The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Re: upgrades for my clarinet

Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2014-07-28 20:34

Cody329 wrote:

> Karl, my primary instrument is bassoon. Which is another reason
> I'm avoiding a completely new clarinet because I'm saving to
> buy a nice used Renard 240.
>
Understood.

> I have a Backun protege barrel and i didn't notice that much
> difference, but I also got it for free so...

IMO, the difference between one barrel and another is too subtle to be worth the expense unless you have a specific goal (a darker sound is not very specific). The player may feel and hear a difference, but the audience will hear little or nothing of it. The only exception is when you need a different length barrel to solve a general tuning problem.

>
> Also are there any reeds I should look into. I usually just use
> vandoren v12 3.5?

Vandoren V12s are a standard high end reed. You won't lose anything (but the money you spend on experiments) by trying different ones - VD Rue le pics, VD Traditional blanks ("blue box"), D'Addario Reserves, Reserve Classics, Grand Concert thick blanks and Grand Concert traditional blanks all play a little differently out of the box from V12s and from each other. But if you're comfortable with V12s, there's no urgent need to go off on a potentially confusing and expensive exploration.

As a doubler, you may find synthetic reeds a convenience - moving quickly among reed instruments with reeds in varying states of dryness can cause frustration, and synthetic eliminates that issue entirely. There are players on this BB who play synthetics exclusively, others who still prefer good old cane, so you have to decide. The major two are Legere and Forestone. Others can write about choice of strength in the synthetics or search back in the BB archives.

Karl

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics