 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2024-02-12 18:46
I imagine, just looking at French reeds alone, one could cite numerous differences between makes and models, from where cane is sourced/grown, to how it's harvested, to how, of course, it's cut/dimensioned.
Fundamental differences exist even among Vandoren offerings https://vandoren.fr/en/reeds-technical-elements/ let alone between competing brands.
But this said, I was wondering if someone could offer a primer in what it is about a German reed that in general makes it different from a French one. I imagine its narrower size (?) might only be the beginning, as sure as differences must exist, as they do on the French side of things, among German brands.
Do people ever use one school's (German/French) reed on another school's mouthpiece?
TIA
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Author: lydian
Date: 2024-02-12 19:50
I’m no expert, but German reeds are simply cut differently to fit the profile of a German type mouthpiece. No other differences.
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Author: Hunter_100
Date: 2024-02-12 21:08
German Bb reeds are practically the same width as french Eb reeds so they are really skinny on a french mouthpiece.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2024-02-12 21:13
The German mouthpiece is rather different in concept which makes for a different cut of the reed necessary.
The overall most obvious difference is the narrow window and table. This causes the reed to be narrow. But then things get complicated.
The length of the lay is technically almost twice that of what is used in a French mouthpiece. Using whole millimeters rather than the "Brand scale," French mouthpieces average about 17 millimeters in length from the tip opening back down to where the reed and mouthpiece meet. For the German mouthpieces that length averages more around 29 millimeters. HOWEVER, the last half of that is just barely off the side rails. I have never seen descriptions of how German mouthpieces are built or why (someone who makes German mouthpieces PLEASE chime in here!) but it seems to me that there is an intentional "spring board" for the embouchure built in to the concept. So the first part of the opening (from tip to the center of the 29 millimeter run) looks like a normal French curve. The last half of the length would be the "embouchure control" portion of the lay.
The last difference between the French and German mouthpieces is that the tip opening to an average German mouthpiece is only 1.00 millimeter (and many go smaller from there). A typical "close" tip for a French mouthpiece is around 1.03 millimeters and the openings just go UP from there.
The consequence of the above is that the stock of a German reed is usually a lot thicker, perhaps twice as thick as a French reed. The final kicker is that the vamp (length of the actual sloped cut down to the tip of the reed) is shorter and flatter (chisel like, not more dome shaped as a French reed) than French cut reeds.
In the end, a 2 1/2 strength German reed is probably closer to a #3 French cut reed but the places where the reed is stiffer are much further up toward the tip for a German reed.
All that said, there have been a lot of players of German reeds experimenting with French cut reeds (and vice versa) and having a modicum of success, so it's not as though one won't work on the other's mouthpiece. Just know what was supposed to happen.
...............Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2024-02-13 02:56)
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