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Author: brian  
Date:   2000-05-12 01:14 
 Some months ago I switched from Vandoren traditional to V12's.  I'm glad I made the switch, but the V12 4's I'm playing on now are like popsicle sticks compared to 4 traditionals.  The guy at the music store showed me a homemade "conversion chart" that actually indicated that if you play traditional 4's you need 41/2 V12's.  I'm totally confused.  I think I'm going to try 31/2's next time.  Thanks. 
 
Brian   
  
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Author: Irwin  
Date:   2000-05-12 01:27 
 A V12 is softer than traditional Vandorens.  So, for example, a traditional Vandoren #3 is roughly equivalent to a #3.5 V12. 
 
I personally like V12's better than traditional Vandorens and get more usable reeds per box of V12's than a box of traditional Vandorens.
  
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Author: Joey  
Date:   2000-05-12 03:47 
 I agreen I normally find that when I play on V12s that I move up a half size to the 4.5s which aren't even offered on Traditionals.  I too like the sound and quality I get from the V12s... As for the harder/sofet thing, I'm not exactly sure because I can play on a V12 that is harder that a Traditional 5, or clipped 4 for that matter, and needs major adjustment with a knife.  If you might read somewhere on this site, there is an article from Vandoren himself concerning the strengths of his company's reeds.  I remember it saying something that the reeds per box are hardly ever consistent with one another, there may anywhere from a 3 to a 5 in a box of size 4s, so you have to be prepared for whenever a reed may be soft (get a clipper) or hard (get a knife). 
  
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Author: paul  
Date:   2000-05-12 16:03 
 I have Vandoren regular reeds and Vandoren V-12s.  I personally prefer the V-12s.  Perhaps it's just a gut feeling, but the V-12s tend to perform better for me (an adult novice).  I also have Legere reeds that grade out very close to Vandoren regular reeds, strength for strength.   
 
I personally believe that in the lower number strengths (2.5 to 3 range), the V-12s are a little stiffer (harder) than regular Vandoren reeds and their Legere counterparts.  Perhaps it's because the V-12s have a thicker heel, perhaps not.   
 
  
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