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Legere reeds, very promising but...

Author: snilsson
Date: 2011-11-01 17:14

I've been following the clarinet bboard for a long time but this is the first time I've felt that I have some useful information to share with you.

I've been playing on Legere signature reeds for the last couple of months and it has been a revelation. A high quality reed that responds the same every time makes clarinet playing so much easier and more enjoyable. However, I've also encountered several problems.

I've tried eight Legere 3 1/4 Bb signature reeds so far: the first two were great, after that I've had two unbalanced reeds (one harder on the left, the other one on the right), one that was unplayable, and three that were good, but a bit harder than the first two. I've done my testing and playing on two brand new B40's.

There have been quite a bit of back and forth with the Legere customer support. They've been very friendly and I've had all the bad ones replaced, even though it took almost a month in one case (I did get a complimentary reed because of this). My last transaction was less successful: I asked for the three 3 1/4 reeds that were good, but a bit too hard for me, to be replaced with 3:s. I got the original ones back (actually only two of them!) with returning mail and the message: "they have been measured & best we can do. NN".

Here are my questions to you:

Have I been extremely unlucky or have any of you had similar problems?

What is the preferred way to get well balanced Legere reeds of proper strength?

I've tried to thin down the harder corner with an abrasive, just like I would do with cane, and have ruined one reed in the process so far.

I've also tried to soften a reed by putting it in hot water for a brief moment. It actually works, but the reed goes back to its original strength in a few hours time.

Sending the reeds back for replacement may not be an option for me any longer. My guess is that customer support is getting tired of me at this point, and I might have overstayed my welcome.

This is extremely frustrating. Close to perfect reeds that are consistent over time is such a blessing and it seems Legere are very close to achiving this. I'd hate to see this project fail because of problems with consistency in manufacture. Or perhaps it's only me that have been very unlucky?

I should add that I've repeatedly tried to contact Legere about how to best get balance reeds of proper strength (e-mail to the info address, e-mail to Tim Elvy, and snail-mail to Guy Légère) but have not had any response.

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