 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: FreddyG
Date: 2015-01-23 15:34
I'm using the ATG system and experience that almost all V12 reeds are stiffer on the right side. I also play D'addario Reserve Classic and almost every reed is perfectly symmetric and playable out of the box without any sanding. I prefer the sound of the best 10-20% of the v12 reeds. Is it only me and my my(Vandoren B40) mouthpiece or has any of You had the same experience?
If so, why does Vandoren not cut the reed more symmetrical?
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Author: faltpihl ★2017
Date: 2015-01-23 16:09
I have had similar experiences with using the ATG system on some vandoren reeds, can't remember if it was the V12 exclusively.
I have also heard others mention the right side on the V12 in various youtube balancing videos.
Regards
Peter
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2015-01-23 17:39
Interesting. My experience has been that the harder side is the left side (looking at the reed on the mouthpiece).
Left side thickness has been a complaint about Vandoren reeds since I was a student in the 1960s and, I'm sure, before that. I can only repeat the conventional wisdom (lore?) - I've never read a confirmation by anyone official at Vandoren - that it is/was s a design feature. The theory, supposedly, has been that when we hold a clarinet on our right thumb we tend naturally to put some rotational pressure on the instrument that slightly presses the left rail of the reed against the lips.
I haven't noticed consistent hardness on the right side of Vandorens - I'm currently using mostly Traditionals, though I also use 56 Rues and V.12s. I still find them more often heavy on the left.
Karl
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2015-01-23 17:56
Vandoren claims to not only cut their reeds with symmetry with respect to the midline that is parallel to the length of the reed, but do to so with accuracy less than the thickness of a human hair. (I can probably find the Vandoren video I heard this in if necessary.)
And yet my experience, using multiple Vandoren mouthpieces (currently an M15) is consistent with that of the O.P.
I agree the admitted small quantities of D'addario Reserve reeds I've tried are like "the consistency out of the box of synthetics, with the best of cane attributes."
I conceed the causes for this feeling that the right side of Vandoren (not just V12 for me) and some other non-D'addario brands of reeds:
* unknown to me,
* likely multifactorial, and
* entirely plausible to have at least some human factor (i.e. me) as its cause.
We should probably survey players in Australia. Their toilet water you know, flushes in the wrong, err.....other direction. I bet I'd need to shave down the left side of reeds if I played "down under." ![[wink]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie3.gif)
Post Edited (2015-01-23 18:08)
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Author: cxgreen48
Date: 2015-01-24 05:05
If my memory serves right, the recent Vandorens I have adjusted have mostly also been harder on the right side as well.
As for the D'addario reeds, I tried 3 of each type and found that some were hard on the left, some hard on the right, and some that were very close to balanced.
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Author: Johan H Nilsson
Date: 2015-01-25 01:53
I looked through my reed log for some time back and found the following balancing acts...
Right: 11
Left: 5
One thing that is asymmetrical with Vandoren is their reed holders. I get the impression that they tend to lift the right ear of the read. This will put it into the danger zone if you apply ATG.
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Author: Johan H Nilsson
Date: 2015-01-28 03:56
FreddyG wrote: "I prefer the sound of the best 10-20% of the v12 reeds."
Well put and my opinion too, but I think the percentage is higher. With a little balancing, I get 8 good reeds from a box and 4 of them sound better (to my ears) than the best Rico.
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