 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Micke Isotalo ★2017
Date: 2023-12-27 14:21
You who have tried them, what are you impressions - not only concerning strength v.s. the American cut tenor sax/European cut bass clarinet ones, but also about sound, response etc?
Would you agree with Legere's own "Reed personality" assessment, stating the French cut as "dark", the American as rather "bright", as also the European (though a bit less than the American, but still "more" bright than dark)?
Has your previously preferred reed been the American or the European cut, are you going to change to the French cut, and why in that case - or why not?
Also, what kind of music are you playing mostly, classical, jazz, etc?
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Author: Hurstfarm
Date: 2023-12-27 21:47
The French cut is the first synthetic reed that I feel stands comparison with cane for me on Bb, even though I’ve been using American Cut Legeres on bass for a while now. In that basis I was excited to try the French Cut on bass and ordered one which came last week. Disappointingly, it was far too soft, although having subsequently checked the comparison chart I see I should have known that! The French Cut run about a quarter strength softer than the American Cut, so I’m taking advantage of Legere’s exchange programme to rectify my mistake. However, first impressions were good, and suggest that Legere’s description is accurate. I’m looking forward to receiving the harder version to make a proper assessment, but these could work well for me. My bass playing is generally a mix of orchestral, chamber music and symphonic band.
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Author: Connor1700
Date: 2023-12-27 23:04
Personally, I never liked any of the Legere bass clarinet reeds. Some time ago, someone on this forum suggested the Legere tenor sax studio cut, which I tried and liked it very much, more than any other synthetic reed, however I was never sold on them 100%.
I did play the studio cut for a couple of years and finally went back to cane.
After reading about the French cut bass reeds, I ordered one and tried it out. Like suggested, I ordered a 1/4 stronger and gave it a shot. I'll say it's a step in the right direction, for sure, for the bass clarinet line, but I still don't like it as much as the studio cut. I'll stay with cane.
FWIW, the most consistent cane reed I've found is the Nexus tenor sax reed. They only make sax reeds and most of them need no adjustments. They play great right out of the box.
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Author: kilo
Date: 2023-12-28 00:14
I've used Légère reeds for a long time. On tenor sax, when I was primarily playing jazz, I settled on #3 Studio Cut which gave me the sound I was looking for. #3.5 Quebec Cut was my choice on soprano clarinet. (The Quebecs were discontinued and I use #3.75 EC now.) I began playing bass in 2011 and started out with Classic Cuts, settling on a #3.5 strength.
I pretty much stopped playing tenor sax to concentrate on becoming a better bass player and I now primarily play concert band and chamber music. When I learned that tenor reeds could be used on bass I tried the Studio Cut tenor reeds that I had on hand. They were a little soft for the Fobes CF but worked very well on a more open piece that I got from Keith Bradbury. When Légère introduced the European Cut (for bass) I began using those on the Fobes, and American Cut (for sax) on the Grabner White Velvet, both in #3.25 strength.
When I heard that Légère was offering this new cut I ordered a #3.25 to try out. As Hurstfarm has pointed out, the FC's run soft, but I could tell that these were good reeds. I wrote to Légère and was told that they'd send me a free replacement and I wouldn't even have to return the #3.25. The #3.5 replacement reed arrived yesterday and I used it at a rehearsal this morning. I haven't used it on the Grabner piece yet but it played beautifully on the Fobes. The chalumeau register always sounds good but the sound of the clarion was a real treat, sounding very "clarinet like", clean and surprisingly "woody" for a polypropylene reed on a composite instrument. And the altissimo was also very good. The notes popped into life and retained a clean, strong, stable sound even when held for a long time. I'll definitely be buying more of these but I may try a #3.75 at some point, just to be certain that I'm dialed in to the optimal strength for my setup. And if/when Légère comes out with a bass clarinet version I'll definitely try those as well.
I remember using Rico soprano sax reeds on my clarinet in the '60s. For people who have played bass for a long time, has using tenor sax reeds always been an effective alternative? Since the chambers of the mouthpieces are so different I always assumed that there were subtle differences between the profiles of the reeds but I've never had the precision gauges to make an accurate comparison.
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2023-12-29 04:37
i will be trying the new french cut tenor sax reed on my bass soon. i also have a variety of mpcs with different tip sizes so it will be a good experiment. i never got on with any synth reed on my fobes cf so if the new french cut works on it-i will be thrilled. a expencive mpc i would like to get some use from.
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Author: Micke Isotalo ★2017
Date: 2024-03-06 21:21
So in a response to my own thread, I finally ordered a Legere French cut Tenor sax reed to compare it with the Euro cut bass one.
- Strength: An Euro cut bass 2.5 is suitable to me, but the French cut Tenor 2.75 I ordered is softer. By adjusting the latter about 0.5 mm above the mouthpiece tip, it felt about equal with the former. When comparing the Tenor FC 2.75 to an EC bass 2.25, the Tenor felt a tad stronger (both adjusted tip to tip) - so maybe also a Tenor 3.0 is a tad stronger than an Euro 2.5.
- Response, "feeling": Can't detect any difference.
- Sound: In my case, with a 1984 Leblanc low C bass, a Vandoren B40 mouthpiece and a Vandoren leather ligature, a summary of the sound differences is that the EC bass is smoother and less buzzy in most of the first register, while the Tenor FC is smoother and clearer in most of the second register. About 30% of the notes of the chromatic scale between low C and altissimo F are equal (at least more or less).
On bass clarinet, I didn't experience the Tenor FC as any "darker" on any tone than the EC bass (Legere's own assessment is of course for saxophones, not clarinets).
In my opinion, for someone preferring a buzzy, or perhaps "excessively vibrant" (to me) sound on bass clarinet, the FC Tenor could be a good choice. For a solo in the second register, maybe also for me - though for a solo in the first register I would choose the EC bass.
Attached are two recordings of my comparisons, the first one from low C to second line G sharp, the second one from second space A to altissimo F. Each recording consists of 7 "rounds" with three successive notes of the chromatic scale played first on the EC, immediately followed by the same notes on the FC Tenor. Thus, from the beginning of the first recording, low C-C#-D on the EC, then the same ones on the FC Tenor, next low D#-E-F on the EC, then the same ones on the FC, etc. (the reason for two recordings is the size limit of a single attachment on this board, which I think is 1.5MB).
Below are my own detailed comments about each round:
1 c–d: Identical
2 d#-f: Euro C is less buzzy than the Tenor French C.
3 f#-g#: Euro C is less buzzy than the Tenor French C.
4 a-h: Euro C is a lot less buzzy (and less inside-a-can sound).
5 c1-d1: Identical (more or less).
6 d#1-f1: Euro C is less buzzy and steadier.
7 f#1-g#1: Tenor French C is clearer and less buzzy, but also a bit nasal (equal round).
8 a1-h1: Tenor French C is clearer and a bit less buzzy (and less inside-a-can sound).
9 c2-d2: Identical (more or less).
10 d#2-f2: Tenor French C is a bit smoother and clearer.
11 f#2-g#2: Tenor French C is just a tad smoother.
12 a2-h2: Tenor French C is a tad smoother and clearer.
13 c3-d3: Identical (more or less).
14 d#3-f3: Tenor French C is clearer/smoother, but also more nasal and edgy (equal round).
* Summary: The Euro Cut bass "wins" 4 "rounds", the French Cut Tenor wins 4, 4 are identical, 2 are equal in that each have a quality better than the other. The Euro Cut has an advantage in the first register, while the Tenor French Cut has it in the second register.
As a side note, I'm in no way proud of the general bass sound I make on these recordings, but as just a comparison of these two kinds of reeds they may still serve a purpose.
Post Edited (2024-03-06 22:01)
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2024-03-07 04:43
i never did get the french cut bass reed but did buy a bari brand top of the line red plastic reed. its much better than the clear original and quite good! i played a concert on it last nite using my usually disappointing fobes cf bass mpc. finally a good match ! the reed is the elite model from bari associates
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