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Re: Legere signature European cut

Author: jthole
Date: 2016-03-06 00:20

Disclaimer: I never used Legere Classic or regular Signature reeds, so I cannot compare to those. Besides, I am not a professional player, and I double between clarinet and baritone sax.

In the past, I have tried Forestone and Fibracell clarinet reeds, and didn't like them. Too buzzy, and they both did not feel like cane to me. They are definitely plastic, and feel unnatural to me.

However, the idea of a consistent and reliable reed appeals to me, and besides, I had a great experience with Forestone reeds on baritone sax. So I jumped, and ordered a Legere Signature European cut blindly. The reed arrived this afternoon, and I gave it a 45 minutes test drive. Here are my initial observations.

As others have noted; placement seems to be essential, and more critical than with a cane reed. Moving the reed up very slightly made a huge difference. Too low meant that the reed felt sluggish and stuffy for me.

I was positively surprised by the response and sound of the reed. It's not the same as a good Vandoren Traditional reed, but it comes close. I did feel that the intonation throughout the registers was a bit less even with the Legere reed than with a good cane reed, but nothing that cannot be easily corrected. Compared to the other synthetics I have used, it is a night and day difference. I do feel that the Legere reed loses a bit complexity when pushed to a strong volume, compared to a cane reed.

The Legere Signature European Cut reed strength (3) is very close to a Vandoren Traditional 3. Maybe the Legere is just a tiny bit softer. It feels different though. The reed feels a bit more slippery, and strained my embouchure a bit more than I expected. Since I've only used it once now, I reckon that I need to give it a bit more time before judging the reed.

My initial thoughts:

+ sound (this is the most cane like synthetic that I have tried)
+ response (when positioned correctly)
+ evenness (compared to Forestone and Fibracell reeds)

- "mouth feel" (more slippery than a cane reed, but less than others)

I won't comment on tone quality compared to a a Vandoren Traditional reed yet, since I believe I should give myself more time with the Legere before doing so.

Post Edited (2016-03-06 00:29)

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