 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: superson
Date: 2009-10-29 20:24
hi, just interested to know as i'm starting to lose my temper with the vandoren reeds i am currently using, i'm wondering what sort of reeds you use/prefer. thanks.
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2009-10-29 21:21
My old teacher used to say it is not the reed but the player that needs adjustment! As for Vandorens a reed knife goes a long way...I find they require the least amount of adjustment of commercial reeds..however some people are finding the RICO Grand Concert select less fussy.
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Author: Rapidcif
Date: 2009-10-29 21:25
lol another reed thread. I love them though. I used to play vandoren traditionals all my life and am now starting to experiment. I learned that ppl all hav different preferences so your job is to find yours.
I came home from school depressed today(personal reasons) and lay down on my bed. I went to my room and got out my laptop when i saw out my window, an intruder walk toward my house. I ran downstairs to try to catch him, when he knocked on the door and ran away. I opened the door and saw a box on my front doorstep. I opened the box and oddly enough, found a box of Grand Concert Thick Blanks, Grand Concert Evolution, Rico Reserve Classics, and Gonzalez F.O.F's in them.
I am currently vigorously testing to see which one i like best(each brand claims alot of players who find them the "best".) Obviously i need to wait for them to break in some (size 4-4.5ish reeds). So yea, these 4 brands are a start, there are others as well. Try a bunch and find which one you like best.
Post Edited (2009-10-29 21:27)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2009-10-30 21:10
Vandoren.
I never got as rich a sound with any other reed. The 56s are a neat style to try particularly if you favor mouthpieces with slightly longer facings.
As Rapidcif states, it is VERY important to break the reeds in first (at least three days) before putting much more than five minutes on a reed - then start passing judgement.
....................Paul Aviles
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Author: William
Date: 2009-10-30 21:42
Currently hooked on Forestone #4's which play just fine on my Chicago Kaspar 14. No break-in process, reed plays right out of the case and does not die as the gig wears on, and the quality of sound must be ok because everyone--fellow orchestra musicians and conductors--all seem pleased when I play. I have a couple of six month old original reeds mixed in with some newer ones which I am rotating, session to session, and they are still going as strong as when new. I am also using one with my Woodwind G8 Glenn Bowen customized mouthpiece, but they do not seem to play as well on my two Gregory Smith mpcs (Ched & Cicero models) nor on my older Richard Hawkins mouthpiece. But for now, my favorite reed is not cane, but Forestone--a blend of bamboo fiber and resin.
However, before the F's, I was using V12's 3.5 with increasingly limited success, even with a lengthy break-in process and lots of knife work. They just seemed to be getting worse and worse.
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Author: clariniano
Date: 2009-10-30 21:50
Rico Reserve #3 1/2. After that, Legere, #3 1/4 or #3 1/2, Traditional cut.
Meri
Please check out my website at: http://donmillsmusicstudio.weebly.com and my blog at: http://clariniano.wordpress.com
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-10-30 22:54
I am a Rico performing artist and I use them. They make several styles but I prefer the Thick Blank and the Reserves especially the newer Reserve Classic. Check my website for hints about adjusting and breaking in your reeds. ESP
http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Chris J
Date: 2009-10-30 23:02
Alexander Classique and ATG finishing system
Chris
Edit:
On a Morgan RM15
Love and marriage
Horse and carriage
Reed and mouthpiece
They all have to go together.....
Post Edited (2009-10-31 02:54)
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Author: mrn
Date: 2009-10-30 23:20
My current favorites are the Grand Concert Select Evolution (#3.5).
Lately, I've been experimenting with Rico Reserve Classic (#4), which sound very nice, but don't seem to respond as well on my mouthpiece. They have relatively long vamps, which may be why it appears folks with longer mouthpiece facings have better luck with them. I haven't totally given up on them, though, and am breaking in the last ones I have to see if I can get better results with them.
The Evolutions, on the other hand, have shorter than average vamp lengths and respond really well on my medium-facing mouthpiece. The only other reed brand I have tried with that kind of response was Vandoren White Master (#3.5), and those reeds also have short vamps (but are slightly too narrow for my mouthpiece).
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Author: fuzzystradjazz
Date: 2009-10-31 14:02
Lifelong Vandoren user here...but almost didn't happen (I have tried other reeds over the years, though I admit to being behind-the-times with these newer Rico's and the like). I was a classic vandoren player back in the 80s, moving to the V12s in the 90s, and getting sick of finding only a few good reeds in a box. I moved over to the 56s and am again happy. It takes some getting used to though...they go "dead" after a week or two of playing, but the secret is that they "come back" if you play through a day or two of deadness. My clarinet prof LOVED me for introducing her to these reeds until she was down in Colorado performing a solo in an opera when the reed pretty well hit its "dead" period. Needless to say, she didn't continue on with the reeds long enough to find out if they "come back" and I fell quickly out of favor.
They are the best sounding reed straight out of the box that I have ever used, and I rarely need to bring out the knife. I've been using the 56 line for several years now (can it be six years already?!), and I have no desire to change or try the other reeds on the market. For me, these are the perfect reed. I simply avoid performing publically on each reed until after it has passed it's "dead" days. Once past their dead days - they perform well for me for literal MONTHS.
(Please note, when I use the word "dead" - I mean dead...it's like pulling a reed out of a 30 year old box - and then finding out you had played it to death 29 years ago, and misplaced it back into the box.) Everyone I personally know who has tried these has had the same issue - perhaps it has something to do with lack of humidity in our area or something - but regardless, it happens here. However, once a person learns how the reed reacts - to me, they become the best reed on the market. (I rarely get a reed in a box that I can't use for months).
Everything's gettin',
Fuzzy
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2009-10-31 14:19
I use Rico Royals #3 or Vandoren #2.5. Here in Oz I also use Vintage #3's, which I find as good as the others at 2/3 of the price. Vandoren are not as good as they once were, there seems to be a lack of consistency within the same box. I find I can get longer playing life from a reed if I carefully burnish the cut surface before first use. I do this with a polished steel pen body. An old player once told me to burnish the reeds with the merest touch of beeswax rubbed across the grain. After 60 years I'm still not sure if he was having me on.
Tony F.
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Author: ariel3
Date: 2009-10-31 23:16
I have been using the Forestone for more than 6 months and love them. I have 8 in my reed case and rotate them. They are as identical as I could hope for. I am now playing the reed for a change - and others have made very favorable remarks about the results.
Mouthpiece - Pyne Bel Canto Medium
Gene Hall
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2009-11-01 11:51
Hey Gene,
Good to see you post again.
I have slowly moved to Rico Grand Concert 3 1/2s and have been very happy. But when you get a good VD Traditional, you have something really great. The
ATG system has made a huge difference in my reed longevity.
HRL
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