 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Dan Paprocki
Date: 2013-02-28 18:44
Has anyone noticed that the Vandoren V12's are different? It seems that the V12's with the laser cut label as opposed to the inked label are different cane and possibly a different cut. They seem much less consistent. Has anyone switched to a comparable reed?
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2013-02-28 19:21
Try the Rico Reserves. You won't go back. Better quality and more consistent.
Jeff
“Everyone discovers their own way of destroying themselves, and some people choose the clarinet.” Kalman Opperman, 1919-2010
"A drummer is a musician's best friend."
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Author: TJTG
Date: 2013-02-28 22:37
Rico reserves sounded fantastic for me out of the box, but had no shelf life once they had been played for a rehearsal. I was thoroughly unimpressed by their lack of staying power.
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Author: rmk54
Date: 2013-03-01 12:13
michael13162 wrote:
> Rico Reserves are amazing, you won't regret it.
Are you willing to reimburse the OP if he finds otherwise?
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Author: John Peacock
Date: 2013-03-01 13:23
Based on enthusiastic endorsements on this board, I did try the Rico Reserves. No doubt they suit some people, but I didn't enjoy the experience and am back on V12s.
Regarding the new V12s, they seem to vary from box to box - neither more nor less than the old ones.
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Author: Chris2787
Date: 2013-03-01 18:50
I just ordered a box of V12s and I am waiting for them to come in the mail. My friend who is a phenomenal clarinetist uses them. I currently use the blue box. So I will let you know how I feel about the V12s as soon as they come in.
Chris L.
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Author: gwie
Date: 2013-03-02 06:05
I like the Rico Reserves out of the box...they sound great right away and I don't have to work on them.
hey just don't last nearly as long as the Vandoren V12 or 56, though I have to spend more time breaking my Vandorens in and working on them to get them to play exactly how I want.
I do miss the old 30-count boxes though...they sell 50-count boxes now but I've not been able to find them in the strength that I want (4.5).
G.
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Author: William
Date: 2013-03-02 15:41
Just for all of you "young'ns" out there, Vandoran reeds have always been "inconsistant", even back when I started playing them in the 1960s. We had to go through boxes to find the few "good" ones and it seems, that is the only consistant legacy Vandoran has been able to maintain. Packaging, cuts and quantanties change, but cane still grows the same, fiborus and inconsistant.
I am now convinced, more than ever, that synthetic is the reed for the future, if for no other reason, the material is more consistant and lasting. It definately takes a lot of the needless effort out of clarineting--that is, working on reeds. More time to work on technique and music.
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Author: rmk54
Date: 2013-03-02 17:30
Of course Vandorens are inconsistent. All reeds are inconsistent.
Life is inconsistent.
You want consistency? Go to MacDonald's.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2013-03-02 18:39
Any box of reeds will have variations in them. Wood, bamboo, reeds, whatever just doesn't come in a sheet of perfect density throughout and sometimes the grain is tighter in one area than another. It's gonna happen. Is this necessarily a bad thing? I don't think it is. In one climate reed A may be the best. In another climate, reed A may not even work and reed B (which was previously bad) may sound perfect. I've recently been experimenting with learning to play the reed and not making every reed "perfect". I feel if I make a reed "perfect" in my house, in my 70 degree practice room, wherever, I've now lessened the amount of reeds available for playing outdoors in a dry 60 degree environment, or on a humid 80 degree day, etc. But if I learn to deal with inconsistencies and can unconsciously adjust to deviations from one 3.5 V12 to another, I've become more dependable as a clarinetist as a whole.
Quote:
I am now convinced, more than ever, that synthetic is the reed for the future, if for no other reason, the material is more consistant and lasting. It definately takes a lot of the needless effort out of clarineting--that is, working on reeds. More time to work on technique and music. In addition to the material being consistant and long lasting, it isn't affected by humidity or moisture. Legere's don't really get "waterlogged", so the environment has little to no affect on them.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: kdk
Date: 2013-03-02 22:44
William wrote:
> I am now convinced, more than ever, that synthetic is the reed
> for the future,
So am I, but for many of us today's synthetic materials and the reeds designed using them are still not good enough.
Karl
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