 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: CWH
Date: 2009-01-04 15:23
Good Morning;
I wanted to make a small post this morning to elicit some opinions on the Vandoren M13 Lyre. For some time now I have been using a M15 or and ED1, with a #4 Grand Concert Select. I found both to be felixable enough play both classical and swing with. Now jumping to the M13, I found it much more responsive and with trumendus projection. I’m simply floored buy this mouthpiece.
I would very much like to hear form others and there experiences with this mouthpiece.
Thank you inadvance,
CWH
Study, Practice, Play and Enjoy.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: vials
Date: 2009-01-04 17:07
great that you found a mouthpiece that you like so much. Have you tried the M30? For me it was even better than the M13 Lyre and M15.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: weberfan
Date: 2009-01-04 17:30
I play both the M13 Lyre and the M15 and I like them both very much. At the moment, I'm trying to decide which one to stick with. (I started out with the M13L.)
The M13L impressed me as it impressed you: responsive and easy to project with. It voices the higher notes with more ease and a wonderful clarity.
I find that the tone tends to be a bit brighter with the M13L...more of a ring to it. I like that. The M15 is slightly darker, in my view.
I gather that the trend these days is to a darker tone overall, and it's my impression that the M15 and the M30 can help achieve that, depending, of course, on your set-up.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-01-04 18:12
I stock both, along with well over a dozen others for my students to try. I have found that between them both the M13 and M13L get a little fuller and warmer sound than the 15 but it so depends on the player. If that's the way you feel than that's great. It's all about finding the mouthpiece that fits you best. I will be posting something about that shortly. I love my MP which is either one of yours, you have to fall in love. ESP www.peabody.jhu.edu/457
Listen to a little Mozart, live performance
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ed
Date: 2009-01-04 19:27
The M13 Lyre is one of my favorites in the Vandoren line. I like it better than some of the other popular ones, including- 5RV Lyre, M30, M13 and M15.
Of course, this is always very personal. Just my viewpoint........
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2009-01-05 02:19
The only mouthpiece I used since high school was the stock Buffet that came with my R13s. A little over a year ago, after reading much advice on this board, but knowing little more than that I might benefit from a different mouthpiece, I went to a music store that offered mouthpieces and a clarinetist to advise me. After trying 10 or so over the course of maybe 2 and a half hours, I settled on the M13 Lyre. It seemed to promote a beautiful, full tone with good flexibility.
I used that M13 Lyre exclusively every day for over a year. A few weeks ago I put it away and switched back to the Buffet mouthpiece. The problems I had with the Van Doren could well be due to some defects in my playing, but after much experimentation with varying lip positions, tongue positions, jaw pressure, etc., I am for now unable to solve those problems.
- The M13 Lyre seemed very picky about reeds. Some would play well briefly, then start sort of sticking to the mouthpiece, allowing no sound. It seemed almost like the relatively wider opening in the face of the mouthpiece encouraged any but a very stiff reed to sort of cave into the opening, like a vacuum lock. I don't think I was causing this by biting.
- A lot of reeds seemed highly prone to squeak at the start of notes.
- I had great trouble sounding altissimo notes, roughly the last octave of the extended fingering chart. I'd get sad little whistles instead.
- The lowest notes were hard to project cleanly and well.
- I could not make my sound bigger than a decent forte without forcing, which sounded awful.
- I don't sound bad with the Buffet mouthpiece (some say.) I feel much more secure when using it. And, it allows me to play a lot more reeds with only minor adjustments.
Perhaps my old purple box Van Doren reeds (strength 5) do not match the M13 Lyre mouthpiece well. More experiments are in order. First, though, I intend to take the two mouthpieces to the factory I work at, and put them on a device there called a comparator, which should allow me to view and measure the lay of each under magnification.
The above should not be taken as critical of the M13 Lyre mouthpieces, but as troubles I, a self teaching amateur, have had with one. I'm all ears for suggestions.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: kdk
Date: 2009-01-05 06:10
#5 Vandorens may be a little stiff for the M13 Lyre. Most of the problems you describe could be caused by too stiff a reed for the facing that you're biting on to get a response. Before you give up on it, you might try a little lighter a strength and see what happens.
But your post begs another question: how many more of those "old purple boxes" do you still have? :-)
Karl
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: jeeves
Date: 2009-01-05 11:28
I heart the M13 lyre. I used to play on a B45, but my private lesson teacher recommended the M13 b/c it's louder and stuff, and I just cannot go back to a stock or B45.
Jeeves
p.s. I play on Vandoren traditional 3.5s.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ed
Date: 2009-01-05 12:30
FWIW- I have found that the old purple box Vandoren 5 reeds are much closer in strength to current 4's.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2009-01-07 02:15
As Ed said, the Vandoren purple box 5's are close to recent Vandoren 4's that I've tried, and some of those 4's were stiffer than any of the purple box reeds. I'd put them on the light side of modern 4's.
It's possible I bite; if so, I may never know until I sit down with a teacher or kind-hearted knowlegeable player. I've worked on ensuring that I'm not biting. For example, I'll sometimes play for a while with double lip, and then go back to my accustomed single. The pressures don't seem significantly great - but it's very likely something in that general area that I'm doing . . . if it's not those reeds.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
