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Légère's New Reed Cases (and Reeds)

Author: kilo
Date: 2021-01-30 22:49

One of the nice things about Legere reeds is that after determining what particular style and strength works best with an individual mouthpiece you can stock up and not have to make another reed purchase for a long time. I still have a half dozen of the old "Quebec Cut" soprano clarinet reeds, unused, and ready when I need them.

When I took up the bass clarinet I was quite happy to learn that tenor sax reeds could be used, as I had quite a few of the #3 "Studio Cut" reeds which worked well on my tenor piece and on my Fobes Debut. I moved up to a Fobes CF a year or so later but I didn't like the way the "Studio Cut" worked on the CF. But #3½ "Classic" Bass Clarinet reeds worked really well and that's what I've been using on the CF. The "Studio Cut" reeds work well on the Debut,on a George F. Bundy piece I have, and on a very open piece I bought from Mojo Mouthpiece Works.

I recently bought a "White Velvet", one of Walter Grabner's new "Hi-Tech" pieces and I didn't feel that any of the Legere reeds I had were working satisfactorily. The "Studio Cuts" were too soft, the "Classics" sounded stuffy with none of the "ring" they had on the CF. I noticed that Walter recommended the new "American Cut" tenor reed and I was also curious about the new "European Cut" for bass, which people had been discussing. So I ordered one of each in the #3¼ strength.

Both of the new reeds show that Legere has been actively developing their product line. These reeds are unique, with a "power spine" that runs down the middle of the vamp; they aren't simply copies of cane reeds. The "American Cut" responds beautifully on the "White Velvet", as per Walter Grabner's recommendation. And the slightly wider "European Cut" bass reed, with a more pronounced curve on the tip, is perfect on the Fobes CF.

This was the first I'd seen of the new individual reed cases that Legere is now using and the first occasion I've had for any criticism. Plastic pollution is something we need to be aware of — I know, then why am I using plastic reeds? One "American Cut" weighs around 2.3 grams; the case weighs over 14 grams. I can use old Legere reeds for shims and glue spreaders but the individual reed case is pretty much a single-purpose item.

The case certainly holds the reed securely and protects it but the use of #5 polypropylene bothered me enough to write to Legere. I asked if a bio-degradable case could be made and whether we could send our old cases to them for proper recycling and was informed "no" to both questions. While I was told that #5 plastic is recyclable it's not as if every community has the infrastructure to do this:

Quote:

Plastic coded with a 5, polypropylene, presents some logistical headaches for eco-conscious consumers. Although it can be recycled into things such as garden rakes, car parts, storage bins and shipping pallets, its second-life use is limited. Because few manufacturers have the facilities to recycle PP, many communities don't accept it in their recycling programs.

But there was one other thing I noticed — these reed holders secure the reed so that the tip is suspended and not resting on a flat plane. I thought this was interesting as nearly every other reed case has the tip contacting a glass, metal, or plastic surface. This made me wonder why the case was even necessary as one could achieve a similar result by carefully swabbing the mouthpiece, drying the reed, and remounting it right on the mouthpiece table with its tip suspended and not resting on a flat surface. I don't intend to do this — well, maybe in a pinch — but I find it an intriguing option which I'd heretofore thought of as a definite no-no.

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