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Re: Reeds!Rico!Vandoren

Author: Bob Barnhart ★2017
Date: 2010-10-01 21:58

Ed is certainly right about having to try lots of brands/styles to find the ones that work best for you.

I've found that both VD V12 and Regular reeds (# 3.5-4.0) work well on the M30. However, here are some thoughts to keep in mind for any mouthpiece/reed combination:

- individual reeds often need to be adjusted to be a good match for the facing
you are using.

- reed life is increased by breaking them in, keeping them flat in a humidity-
controlled container (even a freezer bag will help) and rotating their use.

- reeds will play better when you take the right amount of mouthpiece--the
M30 is a long facing and will require that you take more mouthpiece into your
mouth than most.

- a steady/firm/strong embouchure that allows the reed to vibrate freely is
essential to a its optimal performance.

- you cannot have too much air support--it is the engine that drives the sound
production. A consistent, focused air-stream can do wonders for achieving a
good, even tone over the entire range of the instrument.

I have played for many years and continue to learn from proper application of these (and other) principles.

With respect to the first point I would point out that mouthpiece facings have curves that are accurate to a few 1/10000". While reeds are machined to perhaps similar accuracy, at this scale the surface of the reed can be quite rough. Moreover, reeds are an organic product whose density and resilience is not homogenous. Finally, all reeds of a particular type are made with a specific vamp shape that (by definition) cannot match the facings of all mouthpieces equally well.

For these reasons, I typically expect that I will have to adjust reeds by smoothing their surface and removing material from various locations to ensure that the reed (strength/resilience) is appropriate at (most) all points along the curve of the mouthpiece facing. Once you learn how to tailor a given style of reed to a particular mouthpiece (a process that needn't require a lot of effort), I think you will find that the sound, intonation and response are better across the entire range of the instrument.

For example, I play both the VD B40 Lyre and the M30. For these longer-lay mouthpieces, I find that I often need to remove material along the sides back towards the bark to effectively allow more of the reed to vibrate. For me, removing material from the left side (while looking at the vamp with the tip away from you) improves the sound, while removing it from the right improves response. I do this with reed rush, but have wondered if the Reed Wizard wouldn't do the rough work better.

Finally, while I'm given to G.A.S. as much as anyone, I must admit that a consistent, systematic approach to correctly playing the instrument and the music seems to mitigate the kind of "equipment" problems we all seem to have from time to time.

I hope this helps.

Bob Barnhart

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