Author: Gregory Smith
Date: 2001-11-10 01:36
Jack,
Your post is very informative. The consistency of V12 cane I cannot speak to but:
I do know that Vandoren puts reeds in a box of ten of the same strength from several different machines. In other words - 10 reeds - 5 machines have produced 2 each of a V12 3.5 strength. EVERY box has 2 reeds from each of these 5 machines. I assure you from experience that these machines produce reeds of differing chacteristics but are of course all capable of producing the same usual reed strengths (2 - 5).
Now if they manufactured specific boxes of reeds that distinguished from which machine a box of V12 3.5 reeds eminated, perhaps that would make clearer the choice of what subset of V12 3.5's to use. For instance, there would be 5 types of V12 3.5's (perhaps in gradings of A,B,C,D,E for example) each letter denoting from what machine the reed was manufactured. Same strength, different machines, different qualities, separate out the 5 types - each having their own designated box and there's less waste per box for the consumer. More expensive for them? I doubt it. Not by much anyway. They could be marketed as V12 "select" in A,B,C etc, or some such thing.
BUT - and this is the big but - why shouldn't Vandoren leave well enough alone? Why should the industry leader in reed/mouthpiece sales around the world take a risk of "confusing the market" as the corporate line goes? Plus they say, if these variables within the factory were marketed as such it would be too costly for Vandoren, the distributors, etc. (and they then would have to pass it on to the consumer - another risk of losing market share being the raising of prices for the risk of making these distinctions that I'm talking about).
If they truly believe it's in the best interest of the world's clarinetists to have FEWER distinctions made available for our choice, knowing better than we do about what we need, then in my opinion they are more concerned with the bottom line than pleasing the huge variety of clarinetists worldwide as they say they want to do.
Putting a "variety of reeds" in each box for the varying needs of differing clarinetists? Sure...it's called mass marketing, that's all.
Gregory Smith
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