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Hahn, Hartmann, Legere etc reeds

Author: gigaday
Date: 2010-01-05 19:06

I'm just a little surprised that no-one seems to have anything to say about the German manufactured synthetic reeds from Hahn and Harry Hartmann.

Many people rave about the Legeres but I find the feel, sound and dynamics of the Hahn and Hartmann reeds superior in all respects to the Legeres. I have tried the Legere standard and Quebec but not the Signature, I was using strength 3.25 and 3 and was quite happy with the Legere standard until I found some Vandoren V12 3s and Rico GCS Thick Blank 3s that made the Legeres sound to me like a not very good synthesizer.

Cane reeds are anisotropic, ie different properties along the length and width, whereas the Legere is a lump of (probably very fine) plastic. So I started looking for a synthetic that was also anisotropic and found Hahn and Hartmann.

I use a VD M15 mouthpiece and have found that the Hahn 3 works very well and the Hahn 3.5 was too hard for me but a very little sanding brought it into playing range. The Hartmann I have is a Carbon Fiberreed strength MediumHard, I was able to play it but it was really too hard for me so I sanded it a little too. The 3 reeds just mentioned are about the same strength now although the latter two are slightly harder than the Hahn 3 still.

Now, I am a relative beginner - about 3 years and still making little steps, so I am not sure that I am really qualified to judge these reeds except so say that they seem good for me.

I wonder what other more expert players might find.

Tony

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