The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Re: Synthetic Redux

Author: MarkS
Date: 2022-12-04 19:33

SecondTry:

I have been playing on synthetic reeds for several years. I started with Legere European Signature, and was quite happy with both tone and articulation. Some issues with flatness, but it reduced after a couple of months. When Silverstein came out with Ambipoly, I tried them out of curiosity, and preferred them over Legere mostly based on richness of tone. I also found them to play somewhat darker than the Legere. When the Primo and Vivace options came out, I tried both. For playing classical music, I had a clear preference for Primo. I continued playing Primo until very recently, when I decided to try the second generation Venn, as well as revisit Legere (now the new formula European Cut). Midway during the period when I played Ambipoly, I switched from a medium open Grabner MP to the Playnick Nommos B2, which was specifically designed for Ambipoly reeds, and reviewed by Eric Black. It is more open than the Grabner, and has a wide tip rail that also increases the resistance.

I have not had success with the Venn, either 3.5 or 3.0. I tried to sand the 3.5 but my sandpaper seemed to be too fine to make any difference. (Can you tell me what grit you used?) On the other hand, I am quite happy with the Legere on the Grabner MP. My initial reaction is that the tone is better than what I remembered, and it is more responsive to articulation than the Ambipoly.

I am surprised to hear quite a few players refer to the Ambipoly reeds as "unplayable." They play a bit different than Legere, but no problem getting a good tone. Since I am an amateur, it is certainly possible that there is something that causes top professionals, including endorsers of other Silverstein products, to choose not to use them. When you try them, make sure you SOAK them for a couple of minutes in a cup of water. (Just wetting them by mouth may not be sufficient.) For a new reed, expect it to seem unplayable at first. I just play scales without articulation until it begins to respond (about 10 minutes). After about 20 minutes it plays reasonably well, and after the second day of playing it is fine and does not change further. This requirement makes it cumbersome to try the same reed on different mouthpieces. By the way, once you wet a reed, it stays hydrated for at least two hours, so you can wet a backup reed before a rehearsal or performance, and it will be ready if you need to change.

It also seems to me that Ambipoly reeds, and perhaps Legere as well, are more sensitive to matching the optimal strength for a given mouthpiece, and do not play well with even a slight mismatch. One advantage of the B2 MP is that the wide tip rail provides a greater lattitude for tip position of the reed. I found that a reed that would be unplayable with the tip lined up with the MP tip could play well with the tip of the reed lowered significantly.

Mark

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics