 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: n
Date: 2020-01-30 09:04
Good evening,
I was at an orchestra rehearsal the other day. The other clarinetist sitting next to me, my good friend, introduced me to his brand new reed. Manufactured by "Legere," this reed appeared to be entirely plastic and mildly transparent, similarly to a Luyben ligature. He told me that this reed was the most amazing thing he ever tried. Apparently it costs around $30, which is too much for a single reed if you ask me. My clarinet teacher (also the bass clarinetist in our orchestra) instead told us to our faces that "that reed is BS."
Does anyone know the benefits/drawbacks of this reed? I'm not sure if I'd buy one but it still interests me regardless.
Thanks,
N
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2020-01-30 09:29
I'm always hearing the same old "$30 is too much for a single reed" thing when it comes to Legere reeds.
You've got to put things into perspective here - these reeds last much longer than cane reeds and chances are it's less costly to have one reed costing $30 in the long term than going through boxes of them (remind me how much is a box of 10 reeds is again) and only being able to use a certain percentage.
I've had the same Legere bari sax reed last me well over four years. How many Vandoren ZZ bari reeds would I have got through in that time? Loads.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: n
Date: 2020-01-30 09:42
Chris,
You have a point there. I did keep in mind the durability of such a reed, and it makes sense for it to be a huge money-saver. All I'm concerned about is if there really is a noticeable difference in quality between it and cane reeds. Guess I'll have to try one for myself.
Regards,
N
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-01-30 16:32
The issue is not just trying ONE. To find the right strength pairing for your mouthpiece and embouchure approach, you need to have a passel of them on hand in 1/4 strength increments starting at the softest that "works" and moving up slowly over a several weeks (what I find works).
The best way to do this without spending a fortune on the process is to get your initial reeds from Amazon and invoke their policy to take ANYTHING back for refund. As I say though you must WORK at finding the right strength and it is still advisable to rotate through at least four at a time.
Advantages?
Firstly yes, you will find that a single reed will last 6 months to a year (a huge savings over the cost of cane).
They are perfectly smooth (and advantage that you'll be hard pressed to live without once you get used to it).
CONSTANCY!!!! A huge advantage is picking up a reed and knowing that it will play exactly as it did yesterday..........particularly during weather changes. No cane reed will do that.
Now, if you compare side to side with your favorite, broken-in cane reed will you hear a difference? Yes, cane is superior, BUT the difference is far more slight between the Legere European cut reed and cane than the difference used to be just ten years ago before this particular Legere was available.
So you must decide for yourself of the advantages of the synthetic reed balance out the slight loss of sonic integrity (which is SLIGHT).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0BmXMoPFHs
................Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2020-01-30 16:37)
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Author: pewd
Date: 2020-01-30 20:53
Hit the search button above, search on 'legere' - almost 6000 hits.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: n
Date: 2020-01-30 22:17
Good Morning,
Well. It appears this Legere reed really is the best thing ever. I'll try it for myself, but I'd like to know what is the proportional relationship between Legere reed sizes and cane reed sizes? I play currently on 4 and a half Vandoren V12s. Will this reed take some getting-used-to?
Thanks again,
N
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Author: gwie
Date: 2020-01-30 22:39
I've been playing Legere for lots of paid playing work for almost four years now. And I'm just a weekend warrior! There's a number of people in the clarinet community whose full-time job is playing the instrument that practice, perform, and record on Legere, in every setting from their home studio to the world's major stages.
Anyone who claims that it's "BS" or that "$30 is too much for a single reed" is woefully misinformed.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-01-31 00:40
So you MIGHT start with a strength about 3/4 softer.........and have the next three quarter strengths above AND below that one on hand (again, AMAZON!!!).
The Legere chart is about as accurate as the Vandoren chart ..............not so much.
Play for yourself. Start SOFT. Wait 'til the reed seem to "collapse" after a few days, then go up to the next strength. I truly believe this is the ONLY way to hone in on it.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: J. J.
Date: 2020-01-31 01:29
The Legere website chart strengths are 3/4 to 1 full strength off for European Signatures. It's that bad.
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2020-01-31 02:04
I bought one maybe 15 years ago for $15 U.S. It was too hard. I ruined it by trying to shave it down with my trusty pen knife I've used for 40+ years. Guess that's not a good idea.
I bought another one 2 years ago for $25 CAD. Store guy said get one that's 1/2 a size softer than the wood reed you use. Worked OK. It's fussy. Has to be lined up absolutely perfectly on mouthpiece or it plays stuffy and other problems. I also find that spit tends to get between the reed & facing much more than with wooden reeds. I would not use it when at rehearsals or performing. But for practice on my student clarinet, it sure beats paying $25 for a box of 10 Vandorens (and finding maybe 5 good ones).
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Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2020-01-31 11:03
I tried most of the summer to make the Legere Euro cut work for me following all the advice I could find from trusted sources. Not for me. The sound was fine but they cut out the top third or more of my dynamic range.
I'm lucky enough to live in a reed friendly climate and have a source of reeds that work well for me. At best I'd use a Legere in an emergency. I won't even teach using them although it would certainly be more convenient in that environment.
I'm not against them and really admire many players who make them work wonderfully. Just not for me yet.
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Author: Nomenclature
Date: 2020-02-11 17:19
I did use the Legere European Signature reeds for a little while a couple of years ago, but reverted back to cane reeds as I felt the sound that the Legere reeds gave was very 'tinny' and shrill. I really didn't enjoy that at all, even though they were much easier to play. Not sure if I was using the incorrect mouthpiece with them (Vandoren B45) or not. For me, the tone was nowhere near as nice as that of a cane reed.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-02-11 20:36
I've heard that there is a general tendency to for Legere's to work better on more closed mouthpieces which the B45 is not. However, Corrado Giuffredi is a Legere artist and his sound has a distinctly "open" mouthpiece sound to it (though I don't know for sure).
So settling on the correct strength is key to obtaining the right sound with the Legere European Signature clarinet reeds. I started soft as possible in the strength department and worked my way up a quarter strength at a time (for about 2 weeks each quarter strength). I stopped at the point where the resistance starts to require embouchure compensation to work. It is at this point (tricky to determine sometimes) that the reed can actually feel weak and mushy again because it just won't respond properly.
It takes some work to get there but it is worth it.
..................Paul Aviles
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2020-02-12 06:50
I keep hearing about the Legere reeds being great. But you have to find the right mouthpiece so the reeds will play.
I tested the reeds a lot. Actually some people send these reeds to me to be adjusted.
There's probably nothing too wrong with the average mouthpiece. It's the way the reeds are made wrong. If Legere would correct this their reeds would fit most mouthpieces. Yes I've tried calling Legere. No luck. Offered to help for free!
Why should mouthpiece companies design a mouthpiece to fit the Legere reeds. Actually that can't really work. The reeds won't ever be great.The Legere reeds need to be fixed.
Maybe I should put out a youtube video? I really don't want to, because on youtube you can rate the video. Problem is people that don't understand will give the video a bad rap.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: fernie121
Date: 2020-02-12 08:26
I tried the German Legere reeds on my Behn SONO and was really surprised at well it plays. I’m really happy with my cane reeds though. One thing that I noticed is the material of the German Legere seems to be very different from every other Legere reed I have tried. I’m honestly surprised they are even made from the same material.
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