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A Vandoren B45 Owner's Story

Author: paul
Date: 1999-08-14 04:20

I agree with Wyatt that the WW&BW facing chart gives the consumer a chance to compare mps from various makers in a "head to head" competition, facing against facing, design against design. I personally found that this kind of multibrand comparison chart to be very helpful for me in my decisions for mp selection, even if it's only to put mps on my wish list for future consideration.

I personally use a Vandoren B45 mp daily on my Buffet Festival Bb soprano clarinet. To tell you the truth, the mp needed to be tweaked a bit to take out some defective high spots on the railings. The local woodwind tech had that problem solved in about 30 minutes and he did it for free as he adjusted other things on my horn (crooked pads, etc.). If you buy the Vandoren mp, realize that it is a mass produced item with not much of a final quality check before it's stuffed inside the box and placed on the shelf for sale. When the mp is fixed up right, it can behave itself fairly well, holding its own against stiff competition from other makers and other designs. Don't expect outright miracles, but it's an okay mp overall.

If you have a chance to try the hand crafted and professionally checked out mps that are on the market, then by all means do so. The extra money invested may well be worth it in the long run.

I have personally found that the Vandoren B45 mp takes a medium to soft reed to play well. As an adult novice and intermediate wannabe, I personally play Vandoren cane 2.5 or tailored 3.0 reeds to attain my personal "ideal" of Vandoren 2.75 strength for my B45 mp. I also have a stock of Legere plastic reeds that spec out right at 2.75 that I use as bread and butter practice reeds on a daily basis. I don't use a special or fancy lig. I use the stock lig that came with another mp, a simple metal loop noninverted lig.

I'd like to see other folks post their Vandoren B45 reed/lig setups here to give you more perspective than my one data point.

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