 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ckim44
Date: 2023-09-11 23:07
Attachment: image.jpg (1429k)
Hi!
I’ve been struggling to find a good reed brand/size for several months now. Any private teacher gave me a reed to try out that she received from a friend and it worked wonders. It’s the only one that has produced a great sound throughout my whole reed journey. My teacher and I both have no clue what the brand is and I’ve tried searching it up, even using the photo search. Still nothing!
Does anyone know what the reed brand of this is?
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2023-09-12 19:37
Chloe:
The notion that one particular reed, or even brand of reeds creates drastic difference in play for any player, in my opinion is one that a clarinet player should shy away from.
Please don't equate the above with any inference on my part that all reeds are the same and that things like strength and method of cut and quality of cane and brand plays no role, as nothing could be further from this other extreme end of the spectrum, in my opinion, that puts little faith in affinity to particular brands and strengths. Clearly, some makes and models of reeds are universally better than others just as sure as all product offerings are subject to user preference. Even a strength and model of reed can change over time just as sure as a player's requirements can change such that a perfectly stable brand works at one point in time, but not at a future one.
That "all reeds are the same" idea would be equally wrong in my opinion, just for opposite reasons. Even if some top loved brands only produce, for many players, several playable reeds within a box, it doesn't discount the fact that there are still some garbage brands out there where poor cane is poorly harvested and aged, and poorly cut by machines in need of recalibration etc.
Somewhere between these two extremes lies the idea that some brands are better than others, but often not by "night and day amounts," as well as subject to user preference, and that successful players learn to both adjust reeds that come out of the box, as well as adapt to their imperfections.
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Author: lydian
Date: 2023-09-12 23:27
Adding to SecondTry’s excellent advice, I agree that reed brand isn’t terribly important. There is going to be huge variations among all reeds no matter what brand due to the fact that cane is a natural product subject to a near infinite number of variables. That one RW reed from your teacher may have been amazing, but the next one probably won’t be.
There’s probably a Vandoren or Daddario or Legere with your name on it somewhere out there. Like the search for the perfect mouthpiece, the search for the perfect reed is lifelong and utterly futile. You need to learn to adapt so you can play just about anything. That’s the only true path to musical happiness.
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2023-09-13 08:53
While all the above is true, there's nothing wrong with finding reeds you particularly like and obtaining them if you can. If your sample size is just one then you may have simply gotten really lucky with that one reed - the brand may or may not be as much of a find as you think.
I use Steuer Exclusive reeds. I got a couple as samples 7 or 8 years ago and they were both great so I tried a box and was hooked. Last I checked, there's only one place that carries them in the US so I have to just hope they remain avaiable.
For me they are much more consistent than Vandoren ever was. Vandoren is a huge company and has to source reeds from all around the world to keep up with demand. Steuer is a boutique brand and their cane comes only from the Var region of France, which has unusually good conditions for growing cane.
Does that really make a difference? It seems to for me, but for many of my students one cut of Vandoren or another is what suits them better. These things do matter, otherwise Vandoren would still have just one French style. A few of my students switch to Steuer when I give them reeds to try. Their experience matches mine. Others, not so much. The reeds are just 'ok' for them.
Leaning how to adjust (modify) and care for cane reeds is key. Quality of cane is also really important to many of us, but it does depend on what your standards, level of experience, and style of playing are.
I'm glad the OP got the information they were looking for!
Anders
Post Edited (2023-09-13 08:56)
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Author: kurth83
Date: 2023-09-13 09:07
I would just buy a box and find out if the effect is reproducible. If it is then great!
Aging classical trumpet player beginning to learn clarinet as a second.
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Author: dorjepismo ★2017
Date: 2023-09-13 09:27
What do you want to sound like? Different reed brands represent different sound concepts, so if you're not happy with your reeds, find a brand that comes closer to what your idea of an ideal sound is.
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Author: graham
Date: 2023-09-13 16:26
Let's analyse this post:
The problem has arisen in the last few months, so I presume that reeds worked OK prior to that. The mouthpiece clearly hasn't been changed. So the finger of suspiicion points to that mouthpiece.
This is particularly true if it has progressively become harder to find reeds that work and that the state of affairs has recently gone from bad to worse. The mouthpiece may have warped. Many possible problems may have arisen. A humped table is fatal. Asymetric side rails are unhelpful. Rolling off wear on the rails will gradually cause problems. These are faults that certain random reeds appear to fix, but no reed brand will be designed to fix that particular problem. Basically, a distorted reed may happen to offset the above distortions, but that's a fluke.
Time to try a shiny new mouthpiece or get the existing one relayed.
Then you can choose reeds on a more subtle agenda than "I wonder if this one will even play".
graham
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Author: lydian
Date: 2023-09-13 17:46
graham wrote:
> Let's analyse this post:
>
> The problem has arisen in the last few months, so I presume
> that reeds worked OK prior to that. The mouthpiece clearly
> hasn't been changed. So the finger of suspiicion points to
> that mouthpiece.
>
> graham
Your analysis is incorrect. The problem has always existed. According to the OP, “It’s the only one that has produced a great sound throughout my whole reed journey.” That means it’s not a new issue.
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Author: graham
Date: 2023-09-13 20:54
Then why is there a reference to several months? It’s an irrelevant statement unless something was different prior to that.
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2023-09-13 22:02
We are somewhat in the dark as to the OPs success with reeds prior to her teacher's offering to her of the one (reed, not brand, i.e. several reeds) in question.
It is entirely possible that the OPs issues are multifactorial and regard things beyond reeds, like mouthpieces, but if success can still be achieved with this one reed, as opposed to failure across all reeds now that this one gem of a reed the OP describes has outlived its useful life, I think her teacher needs to play her setup to see if non-reed remediation is indicated or not.
The picture of the reed by the OPincludes some music clearly beyond the abilities of a beginner. I wonder how long Chloe the OP has been playing.
Even if issues beyond reeds are to blame, in part, whole, or mostly here, it diminishes nothing from the idea that while a player can certainly align themselves with certain makes, models and strengths that yield them success, that willingness to try other brands and models is often a wise risk hedging approach to play, given changes to a player or brand over time, or even, as in Ander's case above, the happy affiliation with a brand (Steuer) whose accessibility from limited vendors adds a whole new dimension to the risk of committing to a single make and model of reed.
Given a reed's wood composition, I often find myself relating back to an idea of woodworkers who may have never played an instrument. It goes something like this:
"You see that wood on the shelves of the big box store..? It is under its exterior that I find my final product after I've subjected it to a jointer and planer machine (two wood removing woodworking tools)."
By analogy, "you see that fine quality brand reed I just played? It was cut by machines that may have been in need of calibration that cut it imperfectly.
Or it may have been cut nearly perfectly symmetrically but mother nature made one side of the reed tougher than the other.
It is only after I've play tested the reed and subject it to wood removing tools (just like the woodworker,) like sand paper, or a reed knife, or reed rush, or the ATG method of balancing it that the finished product is revealed.
In summary: 1) Buy quality brands that are strength appropriate for you and your mouthpiece. 2) Learn to adjust reeds as sure as learn to adjust to the imperfection of reeds. 
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Author: lydian
Date: 2023-09-13 22:18
@graham,
The only logical conclusions we can make from the search duration and the RW reed timeline are that the RW is the only great reed the OP has ever played, ever, and that the reed search has been ongoing for several months since the RW reed was originally received. The OP never had a great reed before or since the RW.
Regardless, the reed in question has been identified, so the search is over. If only my own reed search was so simple.
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Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2023-09-13 23:24
I'm a bit perplexed by this thread. The OP asked what kind of reed it was...and an authoritative answer was given directly.
We each find our reed of choice, and then want to play more of them. It isn't "normal" for a player to play a Legere on Sundays, a Vandoren on Mondays, a Rico on Tuesdays, etc. as part of a standard weekly routine.
It is "normal" for a player to find a reed that seems to fit them "now" and for the player to stick with that reed type/style/brand until they find something that appeals to them more, or until that type/style/brand no longer meets their needs, or is no longer manufactured. I've changed styles four or five times in my life, and I've changed brands four or five times (in addition).
Logically, I'm having a tough time trying to tie "having a favorite brand/style/type" to the ability to adjust a reed. It would be very difficult for me to adjust a Gonzalez to be a Vandoren, or for a Vandoren to be a Fibracell. I play Marca because I have found them to be the best for me...for now. Likewise, my present choice of reeds in no way implies an inability on my part to adapt to various other reeds, or to modify reeds to make them play better. I would assume the same is true of the OP.
The bboard is chock-full of "I've looked for the perfect mouthpiece/ligature/reed/barrel/clarinet for my entire life, and I finally found it in X!"
Scratching my head about why (in this specific thread) such a statement is controversial or somehow implies a flaw with the OP's approach.
What have I missed?
Fuzzy
;^)>>>
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2023-09-14 02:13
Fuzzy:
Nobody’s suggested rotating makes and models of reeds daily, much that for those that do, to each their own.
It has been suggested to not get wedded to any particular make and model.
Additionally, it is entirely possible from the original post that the OP has made a brand determination based on a single reed: clearly unwise.
Once again, allow me to suggest that you read and reply to threads more carefully.
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Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2023-09-14 04:37
SecondTry,
Quote:
Additionally, it is entirely possible from the original post that the OP has made a brand determination based on a single reed: clearly unwise.
Sure.
It is equally possible (I'd suggest more possible due to the music in the photo's background) - from the original post - that the OP has NOT made a brand determination based on a single reed, but has some experience and was simply at that stage we've all been in - where we've become disatisfied with our current reed and start looking for different ones. Yes, sometimes it take a few months.
Still confused why there's contention here.
Quote:
Once again, allow me to suggest that you read and reply to threads more carefully.
and...
Quote:
Nobody’s suggested rotating makes and models of reeds daily, much that for those that do, to each their own.
Sure. Whatever "much that for those that do" means. Grace goes a long way both ways in public forums.
Fuzzy
;^)>>>
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2023-09-14 18:34
There's contention Fuzzy because you live up to your "Fuzzz" handle, not the first time mind you, obfuscating threads with irrelevancies.
You write:
"It isn't "normal" for a player to play a Legere on Sundays, a Vandoren on Mondays, a Rico on Tuesdays, etc. as part of a standard weekly routine."
Again, this never came up. It seems to me you become, to use your words, "perplexed," by what you imagine to be the case that isn't.
While nobody forces me to read your posts, doing so can be frustrating because of this.
For what it's worth, precisely so as to maximize my reed choices, I have multiple models of Vandoren's, Pilgerstofers, Leuthners, in my active set of reeds, but that's just me, and I'll agree it's likely more the exception than rule to how players approach reed rotation.
Another form of grace, as you sight, is carefully reading posts and not "going off into the weeks with them."
"we've become dissatisfied with our current reed and start looking for different ones. Yes, sometimes it take a few months."
Not to be pedantic but to raise what may actually be a relevant point here, we don't become dissatisfied with our current reed (as in a single piece of cane) and start searching other brands. Perhaps we became dissatisfied with a particular make and strength across numerous reeds. I'll bet that's what you meant, but again, the OP has truly left us questioning whether her teacher left her with a single reed of a particular brand or a bunch of them.
A student who can't find a working reed in but, maybe, one brand, worse, one individual reed from that brand, needs, in my opinion, on sight evaluation of their setup, an examination of the strength of reed they're using, a basic lesson in reed adjustment, and realistic expectation of what is an acceptable level of tolerance in reed imperfection.
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Author: lydian
Date: 2023-09-14 19:00
Lots of great advice and observations in the thread for the OP. It's interesting to hear other opinions and experiences. I don't see anything confusing, controversial or wildly off topic. It would have been pretty boring if the thread stopped at the second post.
Continuing along these lines, personally, I have my favorite brand/cut/strength just like everybody else and would be pretty bummed out if I couldn't find it. I'd have no choice but to become more flexible and either learn how to work reeds or adapt to them or at least settle for what I've got. And since reed quality can vary a lot even within a brand, flexibility is a good skill to have, especially in an emergency when you break your favorite reed on the bandstand.
In my experience, the perfect reed is rare. I only come across a great reed a few times per year. The rest of my reeds are ok, but not fantastic. So the OP should be prepared for the next RW purchase to not be as perfect as the first. Such is the life of a reed player.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2023-09-14 19:55
"No ad hominem attacks (discuss the question/answer, not the person. Sometimes it's hard to separate the two - discretion is the better part of valor)"
SecondTry wrote:
> There's contention Fuzzy because you live up to your "Fuzzz"
> handle, not the first time mind you, obfuscating threads with
> irrelevancies.
>
> You write:
>
> "It isn't "normal" for a player to play a Legere on Sundays, a
> Vandoren on Mondays, a Rico on Tuesdays, etc. as part of a
> standard weekly routine."
>
> Again, this never came up. It seems to me you become, to use
> your words, "perplexed," by what you imagine to be the case
> that isn't.
>
> While nobody forces me to read your posts, doing so can be
> frustrating because of this.
>
> Another form of grace, as you sight, is carefully reading posts
> and not "going off into the weeks with them."
>
It might be helpful to stick more to the subject of the posts and leave criticism of other posters out of the discussion. Lecturing each other can lead to flame wars (and has in the past), causing ill will to everyone's detriment.
You make very useful points in the last two paragraphs of this post.
Thanks,
Karl
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2023-09-14 21:13
Karl:
The subject you'd like me to stick to was a poster's perplexation with why numerous makes and models of reeds might find their way into a player's "ready to play" box: a subject that paradoxically wasn't stuck to because it simply never came up prior.
I agree that discretion is the better part of valor. But this poster's veering "into the weeds" though is patternistic, hence my frustration. Links available on request.
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Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2023-09-15 00:40
Hi Lydian,
I agree with everything you say in your most recent post.
To me, the thread, as a whole, began to read somewhat like a psychological profile of ckim44...what ckim44's talent level was, whether ckim44 was using the correct mouthpiece, whether ckim44 had perhaps misplaced hopes in a single reed, whether ckim44 had the ability to adjust to new makes or styles of reeds, etc.
Yet, the question in the original post was clear: "Does anyone know what the reed brand of this is?"
As a first-time poster, I probably would not have appreciated such a "glass-half-empty" analysis of my very first post to the forum.
My strong suspicion is that ckim44 knows he/she has perhaps stumbled upon a rarity (a rarity which is very exciting), and would simply like to purchase more to find out. This would be normal...would it not? Wouldn't this seem to be the most likely case given the original post?
Regardless, I didn't purposely intend to cause ripples. My apologies if I have done so.
Fuzzy
;^)>>>
[Edit: changed "glass-half-full" to "glass-half-empty" - as that was my intended meaning]
Post Edited (2023-09-15 02:04)
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Author: smokindok
Date: 2023-09-15 05:46
I found Fuzzy’s posts less tangential to the OP’s question than most of the other posts that followed the second post, which clearly answered the OP’s question. Sure, there was good general advice given in some posts, but whether or not that advice had any relevance to the OP could not be know without more information from the OP.
Coming to this thread a couple days in, this might be too late, as ckim44 may have gotten the answer needed and forged on with the reed quest. But if still around, welcome to the board, ckim44!
John
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