 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: mmikey91
Date: 2007-08-03 00:10
Last year, I was the only first chair freshman in the band, so I kinda freaked out when I realized I was completely uneducated in the world of clarinet accessories. Right now, I'm playing on a vandoren 5RV mouthpiece. I've been playing on some V12 size 3.5 reeds that my cousin gave me, and they have worked pretty fabulously (tone and dynamics wise), but my lips get REALLY tired easily, and I especially don't want that with marching band rehersals starting in a few days. What reeds should I play on? Oh. And I don't want to pay $50 per reed, either.
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Author: Vytas
Date: 2007-08-03 00:22
Vandoren V12 #3
Vytas Krass
Clarinet Repair
Professional clarinet technician
Custom clarinet mouthpiece maker
Former professional clarinet player
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Author: bufclar
Date: 2007-08-03 00:22
Just try a softer reed. I think a 3 1/2 is a little hard for a 5rv mouthpiece. Maybe try a 3 of the same brand since you got good results with that. For mrching band, I would get a legree reed. They are pretty darn good and would be really useful in marching band.
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Author: marshall
Date: 2007-08-03 01:05
3.5 seems a little hard for that mouthpiece. I played on V12 3's when I was using a 5RV lyre...they should work well for you as well. Try a few different cuts and brands of reeds to see what works best for you with your mouthpiece.
Oh...and I would not march my concert mouthpiece. That's how I broke my 5RV and two B45's. Get a cheap Yamaha or a King or something like that.
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2007-08-03 01:43
use some reed rush (aka: sand paper) on the heart of the reed to make a reed play a little easier. Just a little shave can make a reed more playable. remember, don't overdo it.
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2007-08-03 02:15
I agree. Get an inexpensive student mouthpiece for marching. You could easily destroy your good mouthpiece by marching with it. Just as you should not march with a concer-grade wooden clarinet, don't take a chance with your mouthpicece for something like marching!
Jeff
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Author: Michelle
Date: 2007-08-03 02:21
I highly recommend a Yamaha 4C for everyday marching and such. It's the most free-blowing mouthpiece I have and very accepting of many reeds. I use it for outdoor playing, paired with Vandoren 3s (blue box) that I bought from GBK. I'm assuming some of his talent seeped into the reeds through osmosis
Michelle
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Author: pewd
Date: 2007-08-03 02:35
i recommend fobes 'debuts' for my students for marching use.
for the good mouthpiece, what vytas said - #3.0
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2007-08-03 04:48
"I think a 3 1/2 is a little hard for a 5rv mouthpiece."
"3.5 seems a little hard for that mouthpiece."
Actually, according to the Vandoren reed strength table, a 3.5 is the lightest V12 recommended for the 5rv mouthpiece.
However, reeds are a personal thing and Vandoren mouthpieces can vary so, if you find the V12 3.5 tiring, I agree with those who suggest you drop back half a strength -- for concert band and challenges.
On the other hand, for marching band, I see no more reason to use an expensive reed than I see to use an expensive clarinet or mouthpiece. So I would recommend you use Rico Royal 3.5s. They are still decent reeds and, according to the Rico reed comparison chart, they should be about the same strength as a V12 3.0. They cost about half as much.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: grifffinity
Date: 2007-08-03 05:40
I played on a 5RV lyre (which is slightly different than a 5RV) for a few years and I used a 3.5-4 blue box Vandoren. I'm not a huge fan of the thick blank reeds, such as V-12's, as I prefer to play on shorter facing mouthpieces. V12's usually work very well on mouthpieces with a longer facing, like the Vandoren M-13.
As I understand it, the Vandoren 5RV has a shorter, closer facing than the 5RV lyre, so perhaps you should try the thinner blank Vandoren reeds which come in the Blue Box. You may find the 3.5 Vandoren Blue Box easier to play on that mouthpiece.
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2007-08-03 17:46
Despite the thinner blank, traditional Vandorens actually grade out harder than V12s with the same strength number. Depending on whose comparison chart you look at, a traditional 3.5 shows up between a V12 3.5 and 4 (Vandoren, Rico comparison charts) or equivalent to a V12 #4 (Legere comparison chart). So, if mmikey91 is finding a V12 3.5 too resistant, I think it likely that he would also find a traditional 3.5 too resistant.
Perhaps it's true that the length of the facing is a determining factor in whether a thick or thin blank reed will work better, though I've never heard that before. Is that your personal experience, grifffinity or can you point me to a source where you learned it? In looking for verification (or, at least, a second source) for this claim or the science behind it, I came across an interesting article on matching reeds to mouthpieces by Chris Hill here:
http://www.ricoreeds.com/Resources/Rico/Videos/ReedsMouthpieceCombo_Tip.pdf
While he does not mention the relationship of facing length to thick vs. thin blank reeds, he does discuss the relationship of the tip opening to thick vs. thin blank reeds. He also suggests that if one finds a thick blank reed that sounds good but feels too resistant, a thin blank reed, presumably of equivalent strength, may be an improvement.
Given that you like the sound of the V12 3.5 but find it a bit too resistant, mmikey91, I might suggest that an alternative to the V12 3.0 recommended above might be traditional Vandoren 3.0's. While a little llighter than the V12 3.5, they are probably the closest thing in the Vandoren line to it (other than the 56 Rue Lepic 3.5, which is a thicker blank than the V12 and even more expensive).
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: hajduk
Date: 2007-08-03 17:59
Why don't you go to your dealer and spend some time trying out mouthpieces and reeds, you'll definately find the set up that really suits you!!!!
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Author: grifffinity
Date: 2007-08-03 19:46
Quote:
Perhaps it's true that the length of the facing is a determining factor in whether a thick or thin blank reed will work better, though I've never heard that before. Is that your personal experience, grifffinity or can you point me to a source where you learned it?
My opinion comes from personal experience, as I've played on several styles of mouthpieces over 20 years. For me, when the lay hits about 34 or 17mm and shorter, I find thick blank reeds sound too stuffy and actually feel harder than the thinner blank of the same strength. Of course, everyones oral structur differs - some people may have an opposite experience.
Searching the BBoard for similar opinions, I will quote GBK from the following post:
http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=231652&t=231604#REPLY
Quote:
"The V12 reed, with a blank thickness of 3.15 mm ( or .124" - hence the name V12) at the heel and a tip thickness of 0.10mm (.004") is graded approximately a half strength higher than the equivalent numbered traditional, blue box reed.
Thus a V12 #4 reed is graded approximately the same as a traditional #3 1/2 reed.
The V12 reed has a wider, flatter scraping curve at the beginning of the vamp. The traditional reeds have a scraping curve which is more "U shaped".
The V12 reeds also have a longer vibrational zone than the traditional reeds and therefore work best with longer facing mouthpieces.
"
Post Edited (2007-08-03 19:48)
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Author: Clariphant in Bb
Date: 2007-08-04 03:47
I personally use Grand Concert Evolutions (pretty thick, unless I'm mistaken) on a Fobes Cicero 14 (short facing). Though they're thick blank, the vamp is quite short on these reeds, so it matches the mouthpiece well. Maybe matching vamp length to window length matters more than thick vs thin blank. It could just be that most thick blank reeds (FOFs, V12s, etc.) have longish vamps as well.
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