 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Volatile
Date: 2019-01-03 02:33
Self teaching with a Yamaha ycl 250 and a Fobes debut mouthpiece.No teachers and no car. Use Fibracell reeds exclusively, 2.5 strength. Are these reeds hit and miss like cane ? Have one that has lasted close to a year while others a month or two. Legeres won't work
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2019-01-03 03:32
Legeres *do* work, but if you prefer Fibracells, it's your call. I never found them to be "hit or miss" - certainly not like cane. The synthetic material is completely manufactured, not grown, so its properties can be kept consistent. Once you've found something in a synthetic that works, they're much reliable from reed to reed than cane could ever be.
Karl
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2019-01-03 03:32
Ideally, you'll want to keep four Fibracells at the ready and rotate them as you would cane reeds.
Both Legeres and Fibracells soften up as you play them, and the more "rest" you give them between playings, the longer you can play them before they go soft and your pitch goes flat.
Don't assume that these are "indestructible marching reeds" just because they're synthetic. As with cane reeds, you have to be smart about how you deploy them to get the best results from them.
A group of four, properly rotated, will last far longer and deliver much more consistent results than four reeds bought one at a time and each played until dead.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2019-01-03 04:18
I agree with the above comments. But I'd like to speak to the Fibracell/Legere thing a bit more.
For me, the Fibracell work better than Legere ON BASS. There the Legere just come off "tubby" sounding.
Of course you need the right Legeres too. The "Classic" are ok for emergency use but not really a cane substitute by any means. The Legere Signature Bb clarinet reeds for some strange reason just don't seem to work in my opinion. They are just too flaccid.
That said, the Legere European Signatures and the Signature Soprano saxophone reeds are absolutely amazing! The additional trick is to find the right strength. I thought I had the right strength for a week or so then wound up going up another quarter strength. Then a few months down the road I went up yet another quarter strength. I did this discovery twice, once with the European Signatures and then again with the Signature Soprano saxophone reeds. This is where ordering through Amazon is a great help.......they refund anything!
I currently use Fobes C12 (1.00mm tip opening) and I have the facing foreshortened a few millimeters. With this I use the Legere Signature Soprano saxophone 2.75 strength......just amazing! But its not a secret about either those or the Euro cut. Ricardo Morales uses them as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0BmXMoPFHs
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: Volatile
Date: 2019-01-04 02:19
I regretted posting this immediately after doing so. I have 3 Fibracell I rotate daily with a 4th on the way. Legeres won't work with my setup, I've tried several strengths. You guys no doubt are professional musicians, while I'm just a 73 year old guy who practices 20- 30 minutes a day just.for something to do.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2019-01-04 04:00
Just trying to provide some assistance. The synthetic reeds are much more consistent from reed to reed. If you have found your solution in the Fibracell, then that is a good thing. Sorry to hear that they are a little less reliable than you'd like. I only offer up my success with the Legere since they are incredibly constant. Thought it might be worth a second look if you have the time.
..................Paul Aviles
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Author: Ben Shaffer
Date: 2019-01-04 06:04
I've got a legere Classic I bought several years ago.
It sounds great very focused, not the tubby P.A. mentions.
That said the several I bought afterwords were tubby or stuffy sounding and pretty much a waste of money.
I've got several fibracells, that only popped so to speak when I sanded them down some.
Really what I would like is to get a legere like the first I bought.
I have dreams of going to their factory and playing a big box of them and just buying the good ones.
I tried sanding the stuffy legeres I had, but unlike the Fibracells they don't seem to lend themselves to sanding
That said I just play these and not cane and for my Community band playing they sound fine
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Author: monnarush
Date: 2019-01-04 17:28
Good morning,
I had bought a #2 Fibracell reed and it was too soft for me but I did like it. I am thinking of ordering one more to try not sure what strength but I use 2.5 in cane reeds generic.
I posted a while back about a new to me brand of reed but did not get a response. Then I lost my post LOL. I was in NC for my daughters college Graduation and stoped at ED's Music Shop, he recomended the Forestone Premium Cut Clarinet Reed. The Box is black and has Bamboo Sound Reflection on the box. I bought it and tried it a 2.5 but found it a bit too hard for me. But the sound I made I loved immediately. So I ordered it in a 2 and hope when it gets here it will be just right. It is on back order so I am waiting.
Just wanted to ask if anyone else has tried the Forestone Premium Cut Clarinet Reed, in the beautiful black box with Bamboo Sound Expressions on the box.
Thanks! Have a wonderful weekend!
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2019-01-05 02:57
From my experience as perhaps a reed master the Fibracell reeds are decent, but need to be adjusted. So players have to be able to adjust these reeds. Often the reeds are not flat. So this is where you need to start.
Pros and cons compared to Legere reeds -
Pros - The vibration of the reeds move forward because of the fibers. So the sound projects forward better than the Legere reeds which do not have fibers to control the way the reeds vibrate. The Legere reeds still project forward but not like cane and Fibracell reeds. The Legere reeds are a tad bit harder to control the projection and get the best sound compared to a great cane reed. We all know that finding a great cane reed we will have to buy about 2 boxes of reeds to find that magic reed, then break it in. With plastic you don't have to in most cases.
Cons - The Legere reeds seem to respond better if you get a decent one, but for double lip players the Legere reeds hurt your upper lip. Added the Fibracell reeds usually need some adjustments to the rails, the sides, of the reeds. Also the fibers are pretty hard and your reed clipper may not clip the tips cleanly.
Conclusion - Because of the above reasons I've stayed with cane reeds for now. I'm not happy with cane companies so I'm making my own reeds once again. Yes I know there are a lot of people playing plastic reeds and I'm all for it. But with my embouchure as a double lip player the plastic reeds do not "Give," as cane does, so this limits my practice hours by at least half the time.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2019-01-05 03:32
I wonder Bob to which Legere you refer. When the Quebec Cut was available here in the States (still listed in stock on Maxton's site) that one was close to "decent." As stated above the European Signature and Signature Soprano saxophone reeds are complete game changers. Do you refer to either of those Legeres in your assessment?
I would agree that the best of the original Legere offerings have little give. But for me the consequence was that it limited your pitch to that really narrow band of "good sound." So you had to do ALL pitch adjustment at the barrel......NOT practical. Again, not the case on the Signature versions.
.............Paul Aviles
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2019-01-05 04:20
Hi Paul, good question as always, I tried the European cut. Actually David Shifrin suggested it. He was pleased and made a move 2 years ago. I think he and Ricardo had been talking. His major comment to me was no more reed hassles. So that says a lot. I heard him live playing and I thought his sound was fine. Was it better than cane reeds? I'm not sure, because of the hall and the other instruments were out of tune. As far as his playing he played great. Just as you would expect from one of the finest players in the world.
I have NOT tried the sop. sax reeds.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
Post Edited (2019-01-05 04:24)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2019-01-05 05:54
Honestly, they would be a shade "less" great (in my opinion) than cane. But at that level look at all the PROs:
o It will feel the same tomorrow as it does today
o Perfectly smooth (trust me, that's a plus when you get used to it)
o No problem in dry climates (or dry days, or Winters in New England)
o Lasts a really long time (with rotation as mentioned above), 6mos to a year
o Doubling is no longer any sort of problem regarding reeds
o No break-in period
o Haven't found one yet that hasn't been WONDERFUL (unlike cane)
I have been using Legere for three years and counting.
Of course if you still prefer cane..........
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: tucker ★2017
Date: 2019-01-06 17:43
Because of this thread and Paul's comment above, I just tried my first Fibracell on bass. I'm impressed.
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Author: EaubeauHorn
Date: 2019-01-10 22:29
I was recently told by someone that it was the Legere reeds I was using with a setup very similar to yours (Fobes Debut) that were causing me to be irretrievably flat. With the short barrel. I sounded good, was going right along learning and was flat across the range no matter what I did. He said go with Fibracell and the pitch problems would go away. I know others have other opinions, but that's why a forum is useful. I have yet to try again with my basically new Ridenour that should not have flatness problems, because I've been hacking away at oboe again. Glutton for punishment....
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2019-01-10 23:20
Interesting point you bring up concerning pitch. I was working both the idea of a softer embouchure approach alongside taking up Legere permanently so it was harder to sort out what made my pitch drop rather dramatically.
I so far have not had an issue with pitch once switching to shorter barrels (aside from finding vendors to provide 63mm barrels for R13s). In years past, I have experienced unresolvable internal pitch issues when pitch goes to high (the long tube notes still remain on the high side when short tube notes are pushing flat).
For now I will still stick with Legere Signature soprano sax reeds over anything else.
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: Nomenclature
Date: 2019-02-15 01:29
I like Fibracell reeds but the last three I used didn't last long at all - only a couple of weeks as the see-through backing paper on them 'floated' away from the reed and became air-bubbled. I find when this starts, the reeds move when held in place with the ligature as they kind of slip in place due to this sticky backing. Anyone else had this issue?
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