 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Buster
Date: 2013-03-15 06:24
I've tried and I've tried and I've tried, but I just cannot make the Vandoren M15 work for me.
Reserve Classics, V12 and Vandoren Blue Box have all been auditioned, from strength 3.5 to 5. But I just cannot "get comfortable" with the mouthpiece.
Any thoughts?, as I am lost.
(FWIW I play on both Buffet R13 and Yamaha CSGHII prototypes, with the Benade and Optimum ligature.)
-Jason
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2013-03-15 09:42
The M15 is a bit closed and may not be for everyone. It is also has a fairly long lay (relative to tip opening) and this also may make it a bit "extreme."
I've found the M13 or the (good ol') 5RV Lyre to be more generic and "bullet proof."
And finally if you can stomach more Vandoren, you should try the Masters CL4. Though it has some of the M15ishness about it (down to the smaller sound), it does a lot of things well.
..................Paul Aviles
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2013-03-15 12:59
Ummm...
If you don't like it, why bother any further. How lost can you be? What were you using before?
Karl
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Author: mcaswell
Date: 2013-03-15 15:14
Just goes to show you how different we all are... I tried the M15, M13 Lyre, M30, 5RV Lyre, and B45, and the M15 was the clear winner for me (with the M13 Lyre a close second).
--Michael
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Author: bethmhil
Date: 2013-03-15 15:35
Agreed. We are all different. I have a naturally strident sound, and I need a mouthpiece that darkens & rounds out the brightness; the M13, M30 & M30 Lyre work well for that... I found that the M15 makes my tone even thinner and more brittle. Yet, there are people in my studio who are very successful on the M15. Different mouthpieces exist because everyone is different and has different needs.
BMH
Illinois State University, BME and BM Performance
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Author: Clarimeister
Date: 2013-03-15 21:42
I never really liked the M15. Just recently tried some again, just for the heck of it. Didn't like the sound. Too thin, not as big of a sound and not as round as my M30. I love my M30.
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Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2013-03-16 06:26
Jason,
The phrases "cannot make [it] work for me" and "cannot get comfortable with [it]" could suggest several different things to me. But you may have something else in mind; so what exactly do you mean to communicate by them? How are you "lost" because of this? (Why is playing this mouthpiece important to you?). Also what MPs/facings, etc. are you comparing it to?
FWIW I can honestly say my (10 day old) M15 88 works fine for me (articulation, response , tone, and with some of the reeds you mention), so I'm very comfortable with it (seems like a fairly easy player). I'm comparing to an M13L, 5RVL and similar facings. {Edit: it seems to do better with reeds that were too hard for the M13L & 5RVL.} But of course that may be absolutely no help to you.
Laurie
(Mr. Laurie J Braaten)
Post Edited (2013-03-16 21:12)
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Author: clarinetguy ★2017
Date: 2013-03-16 13:27
I played one for several years and had success with it until I moved on to something different. Vandoren (and others) say this is a mouthpiece for harder reeds--3 1/2 and higher--but I had the greatest success using #3 regular Reserves. You could even try 2 1/2 Reserves and clip them slightly.
Post Edited (2013-03-16 16:34)
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Author: mcaswell
Date: 2013-03-16 15:28
"Agreed. We are all different. I have a naturally strident sound, and I need a mouthpiece that darkens & rounds out the brightness; the M13, M30 & M30 Lyre work well for that."
And even more evidence of our differences... though I played well with the M13, I actually found it to be thinner/brighter than the M15! I did like the sound of the M30, but the M15 felt more comfortable playing. Once I develop a better embouchure (I just started playing again about 3-4 months ago, after a 25 year break), I may try the M30 again, or the M30 Lyre.
--Michael
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Author: NBeaty
Date: 2013-03-16 17:00
"Thinner\Brighter"
Two words that fall into very different categories. Thinner (lacking density, depth, full-ness) and Brighter (more easily 'visible', effervescent, vibrant, resonant, etc). It would be in all of our best interest to understand that, even if you disagree with whether or not brightness generally good, we make sure to note that these two words are not synonymous.
It is also worth mentioning that it is not just our differences of opinion, but our difference in philosophical approach to sound and the interaction between our body and our setup that differs. It's easy to have a mellow (by design) mouthpiece like the M15 sound too bright to someone and too mellow to another simply by their personal thought on what "bright" and "mellow" mean.
Choice of reeds can also make a generally mellow mouthpiece sound "bright" or vice versa. We need to look at mouthpieces for what they are by design. The M15 is a long facing with a fairly close tip, coupled with vandoren's material which is somewhat mellow and\or lacking in complexity of sound. The facing and tip design is what makes them say that it is capable of playing well with a harder reed. Most people I know that use M15's don't use particularly hard reeds (usually around V12 or blue box 3.5).
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Author: marcia
Date: 2013-03-16 18:16
>I've tried and I've tried and I've tried, but I just cannot make the Vandoren >M15 work for me.
There is a myraid of moutpieces out there waiting for you to try. Go and enjoy!
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Author: gwie
Date: 2023-12-05 08:14
I used to play the M15 with Vandoren V12 4.5 and 5.0 reeds back in graduate school.
While it worked for me at the time, as I've gotten older, I ran into fatigue and some facial muscle pain with that setup, so I stopped playing on it.
Very happy with my Behn Epic HCV with ARIA 3.5 reeds!
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