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Author: Hunter_100
Date: 2022-04-23 03:46
I see that Vandoren sells an eb specific version of the white master reeds. I have read that many players like the bb version on eb clarinets. Has anyone tried the eb specific ones? Are they profiled any different or narrower in width or just shorter to fit eb mouthpieces? Will these fit french style eb mouthpieces?
Thanks
Allen
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Author: EbClarinet
Date: 2022-05-02 05:17
I C them but here in the USA, they're $60+ and have 2 b shipped from over seas. I've bought way 2 many Eb clarinet reeds for my life time so I may not get a box. I have the V21s (4) and the V12s (4) because I need a stiffer reed to get n2 the altissimo register.
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Author: Hunter_100
Date: 2022-05-02 18:36
EbClarinet, what mouthpiece do you play on?
Not that it matters much on a global forum, but I'm in the US too. When I said "French" style mouthpiece I was referring to the regular style as opposed to the German mouthpieces that the White Master reeds are designed for. For the Bb ones, the German mouthpieces take narrower reeds but I have yet to find any discussions on the Eb German mouthpiece sizes. I assume they are smaller?
I play a Vandoren B40 mouthpiece on my Eb now. For most of this year I have been using Vandoren Traditional 3.5 Eb reeds, but I have just started trying the V12s. 3.5 was too stiff for those, and I have think the 3 is more similar to the 3.5 traditional in my opinion.
I like the traditional reeds a lot when they are fairly dry, but after I play them for 30 mins or so, they get soggy and the altissimo notes get a lot harder to play in tune. So far I think the V12s are working better in this regard, but I have only been playing them for 2 weeks now.
Allen
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Author: kdk
Date: 2022-05-02 21:24
Hunter_100 wrote:
> For most of
> this year I have been using Vandoren Traditional 3.5 Eb reeds,
> but I have just started trying the V12s. 3.5 was too stiff for
> those, and I have think the 3 is more similar to the 3.5
> traditional in my opinion.
Traditional Vandoren reeds are typically harder (stiffer) than the same strength V.12 or 56 Rue lepic. The difference is how the thicker wood is distributed when the reed is cut and not really how stiff the cane is. So a #3 V.12 isn't going to be really "similar to the 3.5 Traditional", although you may just prefer the feel of a #3 V.12. The taper of the vamp both toward the tip and toward the two sides is different between the two models.
>
> I like the traditional reeds a lot when they are fairly dry,
> but after I play them for 30 mins or so, they get soggy and the
> altissimo notes get a lot harder to play in tune.
Unless I'm misunderstanding you, it sounds as though you're taking a new reed out of the box and playing it for "30 minutes or so" and finding that the reed is waterlogged. I'm surprised you get to play that long on a brand new reed of any brand or model before it starts getting soggy. You may get better reed life if you play on the reed for 4 or 5 minutes for a couple of sessions and gradually increase the length of time on it over several sessions. The whole process of "reed break-in" has a million variants, but they all take for granted that a brand new reed is porous and waterlogs quickly.
Karl
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Author: Hunter_100
Date: 2022-05-02 23:14
kdk wrote:
>
> Traditional Vandoren reeds are typically harder (stiffer) than
> the same strength V.12 or 56 Rue lepic. The difference is how
> the thicker wood is distributed when the reed is cut and not
> really how stiff the cane is. So a #3 V.12 isn't going to be
> really "similar to the 3.5 Traditional", although you may just
> prefer the feel of a #3 V.12. The taper of the vamp both toward
> the tip and toward the two sides is different between the two
> models.
>
Maybe it is just semantics, but I think the V12 is more resistant than the traditional for my embouchure and mouthpiece.
>
> Unless I'm misunderstanding you, it sounds as though you're
> taking a new reed out of the box and playing it for "30 minutes
> or so" and finding that the reed is waterlogged. I'm surprised
> you get to play that long on a brand new reed of any brand or
> model before it starts getting soggy. You may get better reed
> life if you play on the reed for 4 or 5 minutes for a couple of
> sessions and gradually increase the length of time on it over
> several sessions. The whole process of "reed break-in" has a
> million variants, but they all take for granted that a brand
> new reed is porous and waterlogs quickly.
>
Yes, you are misunderstanding. I do break in reads like you said and I rotate reeds, usually 4-5 at any given time. What I'm saying is that even with a broken in reed traditional reed, I find its playing characteristics change from the moment it comes out of the case. After playing for some amount of time, I can tell the reed tip gets very saturated and feels softer. On my eb, this equates to flatter altissimo notes. I have been getting better results on the V12s, and it is motivating me to experiment further with reeds. I do not have the same issue on my Bb clarinet, which I play traditional reeds on.
Anyway, the point of my original question was to see if anyone had tried the eb white masters, because I am curious to see how they work and I don't want to spend $40+ to find out they don't fit on my clarinet mouthpiece. Vandoren's website has no information about the strengths, widths or cut profiles of the white master reeds, which I find odd since they have strength recommendations for all their other reeds/mouthpieces.
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Author: Jeroen
Date: 2022-05-03 11:44
Hunter_100 wrote:
>
> Anyway, the point of my original question was to see if anyone
> had tried the eb white masters, because I am curious to see how
> they work and I don't want to spend $40+ to find out they don't
> fit on my clarinet mouthpiece. Vandoren's website has no
> information about the strengths, widths or cut profiles of the
> white master reeds, which I find odd since they have strength
> recommendations for all their other reeds/mouthpieces.
The Eb White Masters are very narrow and will not fit to French style Eb mouthpieces like Vandoren B40.
However there is an option to use Bb White Masters (Traditional). You have to shorten the reed at the butt to match the shorter table. The reeds are quite stiff on French facings so think about strengths around 2.5.
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Author: Hunter_100
Date: 2022-05-04 20:26
Jeroen wrote:
>
> The Eb White Masters are very narrow and will not fit to French
> style Eb mouthpieces like Vandoren B40.
>
> However there is an option to use Bb White Masters
> (Traditional). You have to shorten the reed at the butt to
> match the shorter table. The reeds are quite stiff on French
> facings so think about strengths around 2.5.
Thanks Jeroen, that answers my question. I guess I don't need to bother with the eb ones. I have not tried the Bb ones yet, but if I do get some, I have a barrel with a reed cutout so the long reeds fit without modification.
Thanks again.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2022-05-14 20:34
When I played Eb years ago I'd even use regular Bb reeds even though they were wider than the MP. Some times I'd slightly sand the sides sometimes not. I'm not the only person to ever do that, they worked just fine. What ever works. Soprano Sax Reeds work too.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: EbClarinet
Date: 2022-05-19 07:47
Attachment: vandorenreed.png (191k)
I have the Vandoren 5RV on my Eb. I use the Bb WhiteMaster, strength 4. I use this strength to play the altissimo notes in tune.
In my 30s, I played Elsa's and was up 2 the altissimo G an those notes and the conductor complimented me on that. How ever, the 3rd space C on my instrument is 40 cents sharp. I had to leave that note out for the performance.
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Author: Levon
Date: 2022-05-19 08:29
Eb white masters certainly can fit on a French Eb mouthpiece such as the Vandoren m30 but the reed is narrower than it should be. Playable? Yes. Optimal? No.
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