 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2006-09-28 14:10
Here are four brands of reeds which I've been playing in rehearsals and solo practice recently:
Rico Royal
La Voz
Vandoren Traditional
Rico Grand Concert Select Evolution
(For what it's worth, they were played on a B45 dot with Rovner Dark ligature. This is a fairly 'lively' mouthpiece, medium open, medium long and with a big chamber and big sound. The clarinet body was a Selmer Prologue II. I chose all the reed strengths to feel very similar.)
Now, I've placed the reed brands in a kind of order. Basically, the reeds at the top of this list (Rico Royal) play like they're made of cardboard. The reeds at the bottom (GCS Evo) have a wonderfully resonant tone
BUT
I cannot play them.
GCS Evo, for all its wonderful tone, is giving me trouble. If I play it too hard, it squeaks at me. Also, finding the right strength reed feels very difficult. And as a reed gets waterlogged in a session, it begins to feel much softer. I get the feeling that, when I play GCS Evo, it's not me playing the clarinet, but the reed. This is no good at all.
I feel like I've discovered a 'new' property of reeds, which could be called their 'liveliness'. Too much or too little is a pain. So now I find myself turning away from GCS Evo back to Vandoren - or even La Voz. The sound isn't naturally as rich, but it IS what I make of it.
Has anyone else noticed anything similar?
I'll try and slot some other brands into this list, when I get time.
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Author: Ryan25
Date: 2006-09-28 15:08
I don't really know how to respond to your post because of so many factors that need to be considered.
First of all maybe the reed is getting squeaky because it is not balenced well or your mouthpiece is warped or your embouchure is bad and you bite when playing forte or don't have enough mouthpiece in your mouth
Second of all I have never played that type of mouthpiece so I don't understand what a reed works like on that mouthpiece.
I also am not a big fan of ligatures like the one you have because they can dull the reeds vibration and kill the over tones.
I also don't know your climate and how well you broke the reed in. Maybe it is water logged from being played too much too soon?
The bottom line is I don't really see what you are asking......"Lively"? or what you are getting at. I play vandoren V12 reeds and find that they work very well for me. Thats all I know and all I can say. Everyone is different with different setups. I really dont think there is a universal truth to reeds or something that will hold true for everyone. Reeds are a beast that every player must deal with themselves because they are unique to each individual.
Happy practicing!
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2006-09-28 15:36
i find a huge difference between traditional vandoren and their V12s. Go up 1/2 a strength grade and try a box of the V12s --I can sort of guarantee that you'll find a difference between them and the blue box reeds.
Bob Phillips
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2006-09-28 16:35
I think we can take ONE brand of reeds, test them, and observe ALL of the properties you describe to individual reeds within a sampling of that one brand.
Not only that, we can revisit the sampling on another day, and relegate reeds from one category into another.
Over the course of time, we learn that this one brand "tends" to favor a particular characteristic, and plot a bell shaped curve for how that brand and strength works for us.
We can then do the same for multiple brands and strengths.
Later we realize that our concept of tonality changes over time, and/or other factors come into play.
We also learn how to balance or alter a reed to maximize its potential (rush, ATG, knive, clipper, water, dessicant, etc).
Finally we realize that this learning process NEVER ends.
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: FDF
Date: 2006-09-28 17:17
After playing a "chirpy" reed the other day, I tried the same reed on a different mouthpiece, no chirp. So, it wasn't the reed, nor was it the mouthpiece, but it was that reed on that mouthpiece. Just an observation to add to yours.
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2006-09-28 17:38
Bassie,
The problems you describe are symptomatic of 2 likely conditions:
1- The cane used for the Evolution is of poor quality.
2- You did not spend enough time breaking in you reeds.
I play Evolution reeds and like their cut and feel. I do not like the cane. However, if I really give enough time for the reed to stabilize, before adjusting it and giving it extended play time, its lifespan and endurance are greatly enhanced. This is true for all reeds, actually.
I don't know your reed preparation habits so won't insult your intelligence with the details, but a simple search on this board will give you very good tips on reed break-in and adjustment.
Keep us posted on your latest experiments.
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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