 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: atasic
Date: 2008-05-09 11:23
I have tried the legere reeds last year on my old mouthpiece I have played for year now, but I couldn produce decent sound with those reeds.......month ago, I got the shippment from Richard Hawkins and his mouthpieces work with Legere reeds just GREAT, acctually I dont use any other reeds on Hawkins.......
Any thoughts about this subject...???
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Author: Roger Aldridge
Date: 2008-05-09 12:23
Atasic,
This is exactly right! It's been my experience too that Legere reeds do not perform well on some mouthpiece facings and with some ligatures. However, when Legere reeds are matched with a facing like Hawkins or Walter Grabner, or Greg Smith (just to name 3) then they can have a stunningly beautiful sound....especially, with the Legere Quebec clarinet reed.
I've had similar experiences with Legere reeds on tenor saxophone. My mouthpiece of choice is a Morgan 6C. Legere reeds work nicely on it. However, a few months ago I sent the mouthpiece back to the Morgan mouthpiece guys (Brian and Erik) along with a new Legere tenor reed. They made some adjustments to the facing. When I received the mouthpiece it totally blew my socks off. I couldn't be happier with it.
For me, it was a matter of trial & error in finding the mouthpieces and ligatures that work especially well with Legere.
Roger
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2008-05-09 12:42
Walter's mouthpieces are all designed to be "Legere-friendly," and even say so on his site. It always helps when makers provide such info up front. It wasn't the sole reason I bought my mp from Walter, but it was a small consideration. My K-13 sounds great with 3.5 Quebec cuts.
Jeff
“Everyone discovers their own way of destroying themselves, and some people choose the clarinet.” Kalman Opperman, 1919-2010
"A drummer is a musician's best friend."
Post Edited (2008-05-09 12:43)
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Author: Roger Aldridge
Date: 2008-05-09 14:02
Jeff,
Yes, that was one reason why I first tried Walter's mouthpieces. Since then I've tried several Hawkins and Smith pieces. Truly exceptional mouthpieces! However, I feel that Walter's Kaspars are the best match for me. I wish that I could have had my Grabner K14 and #3 Quebec set up YEARS AGO.
Never the less, let's not dampen Atasic's great experience with his Hawkins. Hawkins mouthpieces, truly, are fantastic world-class pieces.
Roger
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Author: atasic
Date: 2008-05-09 15:05
I totally agree with you guys........I wanted to try Grabner Kaspars mouthpieces but since that I am situated now in Serbia where I work as a Docent Professor at the Academy of Arts, here, I do not have a chance to try them....I made a contact with Walter but he didnt accept payment with my ccard...only PayPal, which I can not register because my country Serbia is not on theil country list......I will definitely give them a chance if Walter wants/decide to send me few for a trial without prepayment as a first step....
On a nother hand, my experinece with RICHARD HAWKINS IS GREAT.....he is a great guy to work with and I am good friend os his ex student Michael Wayne who won the Job in Boston sim. couple of moths ago......from time to time he sends me couple of mouthpieces which I found amazing in combination with my Selmer Recital clarinets....so now I am stick on his newest R model with Legere reeds......
Best
Alex
www.aleksandartasic.com
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Author: Gregory Smith ★2017
Date: 2008-05-09 15:12
Roger said:
"However, when Legere reeds are matched with a facing like Hawkins or Walter Grabner, or Greg Smith (just to name 3) then they can have a stunningly beautiful sound....especially, with the Legere Quebec clarinet reed."
-----------------
Roger:
Perhaps, generally speaking, the unique dimensions of the Zinner product has something to do with this phenomenon. All of us seem to be successful despite using somewhat different configurations both inside and out.
Personally, I've never set out to do anything in particular to make any of my mouthpieces "reed friendly" toward either plastic or cane. I think that the unique Zinner table concavity is especially helpful in that it allows the tip to stay open in a springboard-like manner. Perhaps this is one of the key ingredients enabling the Legeres to play to the degree that they do.
Gregory Smith
http://www.gregory-smith.com
New - Individual select Buffet clarinets
Post Edited (2008-05-09 15:14)
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Author: Roger Aldridge
Date: 2008-05-09 15:57
Gregory,
Thank you! I, too, have been curious about the role the Zinner concave table has with Legeres working so well on your mouthpieces and Walter's and Richard's. You might be on to something!
In the case of my Morgan tenor saxophone mouthpiece, Morgan tables are flat. I'm at a serious disadvange in not being a mouthpiece refacer. I've had to rely on a flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants approach in finding a good mouthpiece-reed match for me as a player and for my particular instruments....as well as my intuition. Brian & Erik focused their work mostly on the side rails and facing curve of my tenor mouthpiece. It's become my impression that Legere reeds give better results on mouthpieces with somewhat wider side and tip rails. I have two Morgan 6C mouthpieces. Without question, I get the best results with Legere reeds on the 6C that has the wider side rails. (Of course, I realize that it's probably not that simple!) I've since sent my other 6C back to Brian & Erik so they can adjust it to play like the one they've already worked on.
Mouthpieces are subtle creatures. I have the greatest respect for guys like you, Walter, and Richard.
Roger
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Author: MichaelR
Date: 2008-05-12 21:27
Roger Aldridge wrote:
> This is exactly right! It's been my experience too that
> Legere reeds do not perform well on some mouthpiece facings and
> with some ligatures. However, when Legere reeds are matched
> with a facing like Hawkins or Walter Grabner, or Greg Smith
> (just to name 3) then they can have a stunningly beautiful
> sound....especially, with the Legere Quebec clarinet reed.
>
> For me, it was a matter of trial & error in finding the
> mouthpieces and ligatures that work especially well with
> Legere.
Roger,
You, like others, commented on the mouthpiece but not the ligature.
What ligature experiences have you had?
And if any of you would be able to compare the Hawkins/Grabner/Smith mouthpiece to a Ridenour it would be a nice bonus.
--
Michael of Portland, OR
Be Appropriate and Follow Your Curiosity
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Author: feadog79
Date: 2008-05-12 23:18
I had very mixed results with mouthpieces that normally worked fine with cane, but I now use a Grabner K13 successfully with Legere. I used to use a BG Super Revelation with cane reeds, but it never seemed to let Legeres respond well (maybe the metal rails as contact points on the reed). I've had MUCH better results with Rovner Light or Dark ligatures (I'm sure that string ligatures would work wonderfully as well).
I use 3.5 Quebec Legeres, but I prefer to adjust the tip a bit with Ridenour's ATG system to get better response.
J. Wilson
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Author: Roger Aldridge
Date: 2008-05-12 23:54
Michael,
One of the key things about finding a ligature that works well with Legere is it must have a large enough area of sealing pressure on the reed while allowing the reed and mouthpiece to work together at an optiumal level.
For example, prior to switching to Legere I had been using Francois Louis ligatures (silver model) on all of my clarinets and saxophones for 3-4 years. The FL lig worked beautifully for me on cane reeds. However, it was a train wreck with Legere reeds. The FL lig didn't seal Legere reeds properly -- especially, along the side rails. Thus, it had the effect of my mouthpiece suddenly having a longer facing. I had exactly the same problem with the Floating Rail ligature. Charles Bay ligatures were also problematic with Legere reeds although not quite as severe as with FL & Floating Rail. I tried several BG ligatures and wasn't happy. Finally, I got very good results with the Vandoren Masters and used this lig on all of my horns for about a year. Then, one of my clarinet buddies suggested I try the Vandoren Klassik. Frankly, I wasn't sure how it would work for me. I had never used a string ligature before. But, I tried it with an open mind and from the very first note I was deeply impressed. After several performances with it I was completely sold. For me, the Klassik allows all of the magic of a Grabner Kaspar and a Legere Quebec reed to come through. After that I started using a Klassik on saxophone and it hit the ball out of the park on that instrument as well.
Personally, I don't get along with Rovner ligatures. I know plenty of fine musicians who like them. But, it's been my experience that Rovner ligs dampen my sound...and I've tried all of the Rovner models. Only a couple of months ago I tried one of my buddies' Eddie Daniels ligs. It seemed kind of stuffy to me on my set up. Then, I switched back to my Klassik and my sound was immediately more resonant and projecting.
Anyway, that's been my experience.
Roger
Post Edited (2008-05-13 00:02)
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Author: Gregory Smith ★2017
Date: 2008-05-13 00:26
Roger -
This would make sense as the string, being somewhat flexible in one place more than another, helps relieve pressure on the reed at each end of the heel while in the center of the heel compressing the reed into the dip in the Zinner table.
Gregory Smith
http://www.gregory-smith.com
Post Edited (2008-05-13 00:31)
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Author: KSL
Date: 2013-03-23 22:41
I've been on a quest for the best ligature to use with Legere reeds. I have Vandoren Masters CL4, Vandoren M30, Richard Hawkins and Greg Smith Mouthpieces. I use Legere Signature 3&1/2 reeds with a Buffet R 13. I have been quite pleased with the latest generation Rovner ligs., especially the Versa X. but I have experienced some difficulty centering it on the reed and mpc.
Recently I purchased the BG Duo and I must say that, hands down, this for me is the best ligature for plastic. There is no stuffiness or muffling. The tone is beautiful with a nice ring. There is wide dynamic range and excellent articulation.
No, I do not work for BG!
I hope this is useful for Legere users.
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Author: pplateau
Date: 2013-03-24 14:25
Legere signature reed on Zinner by David McClune works great for me! (My VD Optimum allowed too much slippage)
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2013-03-24 14:32
Don't forget that Richard Hawkins is a Legere artists. Soit would make sense his mouthpieces would work with Legere reeds very well.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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