 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Kel
Date: 2006-09-20 15:26
Rico's web site now features the new Rico Reserve clarinet reeds. Is anyone familiar with them?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Niall
Date: 2006-09-27 15:26
Just got one (strenght 3) last night from our musical director so not familiar yet but can say that I have tried one.
Normally I use 3 - 3 1/2 Rico or similar as long as they're not Royals.
Best before this for me were Marca or Mitchell Laurie 4 but I'm not blowing as much as I used to.
These are smoother on the lip, easier to break in (took about 10 mins) and a more consistent blow. Responsive I think is the word here.
Even the squeek due to it being a little too soft was sweeter! Well, as sweet as they can be...
Switching to B45 from B45 13 reduced the tendency to overblow
There were 4 of us at rehearsal and we all got one to try out - some of us prefer harder, some not so hard but there was a noticable change to the general clarinet tone with all of us on the same reed.
Only downside is at 3 it's a little too soft for me so as soon as the 3 1/2 are available I'll be happier.
Definitely better than Vandoren or Grande Concerte - I find the "Select Thick" annotation somewhat offensive :-)
Bottom line - best yet from Rico and more worth a try than others
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris Hill
Date: 2006-09-29 04:16
I have just switched to them from the Grand Concert Evolution, which I have been endorsing and playing for the past three years.
Chris Hill
Rico Artist
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: T.Wees
Date: 2006-09-30 08:00
Chris --
Why did you switch? What was different/better about the Ricos? (Same company, yes?).
Todd
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris Hill
Date: 2006-10-01 03:53
They are by the same company.
I think that the sound is more focused and refined, with more ring in the sound of the Reserve. I can play a little louder on the Evolution, but I suspect that the additional focus and ring in the sound with the Reserve will make this point insignificant. Double tonguing is easier on the Reserve. I'll be trying them in the full orchestra in the next few weeks, and see how they work there. (So far, we've been doing chamber orchestra and wind quintet performances.)
Chris Hill
Rico Artist
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: T.Wees
Date: 2006-10-03 06:38
Chris --
Thanks for the quick, informative response. I'm looking forward to trying the reeds. So far Rico's reed strength comparison chart does not include the Reserve reeds. How would you compare their strength (and thickness)to the Evolution (or the Grand Concert Select regular or Thick Blank)?
Todd
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris Hill
Date: 2006-10-04 02:17
While they told me they run softer, I think they are about the same. They sent me a box a half strength up from what I was using on the Evolution, but I have to scrape quite a bit off of them to make them soft enough. I ordered a couple boxes of my usual strength, which I'm hoping will play with very little work.
I tried them in sectionals and quintet rehearsals, and so far, I like them. I never make a final decision on equipment without trying it out in a full orchestra rehearsal, but it appears that these will be the reeds I play.
Chris Hill
Rico Artist
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: T.Wees
Date: 2006-10-04 06:10
Chris --
Thanks for the additional info. That will give me a starting point for picking a reed strength.
Todd
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: David Peacham
Date: 2006-10-04 18:10
I've just bought a box today, so this is very much first impressions.
Same shape as Evolution, but thinner. Cut looks more like Gonzalez FoF.
There is obviously some difference of opinion about relative strength. I play Evolution #3, which I find a bit soft, so I'd intended to buy #3.5. But the shop advised me that their resident expert Anton Weinberg finds them harder than Evolution, so I bought #3. First impressions - and this is from one reed, played for the first time - are that they are slightly softer and #3.5 might well have been better.
The reed worked fine straight out of the box, but isn't obviously different to play from an Evolution.
Will report back when I've given them a fair trial.
-----------
If there are so many people on this board unwilling or unable to have a civil and balanced discussion about important issues, then I shan't bother to post here any more.
To the great relief of many of you, no doubt.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: ZCClarinet
Date: 2006-10-04 21:42
disclaimer: I in no way am affiliated with Rico. I use Vandoren v12s as my primary staple of reed. I am a college student working towards a performance major.
I tested these reeds out for about a month (strength 4 and mp: a m13). I found them to be a good selection of reed. I could certainly see them as the best reed for certain people with a certain playing style and matching mouthpiece.
For my own setup, they were a bit lower in quality than my own v12s (I am of course biased and have used v12s for enough years that I know how to get them to "work" for me), so I won't be making a switch to the Reserve. The only real problem I had was that I felt like the cane being used was not of the quality I would have expected- this may just have been the boxes I received. I kept getting... I guess you could call them “noise [overtones]” for the low end of chalemeau and clarion registers and for low dynamic altissimo. I tried to reproduce these with my v12s, but could not.
That’s my purely $0.02
(edit is in [])
=-Ben Chapin
Post Edited (2006-10-06 16:35)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris Hill
Date: 2006-10-06 04:46
I just got back from a full orchestra rehearsal, and I'm giving my impressions of the Reserve vs. the Evolution, as I had promised.
The sound is more focused, with more fundamental (or core) in the sound. As they have broken in, the volume is as strong, if not stronger than the Evolution. The projection was good, as were the pitch and tone flexibility.
The biggest advantage is that the cane seems to be more durable: usually, the Evolutions are getting soft by the end of a 2 1/2 hour rehearsal, so I'll frequently use different reeds in each half of a rehearsal. This one felt fresh until the end.
In short, it passed the orchestra test for me.
This is a comparison of these two Rico products only. They won't work for everyone, but they work for me.
Chris Hill
Rico Artist
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: moose6589
Date: 2006-11-17 13:56
I have been testing out a box of 3.5 Rico Reserve Reeds over the past two weeks, and the results are rather intriguing to say the least.
The sound produced by the reeds is rather pleasant, and they play fairly responsively over the entire range. However, there seems to be one major problem (for me, anyways, a Gonzalez user). I simply cannot play anything at softer dynamics without getting a fuzzy, unfocused sound with these reeds (the reeds are well-balanced and otherwise fine).
I suspect this is because of the shape of the tip of the reed, which to my eyes looks rather odd. It has a very pronounced and sharp curve at the top and thus does not match my mouthpiece well; the Gonzalez on the other hand seems to match the edge of the mouthpiece pretty well and thus has no such problems with unfocused sound.
When I get time, I'll experiment with clipping or sanding the tip so it's not so curved (as the reeds do seem to hold promise), but has anyone else encountered this problem?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bruno
Date: 2006-11-17 14:07
They have a rather thick spine (made for long, close lays). Could be the reason that soft playing is not focussed well. That said, it might sound altogether different out in the auditorium.
b//
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2006-11-17 15:27
I've found the downfall of every model Rico reed I've ever played is that they die quickly because their cane is insufficiently aged (IMHO). I hope they are correcting that with their latest reed types.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2006-12-30 23:01
My impression is that these reeds take longer time than Gonzalez FOF(which takes about a week to brake in) and Vandoren V-12 and they still sound after good brake in period very fluffy. Also my teacher told me that these reeds are not good for playing Brahms sinfonias because they don't respond too well in soft and sensitive passages.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Danny Boy
Date: 2006-12-31 11:07
I was given a number of Rico Rserves to try recently, and whilst I normally try to not try a new product unless I have some misgivings with my current setup, I did decide to get 4 reeds up to spec and have them in the reed case alongside my Vandoren blue box 3s.
I tried two at 3 strength and two at 3.5. First impressions were good, the reeds were almost balanced, although all slightly harder on the left hand side. Each made a good sound pretty much from the box and was easily made in to something that played well.
That having been said, I'm now down to having only one left in my reed case, and won't be switching from Vandorens. My main problem with them is playing loudly, they just seem to hold me back in the really high dynamics, whether it's a 3 or a 3.5. The top end 'power' (for me on a Lomax A4) just isn't there.
They also don't store or travel very well (again, for me). Even in my Wiseman reed case, the reeds never seemed to come out of the case playing the same as when they had gone in...
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
