 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Alexis
Date: 2007-06-14 10:50
Hey just for a change, I'd like to talk about reeds!
I have to admit, the more that I hear that V12's aren't that good, the less I trust my own playing. (Which I don't think sounds bad)
Are good V12's actually good? Could I ever make a sound close to what Marcellus makes? Or were his magic reeds the only way to attain this?
Now the next question. Do you think that Alessandro Carbonare buys a box of V12 reeds just like me, then sounds just like him? Or do Vandoren mail him select stock?
One more question: If the world's greatest players made their own reeds, would they be even greater, because they would have absolute power to create their own sound? Or do they adapt their playing technique so they can play amazingly on what may be mediocre V12s....
I'd like to think that anything is possible with practice...but the more I read the less I believe it!
Alex
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Author: John O'Janpa
Date: 2007-06-14 13:24
If you read interviews with Marcellus and other grat players you will find that most of them learned how to adjust reeds to their "taste". Even with the magical Morrees Marcellus threw away most of the box and adjusted the ones he used. No matter how great the player a piece of cane is a piece of cane.
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Author: Dano
Date: 2007-06-14 13:32
If a V12 feels good to you, it's a good reed. If it does not feel good to you, even if it feels good to me, it's not a good reed. I would hate to think just anyone could sound like Marcellus if they just had a good reed. I am pretty sure Marcellus would sound better than most while playing with any reed. Opinions vary and you can't go only by opinions. I suggest trying out different reeds rather than reading what others have to say about V12 reeds.
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Author: Alexis
Date: 2007-06-14 14:13
I think the vandoren website says Carbonare plays V12's.
Dano - I only post on here occasionally, and I spend a lot more time playing than reading about playing.
I don't think I made my perspective clear enough - There was an element of sarcasm in what I said (in usual writing I wouldn't use so many exclamation marks... in retrospect though it comes across a bit like an excited teenager - my mistake)
It seems strange to me that many many players make vandorens work very well. And yet, there is an amazing amount of criticism of vandoren cane - that the reeds are fundamentally flawed by the substandard quality of the cane. Do my good reeds have the luck of an amazing cut? Or Did a piece of good cane miraculously get thrown in with the duds?
I guess my feeling is, if the reeds are fundamentally flawed by the cane quality why do so many people play it?
And why do many players make these reeds sound very good?
Is the clarinet world missing out on a some type of revelation due to Vandoren's popularity?
Alex
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Author: musiciandave
Date: 2007-06-14 16:26
It's not the reed that makes a players sound distincitive, it's the sound concept in their head which causes them to play with their mouth, throat, etc which gives them a distinctive sound. The instrument, reed, mouthpiece, barrel, etc just makes that job easier.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2007-06-14 18:23
I for one seem to do fine with V12s. My mouthpiece is very 'reed-friendly' and any reeds I've put to it can be played. But I can find V12s everywhere, can order them from anywhere, and once adjusted, they all sound fine to me. I don't go nuts with adjusting reeds. I just basically balance them out side-to-side and make sure that they respond quickly and they usually give a nice full tone at all dynamic levels (not airy at all, not even at ppp).
But for me, V12s work great. For a while I was stuck on Gonzalez FOF reeds. Which needed less (if any) balancing once you found the size that fit your mouthpiece. But it's a little harder for me to find them and once I learned to balance reeds, I just went with what's readily available.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: job_man
Date: 2007-06-14 21:13
In over forty years of teaching (!) I have developed a number of theories, and here are three regarding reeds:
1. In any given number of reeds there is only one good one. Why? Because as soon as the best one is found, the others pale into insignificance, and one is convinced that only the 'best' one will do. If the 'best' one had not been there, the second best would have been chosen, and then the same would apply relative to that reed.
2. As one of the respondents said, how a reed 'feels' to the player is much more important than the sound. Why? Because if the player feels unhappy with the reed's ability to perform, the performance will be unconfident and the music just will not flow.
3. The reed has much less influence on the sound as received by the listener than the player thinks. The major contributors to sound are breath support, vocalisation, and embouchure control, and, of course, tongue activity.
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Author: joeyscl
Date: 2007-06-18 00:25
"If a V12 feels good to you, it's a good reed. If it does not feel good to you, even if it feels good to me, it's not a good reed. I would hate to think just anyone could sound like Marcellus if they just had a good reed. I am pretty sure Marcellus would sound better than most while playing with any reed. Opinions vary and you can't go only by opinions. I suggest trying out different reeds rather than reading what others have to say about V12 reeds."
Not if he's using the green reed i got the other day XD
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