 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Lee
Date: 2009-06-08 14:41
Has anyone had any experience with the Vandoren HydroCase? Back in 06 there was a brief discussion but no one spoke from experience.
( http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=218671&t=218671 ) On Saxontheweb a thread seems to show favorable experience. My teacher likes it but it uses the Vandoren plastic holders to hold the reeds. I currently use the ReedMate but like the idea of the electronic Hydrometer but wonder if it actually buys you anything.
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Author: rtaylor
Date: 2009-06-08 19:56
I don't have any direct expereince, but I was at Vandoren in Paris two years ago. I was working with one of the sales techs there trying mouthpieces. I asked about the case and he said it was a waste of money. I was surprised at his answer.
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Author: Tom Kmiecik
Date: 2009-06-09 04:32
I've been using the Hygrocase for a few years now, and it seems to do a pretty good job. I have noticed that my reeds seem to stay more consistent than they did in the past, and I rarely have reeds warp as much as they did when I was using a regular reed case with glass (I always had problems getting the reeds to stay flat on the glass). I use the plastic Vandoren reed sleeves inside the case, which I like because I can write comments about the reeds on the sleeves. It helps keep me organized and lets me remember how all of my reeds play. Of course everyone has their own system, but I found this to be a big plus for me.
I also like how many reeds the case holds. I usually keep about twelve Bb and seven Eb reeds in there (I've found leaving it one reed short seems to allow the moisture to move more freely inside the case). I can also put the reeds in the other direction in the case when I'm playing bass or contra, and I think I was able to fit ten or eleven of them in there. If I wanted to purchase regular reed cases with the same capacity for my Eb/Bb, I would have to get two cases which hold ten reeds. This would be likely to cost me about the same (or more) than the Hygrocase.
There are a few minuses, but nothing serious. One minus to it is that the outside of the case gets beat up pretty quickly... it's really just a cosmetic thing, but the material on all the edges wore off after about two months of daily use. It's also kind of thick and large, so you'll need to make sure that there is room for it in your case/bag. If you don't play Vandoren reeds, you might have to double check and see if the sleeves they come in will fit in the case. The battery life wasn't too bad - the original lasted for a little under two years before I had to replace it, and it was a cheap replacement buy from Radio Shack ($3, I think).
All in all, I'm very satisfied with it. I tried the Rico reed case with the revitalizer kit this past year, but I wasn't too happy with the results. There may be some better reed cases which are on the market, but I haven't had any reason to look since I haven't had problems with the Vandoren one.
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Author: MartyMagnini
Date: 2009-06-09 05:12
I had the exact opposite experience. Although I use almost exclusively Legere reeds now, when I was using cane reeds, I preferred the Rico revitalizer pack in conjunction with the Rico reed vault. I also bought a Vandoren Hygrocase and did not care for it at all. Too hard (for me) to keep the sponge wet enough without getting it too wet - with the Rico, there's no user input at all - just throw the revitalizer in and you're good to go. With the Vandoren, it seems like I was always adjusting the humidity level - too high, too low. Probably user error on my part, but I wanted a "no-brainer" solution, and the Rico was much more that for me. I guess it depends on how much time you want to spend checking and adjusting the humidity level.
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