they just do not produce a good sound in the altissimo registers. They just lack the "guts" for the kind of jazz sound I like to play with. And--although I frequently use one for practice--I do not generally like them on my soprano clarinets (vintage Chicago Kaspar mpc) because they just do not produce a quality sound in any register (at least, IMNSHO). Bottom line--the only instrument that I find Legeres to be equal to cane is on my bass clarinet (old Grabner CXBS mpc, Winslow lig). And the fact that they are hassel free makes bass clarinetting even finer.
[off to practice]
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Author: graham
Date: 2007-06-11 09:56
no one seems to have mentioned Alexander Superial Classique. That's the one I am using most at present.
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