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Re: white master eb reeds?

Author: Hunter_100
Date: 2022-05-02 23:14

kdk wrote:

>
> Traditional Vandoren reeds are typically harder (stiffer) than
> the same strength V.12 or 56 Rue lepic. The difference is how
> the thicker wood is distributed when the reed is cut and not
> really how stiff the cane is. So a #3 V.12 isn't going to be
> really "similar to the 3.5 Traditional", although you may just
> prefer the feel of a #3 V.12. The taper of the vamp both toward
> the tip and toward the two sides is different between the two
> models.
>

Maybe it is just semantics, but I think the V12 is more resistant than the traditional for my embouchure and mouthpiece.

>
> Unless I'm misunderstanding you, it sounds as though you're
> taking a new reed out of the box and playing it for "30 minutes
> or so" and finding that the reed is waterlogged. I'm surprised
> you get to play that long on a brand new reed of any brand or
> model before it starts getting soggy. You may get better reed
> life if you play on the reed for 4 or 5 minutes for a couple of
> sessions and gradually increase the length of time on it over
> several sessions. The whole process of "reed break-in" has a
> million variants, but they all take for granted that a brand
> new reed is porous and waterlogs quickly.
>

Yes, you are misunderstanding. I do break in reads like you said and I rotate reeds, usually 4-5 at any given time. What I'm saying is that even with a broken in reed traditional reed, I find its playing characteristics change from the moment it comes out of the case. After playing for some amount of time, I can tell the reed tip gets very saturated and feels softer. On my eb, this equates to flatter altissimo notes. I have been getting better results on the V12s, and it is motivating me to experiment further with reeds. I do not have the same issue on my Bb clarinet, which I play traditional reeds on.

Anyway, the point of my original question was to see if anyone had tried the eb white masters, because I am curious to see how they work and I don't want to spend $40+ to find out they don't fit on my clarinet mouthpiece. Vandoren's website has no information about the strengths, widths or cut profiles of the white master reeds, which I find odd since they have strength recommendations for all their other reeds/mouthpieces.

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