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Absolutely. Either the reeds have changed or mouthpieces have. Back then you could play at least a few reeds (#5 VD) straight out of the box, and they played well with a little balancing. Today's #5 VDs (of any model) are like popsicle sticks and need to be completely re-profiled (lots of cane scraped out of places we were taught never to touch) to make them remotely useable.

I had the same experience when I ran across some old Vandoren #5s (from the same era - mid-70s, pre-V.12). I don't know why. There are reeds on today's market that, on a close-tipped medium to long facing can be played at their highest strength with little of no adjustment. I haven't found that to be true of any Vandoren I've tried in the past 15-20 years.

Karl

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I do have a couple of friends who still use #5 Trads. But they do *a lot* of work on them. Out of curiosity, I'd be interested to know who uses #5 VD Traditionals *out of the box* today (slight balancing allowed) and what mouthpiece style they use. Must be some players, or VD wouldn't market them.

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There was a period when strengths were listed as 2-2.5, 2.5-3, etc. Anyone recall exactly when that was? Late '80s?