Clarinet reeds?

[The Big Ben]

I would never, ever, buy a reed player any reed other than what they already use. \

My wife is only playing the Vandoren reeds because that is what I bought her 5 years ago or so. I think before that she was using Mitchell Lurie on an HS*. So, I think she would be open to anything that was an improvement on what I gave her. I am willing to take that chance

That's why I suggested buying four or five different ones to try and get her a dozen of what she likes.

[timothy42b]

I don't play clarinet. A family member who does, professionally, and earned his living that way for a lot of years before kids required health insurance <g> switched to synthetic. He says there's a bit of a snob factor with other players but they perform well and are much more consistent.

[Voisi1ev]

I mean we have things to deal with, but anyone else ever really glad they don't need to deal with reeds?

[Donn]

Let us know how she likes it.

[WC8KCY]

Good call on the 5RV Lyre, Stryk. That's a can't-hardly-miss proposition.

The B45 has long been considered functionally obsolete. Bloke's mentioning these in the same breath as the 24AW tuba 'piece is spot on: one can get excellent results--but it's much more work with these hoary old mouthpieces than it needs to be.

[WC8KCY]

When I started teaching in 1980 the B45 what the absolute gold standard and Vandoren was the gold standard reed. Being a tuba player and teaching in a town in the middle of nowhere sometimes kept me away from the newest clarinet trends. My wife plays clarinet, but isn't obsessed with it like some of us are with tubas. She plays what she has always played because someone told her that was what she should use.

Heh, this got me thinking about the 1980s when, as a serious high school student, I was considering a career as a band director. Reliable Information about equipment came through The Instrumentalist magazine, and occasional contacts with college instructors. The emphasis then was always on the instruments, not mouthpieces and other accessories. Nearly everyone just played whatever mouthpiece came with their instrument.

The B45 did make a lot of sense for use with the wide-bore clarinets that were in common use then: Bundy 1400, Selmer Centered Tone and Series 9, the Buescher Aristocrat, the various and sundry Boosey & Hawkes models, and the Pruefers that were still lingering about in circulation. All of these had low inherent blowing resistance and a high-resistance piece such as the B45 or Selmer HS-Star provided working resistance needed for efficient playing.

Since then, polycylindrical-bore instruments inspired by the Buffet R13 have pretty much taken over the clarinet world. All of them provide significant inherent working resistance, obviating the need for the likes of the B45.

[WC8KCY]

I remember when it was more common for someone to have a top-line Leblanc/Paris clarinet than a Buffet.

That having been said, there were quite a few Evette-Schaffer Buffet clarinets floating around (but not very many top-line Buffet's).

Having spent my first thirty years in Michigan's Upper Peninsula--closer to Kenosha and Elkhorn, Wisconsin than Elkhart, Indiana--our local music stores stocked gear sourced from G. Leblanc and Getzen. Their stuff was everywhere. I still wince thinking of the Getzen Elkhorn sousaphones I had to endure in high school--they were dreadful.

When you were ready for a step-up instrument, you could, by appointment, drive down to the Leblanc plant in Kenosha and try out anything they had on hand. They'd also give you a tour of the plant. I tried out some Holton tubas there, and it was a wonderful experience. Sadly, those days are over.

I never encountered a Buffet clarinet until I was at university. The Noblet 45 and Leblanc LL were the step-up and pro clarinets played by all of my clarinetist associates, and nearly everybody who owned one had made the trip to Kenosha to personally select the one that was best for them. You couldn't do that with Buffet or Selmer, and nobody took Yamaha seriously enough back then to bother making the trip to Grand Rapids.