 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2018-02-20 08:30
Hi, does anyone know of a clarinet reed manufacturer who sells boxes of reeds of increasing strengths from 2 to 4.5? I've been searching but can't seem to find any such sample box.
Thanks in advance.
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Author: GenEric
Date: 2018-02-20 08:47
The closest thing to such thing is Brad Behn who sells his Aria reeds and sells a box of 10 with 5 of each reed with your choice of strength. There good reeds as well and can get way more working reeds out of the box compared to Vandoren reeds.
However, if you really need reeds from 2-4.5, I would just visit a music store and buy one or two of each reed.
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2018-02-20 09:18
GenEric, thanks for the tip! I'll look into this tomorrow.
My past experience is that most stores won't break a box.
Where I live, the closest store to me is around 40 miles away with the 2nd store around 55 miles away. Perhaps through the mail?...
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Author: jonathan.wallaceadams
Date: 2018-02-20 09:50
Dan,
Maybe contact Brad himself and see what he can do? He's a friendly guy and would understand if you explained what you wanted. He only has strengths 3-4 available with 4.5 on preorder only. This would be the equivalent to a Vandoren 2.5-4 depending on the batch (they run soft.)
Hope this helps!
Just an aspiring student.
Buffet Tradition
Mpc.: Hawkins "G", Barrel: Moba, Reeds: Reserve 3.5+
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2018-02-20 10:07
Music stores lose out when they won't break boxes. With many brands of reed being individually sealed within the box there doesn't seem to be any reason why they couldn't. It's one of only a couple potential advantages they have over online retailers.
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Author: GenEric
Date: 2018-02-20 10:29
Haha, I try to avoid buying reeds from music stores as much as possible. I remember I wanted to try out V12 reeds for the first time and see how they would compare to the traditional blue box. They were $4.50 per reed! I'm never buying from a store again...
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Author: Klose ★2017
Date: 2018-02-20 13:43
Vandoren has something called reed card and pilgerstorfer also has sample package (whatever the mix you want).
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Author: John Peacock
Date: 2018-02-20 20:43
Vandoren already do this as standard: just buy a box of e.g. 3.5 reeds and you'll always find a range from way too soft to unplayably hard (although one shouldn't be too critical of Vandoren: their boxes eventually yield more concert-worthy reeds than anyone else I've tried, and gauging strength automatically in a way that applies to all mouthpieces is impossible).
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2018-02-20 22:59
John, after I stopped laughing so hard, I thought, by golly, you may have hit the proverbial nail on the head! I have read so much on this forum about Vandoren reed "inconsistencies" that your suggestion actually seems to make a lot of sense.
My problem is there are so many varieties to choose from.
In your opinion, which variety seems to have the worst record for consistency? The Traditional, the V12, the "new" V21, or the 56 Rue Lepic?
Which one is the "worst " of the bunch?
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Author: John Peacock
Date: 2018-02-21 01:07
Dan: let me emphasise I don't think Vandoren are doing anything wrong in terms of consistency. You can take 2 reeds that feel the same strength on one mouthpiece and have them feel rather different on another. Every lay is different, and emphasises different parts of a reed, so whatever automatic strength assessment they do is unlikely to come out uniform for one individual player. I haven't found much difference in this respect between the different Vandoren makes (or other manufacturers). I use the V12, because I prefer the sound that they make (from the best 2-3 in the box, which is all I ever use in concerts, even after a lot of adjustment).
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2018-02-21 02:59
Thanks, John. I appreciate the enlightenment.
p.s. Actually, John, the explanation that you gave me is precisely the knowledge that I needed. Hopefully, in the near future, I'll be posting again as to what this is all about. Thanks, again.
Post Edited (2018-02-21 03:14)
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Author: gavalanche20
Date: 2018-02-21 04:27
D'Addario also have their own version of cards with their Reserve reeds, it's a card of four with just two of one strength (one Reserve, one Classic), and two of the next hardest strength.
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2018-02-23 22:11
Same with Steuer. Anything you want to try. Even German cuts.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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