 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: tucker ★2017
Date: 2019-10-06 06:56
In my ongoing search for the "perfect" synthetic reed for bass clarinet, I registered to get one of the new Ambipoly reeds from Alta.
I normally play a Legere 2.5 on a Fobes 10K AP so I ordered a 2.5 Ambipoly. It was like blowing against a 2X4.
I contacted them and they gladly exchanged it for a 2.0. My initial reaction was WOW. Then as I got into it, I found the reed "chirping"... especially when trying to articulate staccato notes. It's the same as some cane reeds. I never knew why that happened. Never had that happen with a Legere or Fibracell.
I followed the soaking and "mouthpiece pairing" instructions, but apparently it didn't like my mouthpiece.
I'll try soaking and "pairing" again (or are you suppose to do it with each use? hmmmm).
Initial thought: I'll stick with Legere.
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Author: MarkS
Date: 2019-10-06 18:56
I switched from Legere European signature (3.75) to Alta Ambipoly (4.0) about two months ago for B-flat/A clarinets. I am using a Grabner Virtuoso mouthpiece (moderately open) with Silverstein A-style ligature. For me, it is working out very well. Tone quality is more consistently good across the entire range. Also, I can do minor adjustments in resistance by shifting the reed up or down. Doing this for the Legere reeds ruined the tone quality. Supposedly, the Ambipoly reeds can also be adjusted using sandpaper or knife, but I hesitate to try this on a $39 reed.
The only downsides so far have been that I need to soak the reed for a few minutes before playing (warm water works best). Moistening by mouth does not work as well and leaves the reed extremely resistant when beginning to play. I also notice that often after about 45 minutes of playing, the lower notes (middle C and below) may sound "buzzy." I can compensate for this by moving the reed up slightly.
I have been alternating between two reeds, but am not sure that is necessary. So far, no noticeable deterioration in either reed.
Overall, the reeds perform like excellent cane reeds.
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Author: Agomongo
Date: 2019-10-07 03:48
I thought they were on the verge of being amazing, but the chalumeau is weak. The lower altissimo is unstable, and Silverstein didn't seem to listen to anybody about how to improve it. So many professional musicians have said the same thing and I tried their beta reeds. They had months to change it and they didn't. I'll stick with cane.
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Author: Juanzen
Date: 2019-10-08 13:03
I tried them on soprano, I think they "feel" closer to a cane reed, but at the end I had the same issue I had with legeres. I cannot play the high altissimo notes well on them, reed just fails completely to respond, I mean stuff above altissimo G.
I think for anyone starting on the instrument they are just fine though. Honestly if I was a younger player these days I would not object to practicing on these or legeres european cut.
Edit: I know for a fact better players can get those high notes to work, just look up corrado giufreddi and he gets them pretty consistently, so I think I just need to commit to the switch and give it enough practice.
Post Edited (2019-10-08 13:07)
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Author: ACCA
Date: 2019-12-23 15:07
I got one of these in strength 3. Soaked it up to the shoulder in warm water as soon as I unwrapped it. I didn't notice a significant "breaking in" period.
It's not a perfect reed, I've had vandoren trads that sound better. but sounds more like cane than legeres or forestones. biggest problem is difficulty projecting when playing ff and sound getting "thin" when playing pp. 7 out of 10 maybe. tried it on Robert Marcellus M13 MP, also portnoy BP02 and selmer c85, with similar levels of perfomance on all three, differing by the individual characteristics of each MP.
verdict- holds up well when compared with a Legere Signature (not euro cut), with more overtones and more "cane-like" sound than those Legeres.
Post Edited (2019-12-27 17:07)
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Author: ACCA
Date: 2020-01-10 18:45
Still using this frequently, showing slight improvement as it breaks in.
Now on the siverstein site, it's showing two new lines of synthetic reeds:
"PRIMO- Designed for cane reed lovers, PRIMO plays just like the best cane reeds.
VIVACE: Designed for the next generation, VIVACE opens up new possibilities. VIVACE enables flexible and creative play with freer blowing and full harmonics in all registers."
These models seem to be the newest kids on the synthetic reeds block.
The images seem to show a shorter vamp than most reeds, particularly the Vivace reed. Perhaps that influences their response and high register performance.
Looking forward to some reviews from the clarinet community. Anticipating a certain number of references to "snake oil" and "stick with legere!"
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Author: Ivanv1984
Date: 2020-05-05 14:26
Hello ACCA,
Could you compare those reeds with the Legere European Cut in behaviour and strenght?
Thanks.
Ivan
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Author: ACCA
Date: 2020-05-05 22:28
Hi Ivan, I haven't tried the Primo or Vivace yet, and have had very bad luck with the legeres as well, so not qualified to give much of an opinion at this point.
One thing I can confirm, the Silversteins seem to "break in" to a particular mouthpiece, if you then try to play them on a different MP, you may have very bad results. I've noticed this more than with other synthetics e.g. forestone and fibracell.
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