 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bill
Date: 2000-09-20 00:18
I have a sampling of Vandoren reeds. I noticed that the two that sound very nice (1 1/2 & 2 1/2) are 5/16 inches shorter than others of the same strength. They are all labeled superieure. Any ideas regarding why the lengths are different, and why the shorter ones sound better?
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Author: Nate Zeien
Date: 2000-09-20 01:25
Bill, the playability of a reed is not determined by its length. You shouldn't select reeds using this criteria. Good reeds come in a variety of lenghths. You should learn to look for other factors that make for a good reed, such as a nice U or V shape seen when you hold it up to the light. Factors such as tip shape and width, the thickness of heel, have a greater effect on how the reed plays. -- Nate Zeien
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2000-09-20 01:48
Reed manufacturers try to make tip thickness and scraped parts length equal for all reeds for specific reed brand. Since they usurally use divided cane trunk, they cannot make the overall length the same other than tip thickness and scraped part length. This is the reason why the overall length is slightly different between reeds.
In your case, you measured 1.5 and 2.5. This is comparativly softer reeds. Mechanically speaking if overall length is shortened, the stiffness of the whole reed increases. This is why you feel somewhat they are better.
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2000-09-20 01:48
Reed manufacturers try to make tip thickness and scraped parts length equal for all reeds for specific reed brand. Since they usurally use divided cane trunk, they cannot make the overall length the same other than tip thickness and scraped part length. This is the reason why the overall length is slightly different between reeds.
In your case, you measured 1.5 and 2.5. This is comparativly softer reeds. Mechanically speaking if overall length is shortened, the stiffness of the whole reed increases. This 'may' be why you feel somewhat they are better.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-09-20 02:21
Hiroshi wrote:
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In your case, you measured 1.5 and 2.5. This is comparativly softer reeds. Mechanically speaking if overall length is shortened, the stiffness of the whole reed increases. This is why you feel somewhat they are better.
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If the vibrating part is the same length, then I think you're mistaken here. The unclamped part towards the barrel would be shorter, not really affecting the vibrating part at all.
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Author: Bill
Date: 2000-09-20 12:08
The shorter reeds are shorter on "both ends". The scrape portion is shorter, and so is the unscraped portion. The shorter reed is shorter by 4.5 mm at each end for a total of 9 mm shorter. The shorter reed is slightly wider (0.75 mm.
I'm wondering if I got some sax reeds (shorter reeds) by mistake? They play so much better, that given a choice, I'd get more of the shorter reeds. I know the longer ones are Bb clarinet reeds, because they are the same length as a box of 10 reeds I purchased, and the box is lableled clarinet. The others were purchased singly.
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