Doper Clarinetists, help me choose a new brand of reed.

Cafe Society
1

I’ve been playing the B-flat clarinet since fifth grade, which would mean I’m entering my ninth year.

I’ve been using unfiledMitchell Lurie number 4-4 1/2s for a while now. While I like them, they have one major drawback: they’re only good for a few hours of playing, less if it’s humid. That’s about the same as one easy rehearsal and one practice session. The tone just fails, and no matter how much you support it, you’re not going to get a nice sound out of the reed. I really think I’ve outgrown the Luries.

I’ve also tried playing La Voz, and (my god!) they are holy flaming ass. Unresponsive, heavy, thick. Actually worse than the plastic reed I tried once, which isn’t saying much for the plastic reed.

I’m looking for a reed that is responsive, can be played for 6+ hours before dying, and costs less than $30 for a box of ten. If they have a reputation for having a good heart, that’s great. I’m not averse to a little preparation – wetting and a little shaping/filing. Uncut reeds aren’t for me, though.

I’m also in the market for a new mouthpiece. I’ve been playing the same student one that came with my clarinet (a wood Signet – it’s okay). I’d love a new clarinet as well, but I haven’t got a couple thousand dollars to spare, and I’m an English major anyway. So, if anyone has any suggestions for reasonably priced mouthpieces, I’d be all ears.

2

I’m a sax player (and an out-of-practice one to boot), but everyone always spoke highly of Vandoren reeds. They’re a bit more expensive than LaVoz, but usually better quality. Then again, with my tenor sax mouthpiece, I find I get the best sound out of plain old Rico "2"s.

3

Based on what you’ve been playing, I’d recommend Vandoren #4.

Make sure you’ve got a good quality reed holder. Keeping the reed flat (not warped) is very important.

And don’t be afraid to throw away reeds. Half of being a good clarinetest is knowing what reeds to just throw away and not waste time on.

4

You use a #4? Holy crap!!!

Anyhow, another vote for Vandorens.

5

Yeah, Vandorens.

Purple box for classical, green box for jazz.

6

Lou, I’ve used Rico when I played alto and tenor sax in high school, and I found that the sax reeds played better than the clarinet ones, for whatever reason. Strange that.

Vertizontal, (great username, by the way) have you seen the reed holders that open like a jewlery box and have a plate of glass to lay the reed on? I have a stupid plastic holder that the reeds slide into right now and I hates it, I do. I want a glass one. One of my master class teachers at music camp one year suggested using a plain pane of glass to dry reeds on to reduce warping. I’m wondering if that would work in Wisconsin’s summer humidity, though. And if it would promote molding, since there’s nothing to wick the moisture away.

I have the embouchure of a Viking, apparently. A Viking that’s been laying waste to La Voz City. And now onward to Van Dorenland! Thanks for the suggestions, guys. Van Doren it is.

7

Didn’t Stanley Drucker once visit the Van Doren factory once and ask to shake the hand of the guy who made the one good reed in every box?

8

Dammit. I stop by to suggest Vandoren and someone else already had.

And I had good results with my plastic reed. Tone sucked, but I could play loudly, and man! Those altissimo notes just popped out.

9

Another vote for Vandoren.

The other day, I was all out of reeds, and I went to pick up some more, and they only brand they had left were Rico - I hadn’t played with them in years. It reminded me why… (On the upside, the guy was really nice and didn’t charge me for them, just for sax reeds I was buying at the same time).

10

Eh. I sort of look on plastic reeds as an abomination before man- and clarinet-kind. One of the things I’ve always been complimented on is my rich tone and the plastic reed didn’t give me that. It vibrated weirdly too. It didn’t feel right at all. If a reed doesn’t give me a pretty tone, I don’t want anything to do with it.