Author: Jarmo Hyvakko
Date: 2020-12-17 15:47
I have tried both the primo and vivace reed. I used a Nommos M mouthpiece, which i find better sounding than B2 and a 4,0 reed from both reeds. I usually play legere european signature, so i am deeply in syntethic reeds.
I wetted and played in them according to the instructions. 4,0 reed felt slightly harder than legere's 4,0 so i sent back the 4,0+ reeds unopened.
Vivace produces a very vibrant sound, some would call it buzzy and especially in the lower register i found it quite difficult to articulate cleanly because the articulation even emphasizes the buzziness side of the sound. Thus it has many of the qualities that are challenging to avoid also in cane reeds. The crucial C7 i found a very complicated way to somehow produce, but that was very difficult as it is with cane reeds too.
Primo has a darker, more covered sound but it is also heavier to play than vivace. The C7 problem is there too.
In comparison to legere european, i found both of them more challenging to control, although a faint promise of more rich upper partials still keeps me slightly interested in them. But i didn't get the same experience as i got when i tried a legere-playnick german signature reed combined with playeasy B1 mouthpiece years ago: "oh baby, where have you been for whole my life"
And C7 with an european signature is as rock solid as C7 can possibly be.
Jarmo Hyvakko, Principal Clarinet, Tampere Philharmonic, Finland
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The Clarinet BBoard
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