 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2016-01-20 09:50
Hi folks, the NAMM Convention, stands for the National Association of Music Merchants, starts this Thursday through Sunday. Sadly it's not open to the public, but to store owners and dealers. Some people may be able to get in if you are friends with store owners.
Long story short, I have a booth there #4710. Under Steuer. Stop by if you are attending. I guess about 3/4's of a million people, all around the world will be at the convention.
Say hello!
Bob
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: claaaaaarinet!!!!
Date: 2016-01-21 04:56
I believe it's open to the public (for a fee) Friday and Saturday? Also, it's a HUGE and awesome show, but probably more like 125k attendees.
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2016-01-25 08:35
An exciting 4 days at NAMM. Met a lot of people and ran out of reeds, which was expected. People that stayed for a few days reported back about how much they liked the reeds.
Spies came by, Vandoren. They treated me OK and I gave them the professional respect that they deserved. Heck, it's a top reed company, they deserve respect! Also, Juno reeds stopped by, part of Vandoren, reeds to compete against Rico's lower end. Mike Zucek Was GREAT. We've know each other for a long time and I also saw his wife who has won some Grammy awards. Mike is a true gentleman, with tons of class. I wish good success to Vandoren and Juno.
I saw Backum, he was OK, not a very friendly man. Kind of strange actually. 3 booths down was Selmer and LeBlanc and I'm friend with Julian Bliss. We talked for what seemed about 30 minutes plus. Check out his site, he's going on tour in the US right now. Anyway, Backum and Bliss really are best friends. I'll leave it at that. Julian was a blast to talk with. He's using a fairly new Zinner mouthpiece with a 1.12 tip opening. Zinner I think made it special for him. He sounded very good on this setup and his clarinets. He played a bit of the Copland on a few of the Selmer instruments and the Recitalist was a bit dark. Needless to say his Bliss clarinet sounded very good.
Saw Stevie Wonder playing assorted harmonica's. Looks great. Gained a few pounds perhaps, sounded fine on the harmonica's.
Back to reeds. It seems that pretty much everyone I talked to and there were 100's of players, all seem to play on the Vandoren V12's. A few played on the Rico Reserves, and only one player was using the Vandoren V21 reeds. No one was using the Grand Concert reeds and when I asked why, the answer was always related to the reeds not holding up as long as they hoped for.
So with about 3/4's of a million people walking through the convention sadly most of them weren't interested in reeds! Guitars, drums, were the main focus. A ton of Chinese instrument companies were there. An explosion actually. An amazing amount of plastic clarinets and band instruments. Wholesaling for under $100 sometimes. Wood clarinets for $325. I saw this as discouragement because kids learning to play on these horns will get discouraged because the horns don't work and will sadly give up on music. This is written from looking at the clarinets and saxophones. The major problems were the key alignments. A visual look seemed to show pads not covering the holes. The bride sections were all out of adjustments. The mouthpieces were plastic and looked pretty bad.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: AAAClarinet
Date: 2016-01-25 10:48
Hey Bob. I stopped by your booth, but sadly I missed you. I had a nice chat with your assistant. I was hoping to try one of your mouthpieces, but I did get a couple reeds 😀
AAAClarinet
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2016-01-25 17:20
Interesting that Chinese clarinet manufacturers still let instruments out for sale with bad key alignments. That's something I've noticed on cheap Chinese clarinets for sale at flea markets for more than fifteen years, although some people on this site have written about improvements in the better-quality Chinese instruments recently. I've heard anecdotes from band kids' parents that band teachers warn parents that cheap Chinese clarinet-shaped objects will discourage beginners. In the Washington, D.C. area, the rejects end up selling for next to nothing at yard sales and auctions because music stores will not take these -- yes, I'll use Shadow Cat's old slur -- these screech-sticks in trade.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: tylerleecutts
Date: 2016-01-25 22:53
Bob, how many of the Vandoren players (especially on the longer facings) were using 56 Rue Lepic reeds?
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2016-01-26 03:04
AAAclarinet - Sorry I missed you. A few of the times I was walking around looking for a better booth location for next year and checking out instruments. Things like that. Also looking for companies to carry the Steuer reeds.
Tylerleecutts - Not a single player said that they played on the Vandoren 56 reeds, I was actually pretty surprised about that, but there weren't any real top notch symphony musicians that stopped by the booth.
Lelie - I was a bit saddened to see so many companies from China, I must say I didn't check out every company, there were too many. But the ones I saw and carefully looked at, the construction was poor at best. Unplayable is pretty much below the poor level.
I did let Buffet know that I wasn't happy with them. When you buy and test out an R13 or any of their top brands they should work. When they leak it's frustrating to tell the true quality of the horns, such as the sound, hear the dead notes, and the intonation. Well this did make them interested. They introduced me to the California rep who lives about 10 miles from me and we will be getting together in the very near future. Maybe as early as the end of this week. So folks I'm looking out for everyone. Expressing frustrating viewpoints to Buffet, which we all seem to have.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
Post Edited (2016-01-26 11:41)
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2016-01-26 06:17
I got several emails from folks about my experience and comments on Backum. I'm not one to hold back my opinions. I tell it as I see it. I actually gave Bachum a box of reeds. He didn't thank me, which is fine, the show was busy, but he did say, "Oh good I could use these."
I won't comment on Julian Bliss. That is between Julian and Morrie. I will say this. Julian is one very nice guy. All smiles and a very warm person. Extremely easy to approach, so if you ever run into him don't be shy to say hello.
I will back up my comment saying that I don't think I'm in the right club. The best of the best clarinetist in the world and this may be why he pretty much blew me off along with the other person that was there. I don't know if it was his son or who it was. He was just as bad. I picked up a horn on display and told Backum I'd never buy this horn and it shouldn't be on display. He asked why? I told him to hold down the right hand C key and then press the left hand C key. It was sticking badly. He took it off of the display and said he has to fix that. No kidding! Well he should have had his horns in perfect condition. No he didn't thank me for telling him. Again the left had C key was sticking, or the F key, on the lower register. Same key. After taking the horn away I never saw him again, he went to see more important people. I stopped by his booth wanting to arrange for him to send me a few horns TOO BUY!
I'm not bragging hear, but I was on PBS TV 4 times last month in an orchestra, which I won't talk about. I got an email from someone asking if I'd play the Mozart Concerto, because he liked my sound. This was one of the reasons for wanting to try out his horns, Bachum. Well I kind of think that my old friend Bob Marcellus still has one of the best recordings of this Concerto and it was done on a Buffet R13. So I think I may stay with the Buffet R13 I already have! I told this person I'd rather play something different as the Mozart has been recorded and overplayed. I asked about the Copland or Rossini, so I'm waiting to hear back.
If I have offended anyone that uses Backum products well I surely hope I'm wrong about him. However, and perhaps sadly, I won't buy his horns.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: tylerleecutts
Date: 2016-01-26 06:25
Bob, maybe that has something to do with the trend of shops around that just don't stock the 56's. You're lucky sometimes to find anything other than orange-box Ricos, and blue box and V12 Vandorens.
I'm surprised as well nonetheless since the 56 Rue Lepic is advertised as having lots of focus in the sound which is what a lot of people are after.
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2016-01-26 07:32
Tyler, I like the 56 reeds as well. Yes I import the Steuers, but again, as I said above, I have total respect for Vandoren. I've met Bernard Vandoren in the past and he's pretty cool. I'll never say a bad thing about the Vandoren reeds other than they don't last as long as they once did and you get so few in a box that play. As players we all know that this is true. The 56 reeds seem to last a big longer.
Before I got involved with Steuer I ordered the Vandoren reeds online. You are right that you can't find pro models at your local stores. Just reeds full of pesticides from Rico.
When Vandoren stopped by my booth they did inform me that they no longer get cane from Argentina. I think they said as of 8 years ago. They said that they bought more land in the Var region of France. Well that's surely good news, but why don't the reeds hold up? Wish I knew the answers. I also heard at the show that Vandoren is getting cane from Spain. This is up for questioning at the moment. Vandoren surely could badmouth Steuer, so I don't want to start anything until there is proof.
We need someone from Vandoren to pop in and let us know whats up.
I'd like to keep the politics out of the products and deal with facts.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
Post Edited (2016-01-26 11:36)
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Author: rmk54
Date: 2016-01-26 17:37
Hey Bob,
Maybe Backun blew you off because you kept mispronouncing his name.
(Hint: It's not "Backum").
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Author: Wes
Date: 2016-01-26 23:44
Please let us know if you play the Mozart in the Los Angeles area so that we could possibly attend and hear it. Thanks.
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2016-01-27 02:31
RMK54 - Sorry about the spelling! (laughing here!) Thanks for the correction!
Wes - I will let you know! Hopefully it won't be the Mozart though. I've done this so I'd like to do something else. Copland would be my first choice, if he lets me pick something.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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