 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Exiawolf
Date: 2015-09-06 04:46
As much as I dislike equipment threads, I must ask this question. What reeds do you generally partner with this mouthpiece?
I've tried Vandoren Traditionals (3.5)
V12's (3.5-3.5+)
V21's (3.5-3.5+)
Daddario Reserve Classic (3.5-3.5+)
And Rico GCS Evolutions (3.5)
While each cut has it's merits, I am at a loss to choose one to work best. Here's a quick run down of how each generally responds
Traditionals - With no adjustment, I generally get either 4 or 5 reeds that perform quite well out of the box. However, they seem to get waterlogged easily and have a quite short lifespan, even with rotation.
V12's - With no adjustment, the 3.5+'s are very stuffy and unresponsive across the entire box. The 3.5's on the other hand seem to be in the right strength, however they always are unbalanced or have other issues leading to very few working with no adjustment.
V21's - With no adjustment, the 3.5+'s yield 1 to 2 responsive reeds. The 3.5's have more working but always feel too bright and edgy as well as adding in some very odd overtones on low F and E.
Reserve Classic's - With no adjustment, the 3.5+'s yet again feel a bit too heavy and fuzzy, however a few do work quite well. The 3.5's respond slightly better, but sometimes seem too soft and like the traditionals, have a small lifespan (Although I'd say it's better than the traditional).
GCS Evolution - I don't have too much experience with these, however my limited time with them felt much like Vandoren Traditionals.
To end, looking at all that you will notice the repeated phrase "with no adjustment". I've tried adjusting with my limited tools and knoweledge, but always end up ruining reeds more than making them better. I have ordered Ridenour's ATG system, so maybe (hopefully) my adjustment experience will change, but I'll have to see.
What would you do in my situation? I understand that every mouth and concept of sound is different, but at this point I'm just having trouble finding working reeds period. What are your experiences with finding reeds for the M13 Lyre?
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Author: kdk
Date: 2015-09-06 05:31
Exiawolf wrote:
> What would you do in my situation? I understand that every
> mouth and concept of sound is different, but at this point I'm
> just having trouble finding working reeds period. What are your
> experiences with finding reeds for the M13 Lyre?
Your post makes me want to ask a couple of questions:
(1) If you're having so much trouble matching reeds with this mouthpiece, why are you seemingly so committed to the mouthpiece? It must be that the good reeds you find for it feel worthwhile.
(2) Why are you dissatisfied with 4 or 5 reeds (out of a box of 3.5 VD Traditionals, Evolution) or "a few" (Reserve Classic) - must be at least 3 or 4 or you would have said 1-2 like V21s - *without adjustment?*
The key, as you point out, is "without adjustment." So a great deal of the solution of your reed problem with this or any other mpc/reed combination might be to learn more about adjusting reeds. Any of us who adjust reeds have probably ruined countless numbers of them in the process of learning and even still, not every reed I start to work on turns out wonderful or even playable (Tom Ridenour himself says this in his videos). You get better by failing and learning from it - it can get a little expensive at first, but you'll get better with practice if you learn effective technique. ATG gets you closer with less risk of disaster if you use it carefully, but it has the disadvantage of always thinning the reed tip when sometimes - often in my experience - at least some of the reed's response problems are farther back. So, along with the ATG, you need to learn more about reed vibration and where it may be too stiff even when the tip has become quite flexible.
Meanwhile, I wouldn't sneeze at 4-5 playable reeds in a box of 10 even without adjustment. They shouldn't get waterlogged once they've been conditioned gently ("break-in")
Karl
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Author: Steve Becraft
Date: 2015-09-06 23:48
I have most of my college students playing on the M13 Lyre or the M15, but Arkansas humidity might yield different results than Tucson! When a student struggles with comfort/consistency with one of these mouthpieces, they often try the other and find that it's perfect for them! You might consider checking out the M15 since the M13 Lyre might be a little "stuffy" for you to find a comfortable reed match.
The other angle you might address is a more careful break-in process. The following link to my website has a Reed handout that contains a very general process (and a great reason WHY from Phillip Rehfeldt):
http://fac.hsu.edu/becrafs/Henderson_State_University_Clarinet_%26_Saxophone_Studio/Resources.html
More recently, I've found great results from Kevin Schempf's process. The big change for me was starting the entire box and rejecting reeds almost immediately, rather than starting 4 or 5 reeds:
http://www.kevinschempf.com/#!studio-info/vstc4=student-handbook
Finally, if you aren't already, I would recommend some kind of humidity system for reed storage. An effective and inexpensive way to go is the D'addario (or Boveda --same thing) Humidipak in a D'addario bag (or a Ziplock freezer-grade bag).
Good luck!
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Author: Exiawolf
Date: 2015-09-06 23:52
Steve, what reeds do most of your students play on with the M13 Lyre? The reeds I do get are generally very good, just not too often do I get them.
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Author: Steve Becraft
Date: 2015-09-07 00:55
The most popular combination with the M13 Lyre has been the V12 3.5+. One student has recently begun using the Rue Lepic 56 size 3.5+ with great results too. I haven't had anyone spend much time yet with the new Reserve Classic 3.5+, but I have liked them with my Kaspar and will hand out some samples to my studio.
There was a rough patch of V12's last spring that caused some havoc. It wasn't just me and my studio--I heard of others having the same issues. I hope that that particular batch of cane is all used up….
It's possible that you've been affected by this as well but you assumed it was something wrong with you!
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