 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Morrigan
Date: 2007-06-29 13:14
I've heard people going on about cane quality and complaining about Vandoren reeds a lot here over the years.
I recently had one of my bi-yearly spats where I decide that Vandoren make terrible reeds and surely there's something better out there, and so ordered a 'sampler' of reeds. Out of 4 brands, I quite liked Grand Concert Select Evolution, but for some reason after the first box things went downhill. I noticed the cane is a little sloppy and they took on too much water, and never seemed to break in and become stable.
So I went back to Vandoren only to find that, in my opinion and from the little I know about reeds and cane, they seemed to be MUCH better: they break in nicely after about a week and seem to be quite stable once you've done so. They're also not too much of a mystery to me; I know what to do to make them work.
So, my question is, how do we define cane quality? Can be it measured? Is Vandoren REALLY that bad?
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-06-29 13:18
As cane is a natural substance, we're all at the mercy of it's variability.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2007-06-29 13:27
I can use many brands of reeds but some last longer than other. I can use Vandoren,Glotin,Gonzalez,Xilema with no problems at all. The main difference is the amount of recistance they have and out of them all Vandoren V-12 has most recistance and Gonzalez least. It's mainly what mouthpiece and ligature I'm using. I used to use Gonzalez on Grabner AW personal mouthpiece but since I changed to his kaspar 14 I now use Glotin GIII which give me fair amount of recistance. I will naver say that I'm picky about reeds and I almost always use all the reeds in the box until they are really dead.
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Author: mnorswor
Date: 2007-06-29 15:42
Morrigan,
Might I suggest that you try the Rico Reserve reeds? I had a similar problem with the GC Evolution reeds that you mentioned, becoming waterlogged and not remaining stable. Also, I found out recently that these reeds are hand clipped and thus sometimes the tips are a bit messed up.
For me, the Reserve reeds are the answer to the Vandoren question. I find them very consistent, long lasting and they give me the palette of colors that I need and want in a reed. They're definitely worth a look. Disclaimer: I'm a newly signed Rico artist. I was playing these reeds long before being signed with them and recommend them wholeheartedly.
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Author: claritoot26
Date: 2007-06-29 19:08
I'm a regular V12 user and find no problems with the cane quality, as compared with other brands. I too had problems with the Rico Grand Concert Evolution. Haven't tried the Reserve, might someday. But, I have a huge aresenal of reeds to use up.
The Canyes Xilemma cane isn't bad. I've only tried a couple of samples, though. That's another kind I might buy when I use up at least half of what I have stored up.
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