Author: TomS
Date: 2014-11-28 18:44
I get about 20-25 hours for Vandoren ... the blue box and V12s seem to be about the same. Balance your reed very early in their life and check them again each time you play ... biting and selective chewing to make an unbalanced reed kinda-sorta play will damage it and reduce it's life expectancy.
Only briefly soak the vibrating part of the cane reed, from the tip to about 1/4" before the bark is stripped off. Use tap water to wet the reed initially and to rise it after playing. Dry it by rubbing between the thumb and index finger and let it dry for just a little while, flat side up, before returning to your reed wallet.
I've only used Legere synthetics and they last about 3-4 times longer ... I usually have 4-5 reeds that I rotate. Eventually they get fatigued, the response gets bad and the sound loses center and focus.
With my M13 MP and chosen instrument, I think my sound is actually best with the Legere Quebec cut . They play flatter in the high register and there is more articulation noise everywhere, but the sound, consistency and stability is to my liking.
The Legere take a longer to warm than-up than cane, so if I have some very warm water available (especially in cold weather) I will drop the ENTIRE reed in for a 2 minute soak. The Legere also continue to soften as you play them, so in an hour I have to put a different one on my MP.
IMHO, a really exceptional cane reed is better, but rarer, and I chose to spend most of my very limited time playing than messing with reeds.
With the Legere, you must find a cut and strength to match your MP, so some rather expensive experimentation will have to be performed for best results.
Tom
Post Edited (2014-11-28 19:08)
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