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Re: French vs German cut reeds

Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2011-01-17 22:21

The Vandoren White Masters are (I believe) the exception to all other "German Cut" reeds out there in that they are actually made (over all dimensions) to fit the much smaller mouthpieces of modern Oehler system clarinets. They are shorter and much thinner. This occurred in the early 1980s when Vandoren actually sat down with Karl Leister and redesigned their "German Cut" reeds to meet actual German requirements. Prior to that Vandoren German cut reed were slightly narrower, straighter (not much taper width wise from top to bottom), had a straighter cut across the top of the reed (not much curve) and tended to be harder.

I think that's what other pseudo-German cut reeds are that you see here in the States. That is, they try to be a little harder for the same strength designation but I don't see the point really.

There are some people who use the White Masters on a standard French mouthpiece and clearly admit that you must be careful with placement so that the window is not exposed without enough reed to cover it. Again, I fail to see the point, but then some seem to have success with this combination. The Vandoren Black Masters claim to be a Viennese cut (whatever that means) with a standard length and only a slightly thinner width (much like their old German cut). There are more of those who use these in the quest for a different type of reed to use. Still, I feel the Rue Lepic 56s are the solution that most were looking for in the past and now should be the solution for the present (they are a thicker reed - top to bottom that is - with a longer vamp).

..................Paul Aviles

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