Author: shmuelyosef
Date: 2021-11-17 04:49
I started using the Legere reeds in 2014 on clarinet when they were still called the Legere Clarinet Reed; found a strength that worked. From there, I quickly discovered that the tenor reed (the early design) was awesome for rock and roll, and seemed to last forever.
Over the last 5 years, I have completely switched over to Legere reeds. That includes Bb and Bass Clarinet, and all the four primary saxophones (SATB). I play in rock bands as well as traditional big bands, and some other section work.
I started with the Classic reeds (all that was available), and still use these on Baritone Sax as the more advanced variants get buzzy, but have abandoned the Classics otherwise.
I have been using the Signature reeds on soprano, alto, tenor and bass clarinet, for big band rehearsals and gigs.
Clarinet remains the most difficult; fortunately, I have a lot mouthpieces (collected over years) and several different clarinet designs. I find that the difference between the Signature and Euro signature are pretty useful to fit the right reed to them, but a small set (10-15%) of my mouthpieces don't seem to work with the Legere reeds.
The Euro reeds are more flexible and great with larger tip openings and longer lays. The "non-denominational" Signature reeds work really well with small openings and seem agnostic to lay length. As with ordinary reeds there does seem to be some sensitivity to the resistance of the clarinet. My large bore Selmers (S9 and CT) really shine with these reeds when paired with the right mpc. I have had some difficulty finding a good match for my Yamaha SEV, but am working through that now with some non-intuitive solutions. In-between are my foul-weather clarinets (Vito V40 and 7214) but also solutions have been found.
I have also collected a few "American Cut" reeds (for tenor and alto), and they are very impressive. Can't wait to try the bari "american cut when available. Might replace the Classics that are finally wearing out (some of these bari reeds are 3 years old but still playing...sort of...I used to blow through 2-3 cane reeds on bari every month).
I have tried the Bravo (from California) and it is well behind the Legere team in finessing this type of product.
...and yes, Jen, there is a lot going on with mouthpieces...
Jeff
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The Clarinet BBoard
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