 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: otakua
Date: 2012-01-15 14:11
I'm interested in trying different reeds (brands, strength, etc.), but I'm NOT willing to go pay 30 bucks for a box of reeds I find out wont work for me. Is there such thing as like a sample pack? for any brand? I do realize that I would need to try more than one of a specific kind, but to me that's just too pricey. Any suggestions?
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2012-01-15 14:36
Many music stores sell single reeds (at least here they do).
I am, however, not aware of any mail order store that does.
If you play in a band/ensemble, ask other players what they play and if they'd sell you a reed or two to try out.
Or you can try one of those Auction Sites for half-used packages of reeds, but you don't always know if you just get rejects or a truly fresh (as in Vandoren's individually sealed) reeds.
--
Ben
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Author: otakua
Date: 2012-01-15 14:41
Yea, when I go to long and Mcquade, single reeds are like 4 bucks. I think I may just split boxes with some people. Any other suggestions? I currently play on V12 3/5 on Bb and Eb.
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Author: cxgreen48
Date: 2012-01-15 15:33
I had and still have good experiences with Gonzalez FOF and the Rico Reserve Classics. For me, I found 3.25 Gonzalez FOF and 3.5+ Rico Reserve Classic close to a 3.5 Vandoren V12.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2012-01-15 15:53
I'm afraid the harsh truth is that you can't do what you're asking about WITHOUT spending some money on potentially failed experiments (although you might get lucky and find something you like on the first try). Testing a single sample of a brand/model/strength, even if you can get one, isn't a reliable way to judge much of anything. As you've already read in the replies you've gotten so far, other players will always be willing to recommend what they use successfully, but that's still no guarantee that you'll be as happy with them as the people recommending them. Then, there's the issue of ideal strength, which is mouthpiece and player dependent and must be found by trial and error. There are too many alternatives of brands, models and strengths for any switch to be a sure shot. If you really need to avoid wasted expense, you probably should just stay with what you're now using.
Karl
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Author: William
Date: 2012-01-15 17:52
If you want to play with a good tone quality and have accoustic command of your clarinets range, as long as you play cane reeds--of any brand--you are going to have to do reed searches to find individual ones that will play best for you. And to do that, you will need to buy reeds by the box. To go into a music store and buy just a couple of reeds expecting top notch players is like buying a lottery ticket and hoping to win the 'big one'. It's probably not going to happen. You have to be willing to pay the price, like most of us do.
Except me!! I no longer play cane reeds opting, instead, to play the new Forestone reeds which are consistant in strength, eliminating the need for buying large quantities of reeds in order to find the 'one' that works. With Forestones, once you have determined the correct strenght, every other reed will play the same (or very close to it). And while they are expensive, it has been my experience that each Forestone reed will outlast it's cane counterpart as least ten times over and you very quickly recoup the cost in savings from not buying so many cane reeds. Again--my personal experience--most of my original Forestones, now over two years old, are still usable for rehearsal and practice. The saxophone Forestones are equally durable and consistant--and are always ready to play, even after long rests on the stand.
My advice, give the new synthetic Forestone clarinet and sax reeds a try and discover the joy of playing the music without having to worry about playing the reed.
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Author: DrewSorensenMusic
Date: 2012-01-15 18:34
If you know of another or two clarinetists that are ambitous, maybe you could pool together. I just did reed research last year, spent a good bit of money on boxes that are now in a box in the closet, but it's better than playing the wrong reeds for you. Just chalk it up as a business expense and enjoy knowing you'll get a good match.
First thing I did was order different boxes of reeds at a size smaller than I had normally played. For me (and others probably had a different way of doing things), this made sure that I could play every single reed, even though they would be unusable after a short amount of time. Then I found the correct size for me.
I ended up with Rico Grand Concert Select Thick Blank Size 4.5
I also enjoyed Rico's Mitchell Lurie Reeds, but the heart was a bit too thin for me. The Thick Blanks have the same response in the high end, but also had better response in the low end.
I play a Fobes Cicero 13 (short facing, medium tip opening
And as lovely as that Forestone commercial was, no synthetics, not now. Maybe after you find your correct cane reed you can peruse the plastic world, but I'd stick with a proven tradition of cut bamboo for the time being.
Andrew Sorensen
Http://www.youtube.com/user/DrewSorensenMusic
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2012-01-15 21:30
Not yet mentioned, but the standard Rico Reserve (not the classic) is also a pretty good and consistent reed. They play very well on a mouthpiece I use that was optimized for use with V12 3.5 reeds.
Jeff
“Everyone discovers their own way of destroying themselves, and some people choose the clarinet.” Kalman Opperman, 1919-2010
"A drummer is a musician's best friend."
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Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2012-01-16 03:08
Another problem with buying single reeds is that you may get a bad one, since every box has a few. The only Vandoren reed I've used was a single and very difficult to play. I thought it was the brand, but recently I've realized that it must have been a dud.
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Author: DrewSorensenMusic
Date: 2012-01-16 03:28
Vandoren reeds are unacceptibly inconsistent in my honest opinion. I've heard of players buying blue box using 1 reed and discarding the other 9. I never got why these guys put up with that kind of poor quality. I guess my biggest beef with vandoren is that I played blue box for so long, and think it hindered my playing in the early stages. Always trying to change your embrouchure to try and make the reeds work because you're young and don't know if it's you or the reed, so you just assume it's you. Oh well, that's my beef, and I'm sticking to it.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2012-01-16 13:41
If you go to a music store that lets you pick reeds out of a box, you can substantially increase your chances of finding a good one, or at least avoiding the bad ones.
First, hold a reed with the butt pointing toward you and look at the shape of the bark. Many reeds are cut off-center, so that the butt is thinner on one side than the other, or the arch is off-center. These are the first to eliminate. I've never been able to adjust a reed with an off-center butt to play well.
Second, look down the edges of the reed. The edges of the bark should be straight and should match the other side. Also, the edge of the vamp from the shoulder to the tip should be straight, with no dips or gouges, and the two edges should match.
Third, hold the reed by the butt with the vamp toward you and hold it up to a bright light. For me, this works best with the tip pointing down, since my hand then shields my eyes. The yellow color should fade evenly and should never get to near-white, especially at the corners of the tip. If the corners are too thin, the tip is fragile and tends to whistle.
Finally, eliminate any reeds with heavy fibers that run all the way to the tip. You can thin a heavy fiber with a needle or straight pin, but one that runs to the tip will leak if you thin it there.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Claire Annette
Date: 2012-01-16 17:58
I've heard good things about Clark Fobes new line of reeds. It is far more economical, though, to buy several boxes of his at a time than to purchase merely one box.
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