 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2020-02-06 17:51
Hi,
I'm really getting my eye in at choosing the one good reed from a box now and I wondered if it is really true in your experience that this is often one best one, a lot of middling ones and some rubbish ones?
My teacher says he thinks there ought to be more than that, but I do find that there is usually one really stellar one and after that the others all seem a bit hazy.
Jen
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Author: Doug Leach
Date: 2020-02-06 18:02
Hi Jen,
So I guess it depends on what kind of reeds you're playing. For Vandorens, or even Rico Classic Reserve, sometimes it seemed like there weren't very many real good ones in a box. I forget if you are in Europe or the US. The last couple years I've been playing Brad Behn's Aria reeds. The consistency and quality of these reeds is outstanding. Almost every reed playable out of the box, and most very good. Before that, I had tried Peter Leuthner's French cut pro reeds. They are also very good, and very consistent.
Doug
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2020-02-06 18:12
Hi Doug,
Thanks, that's really good to know.
I'm in Europe coming up to my Grade3 exam where I have to cross the break legato, playing Georgie by Emma Johnson, which has to sound as smooth as butter all the way through.
I've discovered that Rigotti Gold reeds (2.5 light) in my case are very good for it as they respond immediately even with very gentle blowing, which is really essential for this piece. The tips are often quite transparent with very few thick lines in them (vascular bundles to me as I'm a botanist).
I shot myself in the foot today though because I looked out the best of one box, and accidentally left it at home, while taking the other 9 with me to the lesson. I was properly kicking myself. I keep wondering if I need to learn to adjust these not-quite-so-good reeds, or if there is something else I should do.
I don't think I can buy Brad Behn's Aria reeds in the UK. I could get Peter Leuthner's French cut pro reeds here. Do you think they would be good for that kind of immediate response in quiet playing?
Thanks!
Jen
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-02-06 19:00
I am just slightly concerned that you say "looked out," and "getting my eye in."
I have tried to guess what reed was the better performer visually over the years only to be sadly mistaken. You can look at color, the shape of the vamp looking at it with back lighting and the whole nine yards and that will not really tell the story. There may be some truth to the really ugly ones being bad though, but even that is a crap shoot.
For me, the ONLY way to judge a reed's performance is on the fourth (or even fifth or sixth in bad weather) day of a break-in period. I soak for about 2 1/2 minutes, play on it for about five minutes and put it away until tomorrow........that's it. The order (and you put the box in order from best to worst at the end of each session) will ALWAYS change in the first two days or so, and may even be different on the "last day" of break-in, but then you number your reeds and then rotate through one reed each day from then on........until they get brittle (maybe a month or two down the road).
That said I find four to six performance ready reeds per box of Vandoren V21 (or Rue Lepic) and even most of the rest are good enough for practice. You may have to toss the last one or two maybe.
..................Paul Aviles
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Author: Greg_Greece
Date: 2020-02-06 19:14
Hello Jen,
i am not playing classical clarinet but i will reply to your question according to my experience.
Here in Greece we are using very soft reeds, #1 or #1,5. We are using the rigotti Hot And Swing reeds. The box has 12 reeds. In general about 3, 4 are good reeds, some others are average reeds and the rest are rubish. The quality used to be better in the past though.
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2020-02-06 20:06
Greg - Thanks, that's really good to know.
Paul - Thanks I didn't know that that was what I was meant to do. I've already started opening the whole box of reeds and putting them in a case so I will start doing the soaking and 5 minute playing routine. That really sounds good.
I've noticed that when I sit exams my one good reed always seems to go over a couple of days before the exam and I'd like to make sure I have three good ones on the go this time, so I'm not caught short. I think your system sounds like a great way to end up with three good reeds in hand.
I also bought some Peter Leuthner's French cut pro reeds, to try them out. :-) The Brad Behn's Aria reeds seem only to come harder than I can play.
Thanks!
Jen
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Author: Ed
Date: 2020-02-06 20:34
Quote:
The Brad Behn's Aria reeds seem only to come harder than I can play.
These reeds tend to run a little on the softer side, so you may still be able to find that they will work. Check with Brad for his thoughts.
I often find that there are many reeds that are not necessarily great right out of the box, but with a little break in time and perhaps a slight adjustment for balance are terrific. Getting comfortable with making some reed adjustments is key and can often change the experience to finding That most reeds can be made to play well.
While I don't like to have people fall back on the equipment search, some mouthpieces tend to be a lot more picky and not very "reed friendly". Years ago one of my teachers told me that he often found that a really good mouthpiece would accept many reeds.
Good luck
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-02-06 21:20
Adjusting reeds was never my forte, so perhaps my tendency to not do anything to reeds stems from that. But I would say that you don't need to really DO anything to reeds besides break them in. All that the break-in process entails (from what I've heard on this board) is simply re-introducing moisture to the cane.
As for reed friendliness of mouthpieces. I don't believe in that, other than to say if it is a well made mouthpiece that works for YOU, then you'll get as many good reeds out of a box as there are good reeds in the box (if that makes sense).
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: prigault
Date: 2020-02-07 00:00
Paul Aviles wrote:
> That said I find four to six performance ready reeds per box of
> Vandoren V21 (or Rue Lepic) and even most of the rest are good
> enough for practice. You may have to toss the last one or two maybe.
That reflects my experience with current V21 reeds as well.
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Author: richardstone
Date: 2020-02-07 01:27
I like the Brad Behn Aria reeds in 3 1/2 strength. I got some with my Behn Zinner mouthpiece and find that most all of the reeds in the box work well with no modifications. Very different from other brands I had been using. The first thing I do with a new reed is to polish the back of the reed on a piece of copy paper. This gives it a smoother surface and doesn't thin the reed. I play a new reed for only 5-10 minutes and then put it away in my reed box. The next day I play for 10-20 minutes and repeat this for another 2-3 days. Within 4-5 days I have a well playing reed that will last quite a while with rotation with other broken-in reeds. I have also found that older reeds that were problematic, play well with the Behn mouthpiece, though not as well as the Aria reeds. The reeds are about a half strength lighter than most brands but Brad will mix a box with two strengths if you are not sure which strength would work best for you.
richarddstone@mac.com
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2020-02-07 01:59
Thanks, I didn't know it was about reintroducing moisture. That makes a lot of sense, given what I saw when my friend put one until a scanning electron microscope (images attached). I love seeing the tubes that go right through the reeds. I can imagine the water working its way slowly through them and changing all sorts of qualities of the reeds. I will try breaking in three reeds from tomorrow and see what happens. Thanks :-)
I just tried again with Brad Behn's Aria reeds but they cost $40 to ship here, as well as the cost of the reeds, so I might need to wait until someone starts to import them.
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2020-02-07 02:05
Attachment: reeds.jpg (519k)
Here is the image.
This is from Sachin Shah and Prof. Lomomossoff of the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK.
Adult learner, Grade 3
Equipment: Yamaha Custom CX Bb, Fobes 10K CF mp,
Legere Bb clarinet European Cut #2.5, Vandoren Optimum German Lig.
Post Edited (2020-02-07 02:07)
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Author: Ed
Date: 2020-02-07 02:40
Paul- I suppose we can agree to disagree, but over the years I have found that many reeds benefit from a little bit of adjustment. Perhaps I am adjusting it in some cases to fit my own taste, style and facing, but other times I am making adjustments to slight variances in the cane or cut. Sometimes I adjust slightly if the back is not completely flat. I would not take the time to do so if it did not make a difference. Sometimes the difference in response or tone is very significant.
Maybe you are right that it is the case of the mouthpiece working for YOU. Perhaps sometimes I have tried to make a mouthpiece work that is just does not fit my own tastes. I suppose it may be a matter of interpretation. I recall a mouthpiece I played for a short time which sounded terrific and worked fairly well, but very few reeds seemed to get that result. I would often go through countless reeds, finding most barely worked. I compare that to some other mouthpieces where 9 reeds out of a box were very playable.
It seems there are many ways people approach this. Your results may vary, which is fine. I'm not trying to convert anyone to adjusting reeds, just sharing my experiences.
If some use a mouthpiece off the shelf and pull a reed out of the box and it works, that is great. Enjoy the playing.
Post Edited (2020-02-07 15:40)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-02-07 08:45
Well, my mention of a mostly non-adjustment career is meant more as a confession rather than a directive. I stand in awe of those who can take a reed knife and create pure, unadulterated magic. Of course I also lean on the fact that there are some really fine players that freely admit their tendency to "plug and play" as well.
I really only try to make the point (albeit somewhat clumsily) that even with no added influence upon the reeds provided by Vandoren, you can get a majority of their reeds to work just fine.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2020-02-07 13:22
It seems as though there are huge difference in what works for different people. That's really useful to know though.
I'm going to do the breaking-in cycle that Paul suggests, but also work on more on my diaphragm breathing and posture, and on relaxing and opening up my chest to help with resonance. I think maybe both of those together will help.
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2020-02-08 07:46
I've only played Vandorens for the last about 45 years. Many years ago my feeling was there were maybe 3 good ones out of 10. Last few years it seems more like 5 out of 10. Either they're getting better or my standards are getting lower....I know the price isn't getting any lower....
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book--
tomheimer.ampbk.com/ Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001315, Musicnotes product no. MB0000649.
Boreal Ballad for unaccompanied clarinet-Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001314.
Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
Post Edited (2020-02-08 07:47)
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Author: Plonk
Date: 2020-02-08 16:07
I use V12s and find I get about 8 reeds that are good, and 1 excellent. Perhaps 1 or 2 that just won't work. I rarely bother scraping as I don't usually get better reeds when I try, and I don't usually do much breaking in, other than a short play on the first day. I am too disorganised to have any more complicated systems of rotation etc.!
I often flirt with different brands, but find I always come back to the V12s. I used the Pilgersdorfers dolces for a while, but they were not consistent. The first box was amazing, but ever so slightly on the soft side, so I went up a half strength on the 2nd box only to find the entire box was as soft as mush, completely unplayable ((4s that felt like 1s).
I tried Rico Royals recently and they just sounded dreadful - straight in the bin.
And I tried Mitchell Luries and found they play super nice out of the box, but quickly deteriorate. So back to the V12s!
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2020-02-08 16:13
I really like V12s too actually and often find myself gravitating back to them. I'm finding Georgie by Emma Johnson seems to need something a bit different, but that might be partly because I'm very inexperienced and not strong on the breathing. Not sure.
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