Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2021-09-27 16:52
Hi Ron,
My Fibracell reeds just arrived and I had a try. I wondered if I could tell you what I found? I know you have probably formed your own views, but I thought it might help to put mine here in case others come along to read the thread in the future.
It's really interesting as I've never seen a synthetic reed that looked so much like a cane reed. Anyway I did the test and here's what I noticed.
(This review is written with the background that I'm an adult learner, with three years experience and currently weak embouchure muscles after a long period away from playing, due to covid.)
I'm comparing them against the Vandoren classic 1.5.
Fibracell 1: This is a really lovely reed for a complete beginner with weak embouchure muscles to play. Everything works so easily, right out of the box with this reed, I feel. It is beautifully soft so it doesn't hurt my muscles to play, and the reed is incredibly responsive. It just makes everything so easy, and I think would help a new player to feel like a success really quickly.
My big test is always whether I can easily cross the break legato from C4 to C5 and it passes that test 100% and no trouble at all. All these things make it good for a beginner.
Conversely, the reed plays a bit flat, and is mildly inconsistent in tuning across the instrument. I think if I was going to play this reed all the time I would need to shorten my barrel, and work hard on controlling the tuning with my embouchure. Having said that, if I was a beginner and just wanted playing to be easy and fun then I think that would really be fine.
The reed also produces a sound that is a little bit nasal which might be to some people's taste and less to others. It's still a very respectable sound though.
So in summary - I think if a beginner wanted the nice tone and was prepared to work harder I'd go with the Vandoren, and if they want an easy time and don't mind a slightly nasal sound, I'd use the Fibracell.
Fibracell 1.5: This is really the same as 1 strength Fibracell, but a bit less exaggerated in every category. I need to have stronger muscles and blow a bit harder, like the Vandoren, and the sound is still a little bit nasal like the Fibracell 1. It's not quite as flat or inconsistent as the Fibracell 1.
I think basically the Vandoren tone is a little bit nicer, and obviously it just costs more because those reeds are disposable, while the Fibracells are synthetic so will last longer.
Bravo 1.5: For me, this reed is almost indistinguishable from the Vandoren classic 1.5, but with a nicer woodier tone, and less buzz. It has a lovely tone (the opposite of nasal, but I don't know what the word for that is). It's ever so slightly less resonant than the Vandoren, but I don't think I would notice that if I wasn't comparing them side by side, because it's a lovely comfy woody sound that it produces.
This reed plays in tune to my ear. With a digital tuner, it is a tiny bit flat in the bottom register and absolutely perfect in the upper register.
The Vandoren and Bravo feel about the same hardness to me.
I tried my test of crossing the break legato from C4 to C5 on the Vandoren and Bravo. I can do it reliably on the Vandoren, but I'm sorry to say that I can't really do it on the Bravo. That's because there is just a tiny delay in the reponse of the reed when I ask it to speak. It means my teacher wouldn't want me to sit my Grade 3 exam on this reed. (Later - it turns out I can if I blow really hard.)
When I go up to the altissimo register things get a bit hairy. If I start a passage on C6 the tuning is wild, and I struggle to control it. Going up from there to A6, the notes are really noticeably flat on the Bravo 1.5, and still perfectly in tune on the 1.5 Vandoren classic 1.5. So that's a deal breaker for the Bravo for my Grade 4 pieces. (Later - it turns out I can also do this if I blow really hard. Have to ponder whether that is acceptable for the ears of my audience :-) )
Just to check, I got out my Bravo 2.5 which I bought a year ago, and it is in tune right up to A6. I can't cross the break legato between C4 and C5 on the 2.5 either so I couldn't do my grade 3 pieces on this reed. #Complicated. I don't have a Bravo 2 to compare.
Finally - Here's a weird thing, but I think I like the taste of the Bravo best by some distance. Since having covid, my sense of taste has gone weird and I've had to switch from metal to plastic cutlery. (Apparently it's the same for a lot of people, the covid recovery site actually recommends plastic cutlery). I'm not sure if I'm imagining it, but I don't think I really like the taste of the Fibracell reeds. I like the cane taste well enough. But I am really quite enjoying the fact that the Bravo reed tastes of nothing.
I'm glad to have a reed I can disinfect too, because otherwise I end up throwing away a lot of reeds every time some new virus comes our way (which happens a lot here).
Anyway - so that's what I found.
Summary:
I really like the Fibracell 1 for being easy, althought is sounds a bit nasal. I like the Bravo for sounding lovely and tasting nice, but I can't cross the break legato with the 1.5 or 2.5, and I can't play altissimo in tune on the 1.5 unless I blow really hard, and I have no audience here to tell me if that is okay. The Vandoren is the go-to reed for playing everything, but I might have to bin several to find a good one, and they only last so long.
In fairness, I think they're all great reeds. Any of them would be really fine for a beginner.
That's my morning's work. Yay! I hope it helps some one out there.
(Edit: Further information added in the post below.)
(All just my subjective opinion btw, others may see it quite differently.)
Jen
(Yamaha Custom CX + J&D Hite E mp and string ligature)
Adult learner, Grade 3
Equipment: Yamaha Custom CX Bb, Fobes 10K CF mp,
Legere Soprano Sax American Cut #2, Vandoren Optimum German Lig.
Post Edited (2021-09-27 17:14)
|
|
The Clarinet BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
