 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Clariphant in Bb
Date: 2007-01-19 01:14
I normally use a Mitchell Lurie #4.0, but I've found that I'm unable to use anything above a 2.75 as far as Legere Quebec stregths go. I realize that Lurie reeds tend to be soft for their strengths, but I've never had any brand that I can't even use the 3 of. Now, I've only had one sample of the #3, so it could be a mislabel or something, but doesn't this difference seem a little too big to be simply a variance between reed makers? Could my mouthpiece just be a bad match with the Legeres? It's a John Pierce Jazz, by the way. Fibracells (medium hard) work fine on it, but I was trying to find another brand of synthetic reed since those are a little wide and always cut the outside of my lower lip.
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2007-01-19 01:44
According to the chart on the Legere site, you should be using the Quebec 3.5 to 3.75 reeds, which is what I am using on my Ted Lane mouthpiece. If possible, check with the manufacturer of your mouthpiece to see if they have a recommendation. Personally, the Legeres work nicely for me.
Jeff
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Author: John Stackpole
Date: 2007-01-19 13:03
My experience, from a couple of years back, I trust they haven't changed policy, was that the Legere folks would let you "experiment" by returning reeds until you hit the right strength.
I don't know how many time you can go to that well, however.
JDS
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Author: sherman
Date: 2007-01-20 02:34
I did a six-month test of Legere synthetic reeds, first terribly excited about them, then different problems began to appear: Strengths, as mentioned above were crucial, and when asked , they told me that I may consider chagning mouthpieces, the first problem. Then I did notice the condensation sounding under the reed, but for some reason, it diminished. Then came the Quebec cut, which many players prefer, it being less brittle in sound than the normal. Then, the kind folk at Legere sent me different types, or I guess cuts. I finally settled on the Quebec cut, which it developed, began to develop the kinds of problems that I had with cane, changing from day to day, losing the quality and then just becoming rather numb-sounding. I then decided to try a cane reed, hearing that the Gonzalez reed was somewhat a copy of the Morre, including the thicker blank. For me ,it was an epiphany: so many different timbres available, so much more strength and a better more "clarinet" type of sound. I use a number 3.
Sherman Friedland
http://clarinet.cc the rest of the article can be found there
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2007-01-20 04:49
My experience with Legere is on bass clarinet. I usually play Vandoren strength 3 (or very occasionally strength 2.5). I've tried a Legere 3 and it was too hard. I tried a 2.75 and the strength felt very good but I just didn't like how it played, just doesn't work for me or my mouthpiece (or both). So I'd say you need a Legere of the same or slightly softer than a Vandoren. My experience with Vandoren and Mitchel Lurie reeds is that Luries are anywhere from half number to whole number softer than Vandoren, which leads me to the (not necessarily accurate) conclusion that Legere reeds should be somewhere between a whole number or one & a half numbers softer than Michel Lurie. So if you use Michel Lurie 4 then maybe Legere 2.5, 2.75 or 3 would work good. Maybe it will be a good investment to buy a couple of Legere in each of these strengths and if you find the exact right one you'll be saving a lot more money in the long run.
Good luck.
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Author: Kevin
Date: 2007-01-20 15:54
My limited experience with Legere reeds has shown that they are somewhat harder than say, a Vandoren of the same size. Mitchell Lurie's, on the other hand, are the opposite - they are much softer. A 4 sized ML to me has felt the same as Vandorens as low as size 3.
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Author: Roger Aldridge
Date: 2007-01-21 17:35
I'm confused by the original message on this thread. The Legere Quebec does not come in strengths lower than #3. Thus, if one is going a play a #2.75 Legere it would need to be the regular cut Legere reed....not the Quebec.
The "secret" to getting good results with Legere reeds is to match them to a mouthpiece facing that works especially well with the profile and performance characteristics of Legere reeds. Simply put, some mouthpieces work better with Legere than others. I'm a big fan of Ralph Morgan mouthpieces. However, I sadly discovered that I had problems with Legere reeds on my Morgan clarinet mouthpieces. On the other hand, I get stunningly beautiful results with Legere on Walter Grabner mouthpieces.
I absolutely love the quality of sound and level of performance I'm getting with a #3 Quebec on a Grabner K14 Kaspar-style mouthpiece. It's dark, warm, and ringing...exactly as Walter describes it on his website. And, it projects like gang busters. My only wish is that I could have had this set up YEARS ago!
Based on my experience with using Legere reeds in different strengths on various Morgan mouthpiece facings (RM10, RM15, RM25, J5, J6), I cannot help but think a John Pierce mouthpiece is WAY too open for a #3 Quebec. A #3 Quebec was problematic on my RM28 (1.28 mm). If memory serves, I think a John Pierce is more open than a Morgan RM28.
I discovered that I get much better results with Legere reeds by using a mouthpiece facing that has a closer tip. The Grabner K14 has around a 1.08 mm tip opening. Yet, it has such a big sound and high level of projection that my clarinet can be heard in a large jazz ensemble without me breaking a sweat. This goes against conventional wisdom in some circles in thinking that one has to have a big tip opening in order to have a big sound.
I'm also getting superb results with a #3 Legere on my Grabner LB (Lawrie Bloom) bass clarinet mouthpiece. Wonderful dark, full sound (not a hint of buzz saw) and articulation is practically effortness throughout the range of the bass. This set up has changed my life on bass clarinet.
Roger
Post Edited (2007-01-21 18:15)
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Author: Clariphant in Bb
Date: 2007-01-23 04:52
Thanks for the help everybody. I'm starting to think there isn't a Legere reed soft enough for this mouthpiece. I've tried the ones I have on my RM10 and my B45, and the B45 is okay with them, so it's not a total loss, though the RM10 sounds way too stuffy with them. I might just try trimming down the edges of the fribracells, though the fraying will probably make them wear out faster...
> I'm confused by the original message on this thread. The
> Legere Quebec does not come in strengths lower than #3.
> Thus, if one is going a play a #2.75 Legere it would need to be
> the regular cut Legere reed....not the Quebec.
Just to show that I'm not crazy, here are the boxes with reeds in them:
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/2973/dsc008514gj.jpg
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/6707/dsc008508th.jpg
Maybe they were mispackaged? I exchanged a 3 and 3.5 Quebec for these lower sizes directly from the company. Maybe they just put new reeds in the same boxes I sent back to them?
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Author: sherman
Date: 2007-01-23 11:40
It would seem that,considering the many aspects of this synthetic reed, aspects which are really problems, for instance, the best thing to do is to match a mouthpiece facing to the reed, or there isn't a legere that is soft enough, or too hard, or they are all too soft, I am left with the same series of problems that I encountered in my serious six-month trial with these reeds. One substitutes one set of problems, that of cane, with another, that of plastic. Add to that, the collecting of condesation under the reed, and the short lasting Quebec cut*, and I would ask, simply, why?
*by short-lasting, I mean just that: after two days, perhaps three, the reed begins to change to become less responsive. Doesn't this sound like cane, but with a fifteen dollar piece of plastic? It did to me.
stay well,
Sherman Friedland
http://clarinet.cc
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Author: Roger Aldridge
Date: 2007-01-23 16:11
Sherman,
I have not experienced the problems that you report. Once I found the particular match between Legere reed cut & strength and mouthpiece/ligature I've been extremely happy with the results. I currently have 3 Quebec reeds in rotation in my reed case (I use a Selmer glass plate case). I've used these reeds for practicing and all of my performances for several months. They are holding up fine.
One thing I do -- this is a recommendation on the Legere web site -- is to rotate Legere reeds after around an hour of heavy playing. On occassion I've gone longer than an hour. Sometimes I noticed a softening of the reed after an hour. At other times the reed still performed fine. Anyway, I do this out of habit. I typically have 3 or 4 Legere reeds in rotation. I don't think of it as being a big deal to swap out reeds after about an hour. For me, it's a small price for the benefits that I get from Legere on all of my clarinets and saxophones.
Roger
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