A Guide to Current Vandoren Single Reed Products 2016

A Guide to Current Vandoren Single Reed Products 2016

Vandoren make a truly remarkable range of top quality products for the clarinettist and saxophonist. So much so that perhaps a little additional background might be useful when considering which choices might be right for your set-up and style.

For the manufacturer's explanation I recommend a visit to the main Vandoren website where their many products and much additional specification information, artists, news and images may be found.

www.vandoren-en.com

For UK and European ordering of Vandoren reeds I am pleased to be able to recommend visiting:

www.reeds-direct.co.uk for their unrivaled stock and service.

For information and ordering any of the wide range of Vandoren accessories I would like to recommend visiting:

www.vanbleu.com

For my summary and opinions - stay right here!

For each of the reed products the Vandoren website offer their intentions and design details. I find that these are sometimes difficult to decipher and I have developed my own, deliberately short, and hopefully memorable, characteristic tone and performance descriptions. I hope they might help and I encourage all players to try the logical options for them - as I have - and see what these fine reeds can offer.

For clarinet reeds the range now extends to 5 products:

Traditional - Brilliant, with great attack
V12 - Flexible, woody and warm
56 Rue Lepic - Dark, centred and stable
V21 - Response with warmth
and the quality student reed by Vandoren, the Juno - Reliable, easy play

For saxophone reeds the range extends to 8 products:

Traditional - Brilliant, with great attack
Java - Flexible and round
Red Java - Responsive, flexible and bright
V12 - Flexible, woody and warm
V16 - Punchy with edge and projection
ZZ - Flexible, responsive and characterful
V21 - Response with warmth
and the quality student reed Juno, by Vandoren - Reliable, easy play

All the above reed designs are manufactured using the same top quality cane - their different performance is due to the variety of profile used in the cut, the thickness of the tube of the cane used, the thinness of the reed tip, the taper of the blank and the amount of cane left in the heart and spine.

All the above reeds are, of course, available in different strengths, and the effectiveness of the match to the mouthpiece being used and the playing approach of the player are critical factors in the performance and successful use of any reed. An incorrect reed  cut or strength match will compromise the intended performance without any doubt. While it is true to say that a successful match is an individual choice there are some generalizations, based upon likely use and type of mouthpiece match that may help. I am attempting to place these on a spectrum of likely successful use - bearing in mind that narrower tip openings demand stronger strength reeds where as larger tip openings will generally require softer strength reeds - medium tip openings can match most strengths and cuts. The characteristic use (C) - Classical, (J) Jazz is shown at the far left of each line.

Use      Narrow Tip Opening          Medium Tip Opening       Wide Tip Opening 

(C)/(J)       Traditional --------------------------------------------------------------------                     
(C)      V12 --------------------------------------------                                                                 
(C)               V56 ------------------------------------------
(J)                                       Java --------------------------------------------------------- 
(J)                                       Red Java----------------------------------------------------                 
(J)                       V16 ----------------------------------------------------------                             
(J)                                       ZZ -------------------------------------------------------       
(C)            V21 --------------------------------------------------------                             
(C)                                           Juno ----------------------------------------                                     


I hope the short summaries above will prove useful. It certainly helps me to keep all these products clearer in my mind when I am advising pupils or customers.

---------------

The comments above are the result of many years of providing help and advice, my personal interest and study, and the teaching that I have done during my career. I have many colleagues and teachers to thank for sharing their thoughts and suggestions on this and other topics. In addition I am indebted to Woodwind & Reed, Cambridge ( www.wwr.co.uk ) where, in the course of helping customers, many of these concepts have been refined and have proven helpful.
Thomas Dryer-Beers

Reed Adjustment - A Survival Guide for the Single Reed Player

Reed Adjustment – a Survival Guide for the Single Reed Player

The single reed that clarinet and saxophone players rely upon is a piece of cane (from bamboo, Arundo Donax, therefore wood) which, when in use, is continually changing state between moist and dry conditions. The reed fibres swell and contract with moisture absorption and evaporation. In addition, the fibres of the cane are tubes that will collect skin cells from lip tissue and handling as well as saliva residue, food particles and dirt. The fibres will also, over time, lose their resilience after being subjected to the many hundreds of thousands of vibrations required in order to produce the tones we all love to make.

 No wonder reeds need care and attention!

To make your reeds last longer and player better try the following: 
Have a planned ‘break-in’ routine with your reeds - 

• Soak your reed for 30 seconds to 1 minute, in warm water if possible, tap / cold water if warm is not possible, or soak in your mouth if no water source is available.

• Place on a flat surface and press with your thumb along the vamp of the reed before playing for a maximum of 5 minutes when new. 

• Place that reed safely in a reed storage case and repeat with another new reed.

One should ideally try to have 3-4 reeds on the go at any time so as to avoid getting ‘caught out’ with nothing ready to play. Once a reed has settled the period of use can be extended to an hour or more over several sessions. If a reed is working particularly well you may wish to set it aside and mark it for performance use in the future.

If on the other hand a reed does not seem to be performing as well as you wish then it is time to see if it can be improved …

Sounding dull / playing with a stuffy, resistant feel -

Place the wetted reed on a flat surface and use reedrush (natural sandpaper), a ReedGeek tool or a very sharp, straight knife and gently work at the tip area to remove some of the some cane (always stroke away from the reed tip, never back towards it). If the tip area is evened up and made more flexible this may be all that is required. If the reed is still ‘not right’ check that the underside of the reed is truly flat by sighting along the underside of the reed with a flat ruler or straight edge of the knife looking in the direction of a strong light. If you see daylight leaking through either at the edges or in the middle then the underside of the reed has warped and must be flattened. You can use the tool edge or the straight edge of the knife to accomplish this. Finally, if this is not enough you can experiment with removal of some cane in the ‘heart’ region to reduce resistance. Be careful – you cannot put anything back once it has been removed.

If a reed is almost right but just feels a bit like ‘to much hard work’ try placing reed on the mouthpiece as usual and then press it in towards the facing with your thumb, holding it in a closed position for 10 seconds or so. I refer to this practice as ‘pre-ageing’ a reed and it can often be all a new reed needs to quickly settle in ready for successful use. 

Sounding thin / playing without enough resistance -

 First, test to see if it seems to play better when positioned ‘too high’ on the mouthpiece (i.e. deliberately extending the reed over the end of the mouthpiece tip by 1mm or so). If this seems promising then try to return strength to the reed by clipping it with a reed cutter (Cordier is my  favourite clipper, Vandoren do a fine precision clipper for their own reed range). Work in small stages and try blowing again following each clip. When the resistance feels right the reed may need re-balancing at the tip (see above) as you have effectively returned thicker wood to the tip through the clipping process.

The changing nature of reeds -

Once good reed begins to decline try rejuvenating it by gently placing it on the mouthpiece and with the ligature in place, insert a thin/stiff playing card between reed and mouthpiece facing and gently bend the reed away from the mouthpiece using the card. Re-test. This often does just enough to get through a concert or rehearsal session.

If you are returning to a reed which was once good and now seems to perform differently it is useful to bear in mind that changes of humidity and moisture content will affect cane reeds and what the reed may require is breaking in again or a review given a change of season. Do not throw it away as in a month or two it may be 'just right' once again.

In summary - 

The ability to analyse reed behaviour and to be resourceful with various adjustment options in the face of the inevitable challenges posed by the use of cane reeds is of great benefit to all players. This knowledge increases your confidence, reduces pre-performance stress, and leads to more playing enjoyment and helps to save money!

--------------

The tips and comments above are the result of many years of providing help and advice, my personal interest and study, and the teaching that I have done during my career. I have many colleagues and teachers to thank for sharing their thoughts and suggestions on this and other topics. In addition I am indebted to Woodwind & Reed, Cambridge ( www.wwr.co.uk ) where, in the course of helping customers, many of these concepts have been refined and have proven helpful.
 

Thomas Dryer-Beers

A Brief Guide Vandoren Clarinet Mouthpiece Terminology and Product Background

Vandoren Clarinet Mouthpiece Terminology and Product Guide

The Vandoren clarinet  mouthpiece range is large and can be confusing. The guide / tips below are reinforced by the Vandoren Reed and Mouthpiece Catalogue – well worth a read by all interested musicians – and my additional comments.

Terminology- 

1) In the Catalogue tip openings are listed from narrow to open and the appropriate reed strength suggestions offered by Vandoren are a good indicator of the relative tip opening and the expected successful reed matches. Generally beginners are (or should be) advised towards more open to moderate tip mouthpieces, including B45, B40 and M30. VERY WIDE tip openings are best left for knowledgeable players with the experience to choose to match their soft reed preference or a requirement of jazz playing (5JB, 7JB). VERY NARROW (Closed) tip openings are options for more experienced players seeking a mouthpiece to suit their preference for stronger reeds.

2) Profile 88 simply refers to an option in the beak angle (slightly more acute than the traditional beak) that many players will prefer but few will know by name. I believe this should be the ‘default’ choice for many players as it both likely to be more comfortable to play and more like any other familiar mouthpiece in ‘feel’.

3) The LYRE versions of any standard Vandoren mouthpiece are variants in the length of the facing, often paired with subtle changes in the tip opening, that will affect the playing feel of the mouthpiece. Lyre mouthpieces should retain the same tonal quality and pitch of their standard non-Lyre equivalents. 

4) The 13 Series is all about pitch and is designed to help modern instruments (often pitched at 442) to more comfortably play at A440 (as is the standard practice in the USA and UK). They can help any musician with a consistent sharpness in their tuning and will reduce the amount of ‘pull’ needing to bring the instrument to A440 tuning. The 13 Series is not intended to have any effect upon tone when compared to a non-13 'traditional' mouthpiece.

Additional product background –

Mouthpieces are made from a variety of materials including plastic (associated with student mouthpieces and ease of manufacture) hybrid materials (often for cost reasons but also for specific timbres of sound), crystal (glass) and various types of metal in addition to the traditional ebonite.

The reason the Vandoren range is made from ebonite (sulphurous hard rod rubber) is that this material provides the greatest manufacturing stability, warmest sound and workability for the purpose. Vandoren use only the finest quality of ebonite for their production and have the most accurate computer machining and finishing in the business. Their products are remarkably consistent – so much so that I would assert the performance differences between identical examples (if found at all) will almost always be down to the placement of the reed during the comparison by the musician.

The original and popular Vandoren mouthpiece was / is the 5RV. Designed by Robert Vandoren for French professional clarinettists desiring a bright sound, consistent performance and a comfortable match to their mid to stronger reed strengths. Vandoren call the 5RV their ‘time-proven standard’. It continues to be popular but it can be selected for the wrong reason, i.e. it will play very easily with soft reeds and if a player is not yet ready to move to the correct reed match, performance in the upper register will suffer.

The most successful and more often recommended mouthpiece in the Vandoren range is the B45 designed by Bernard Vandoren. It is intended to successfully match the lower and mid-strength reeds more regularly in use by improving players (around GD 4-5 and above). The B45 works well in many applications and for many levels of players. Vandoren call this their ‘Universal’ mouthpiece.

The more recently introduced M30 model offers a darker tone with a mellowness and warmth not found in the other mouthpieces of the standard range and works well with mid-strength reeds. It has proven popular and I believe it is worth all players experiencing.

The Masters or CL series of mouthpieces (CL4, CL5 and CL6) are recent introductions with a specific new design derived from the older, handcrafted designs favoured by many American orchestral players. They have an ease of playing, stability of tuning and clarity of sound that is distinctive and attractive to more experienced players.

The most recent release is the Black Diamond which is the result of much experimentation, with both internal and external design changes, and is intended to offer an option that generates a richer tonal palate and offers greater control of the entire range of the instrument – notably helping with the production of the altissimo (extreme high) register.

NB - Vandoren used to make a glass crystal mouthpiece that was popular but has for many years now been discontinued due to high production costs and the inherent fragility of glass.

 

General Trial Suggestions-

When trying mouthpieces it makes sense to have some idea of what one wishes to achieve with the change. For example - what type of sound is desired or which style of music will be performed most often, what aspects of instrumental control are the concern to be addressed via a change of mouthpiece (articulation, projection, tuning, response, comfort, range, etc) and what reed strengths and brand of reed one will wish to use. Armed with these thoughts a selection of appropriate mouthpieces can be suggested. Trying them briefly and consistently with new reeds, using a familiar scale, perhaps a passage of music and a variety of articulations and dynamics can quickly establish a likely choice - which may or may not lead to further comparable mouthpieces being tried and a winner selected. I suggest that anyone trying mouthpieces be prepared to consider matching different reeds to their new mouthpiece as this very important pairing may well determine the long term success and enjoyment one will experience. 

In Conclusion - 

The potential for improved performance that is so often found with a change of mouthpiece is potentially so profound that all players would be well advised to take whatever opportunities they have to become aware of new products, gain an understanding of the various options in specifications that are available and take note of any changes to their own playing requirements or instrumental progress that might benefit from a change of mouthpiece. In terms of playing satisfaction the finding of a mouthpiece well suited to purpose is hard to beat!

------------------

The tips and comments above are the result of many years of providing help and advice, my personal interest and study, and the teaching that I have done during my career. I have many colleagues and teachers to thank for sharing their thoughts and suggestions on this and other topics. In addition I am indebted to Woodwind & Reed, Cambridge ( www.wwr.co.uk ) where, in the course of helping customers, many of these concepts have been refined and have proven helpful.

Thomas Dryer-Beers

A Ligature Discussion - Clarinet and Saxophone

Ligatures in General

As an extra or upgrade 'add-on' for players the ligature has been a point of much discussion and debate for decades. Many different designs and materials have vied for attention and aspired to commercial success with what sometimes seem an endless parade of marketing in support the claims of better performance, tone colour, responsiveness, etc. This blog posting is my take on the subject.

 

The job of the ligature is to hold the reed securely in position on the mouthpiece. Everything follows from this. 

 

 

While many inexpensive ligatures are perfectly adequate there are also far too many that are of such poor manufacture quality or fit that performance problems are bound to occur leading to player dissatisfaction. Any metal ligature that is the wrong size, has become damaged or bent, or is not able to be tightened fully, should be replaced.

The possible upgrade ligature options fall largely into two categories:

• those designed to alter the natural sound by absorbing vibrations (to varying degrees) and 
• those that seek to affect the vibrations of the reed and mouthpiece (and hence the sound) as little as possible.

Many teachers and players know and recommend the Rovner flexible fabric range as a result of decades of familiarity and the standard, custom and light Rovner options fall into the first category. The Custom version, having additional material, absorbs more vibration and creates a darker sound; the Light version with the window cut away, absorbs less vibration and therefore has reduced a darkening effect. The Rovner standard (original) is the best known and the most often recommended as it suited to many playing styles and is the original and most familiar. Players perceive all of them as allowing the reed to play better – i.e. improved articulation response and reed sensitivity - over the performance of a standard metal ligature, the type supplied with most student clarinets and saxophones, and against which most comparisons are made. Every player should take time as some stage in their maturation to experience such products. Other manufacturer’s products falling into this broad first category include the Vandoren Leather and Classic string ligatures, BG standard flexible versions and Silverstein string ligatures.

In the second category are ligatures that rely on a small metal contact points to engage the reed. These are usually intended to allow the reed to vibrate as freely as possible and often seek as well to provide a greater security of contact between the reed and mouthpiece. All of these types of ligatures have the effect of increasing the presence of higher partial overtones in the tone, therefore sounding brighter, and aiding the responsiveness of the reed vibration as well as increasing the perceived volume of sound to be achieved with the same effort. Some versions are engineered to have as little contact as possible with the mouthpiece as well to further release vibration therefore maximising brightness (Francois Louis, Vandoren Masters Optimum, SAXXAS, Bonade, Rico H for example), others with much greater mass and increased contact with the mouthpiece are intended to add stability for a greater roundness of sound (Vandoren Optimum, Rovner Platinum, BG Super Revelation for example).

Some plastic ligature options are also worth considering, especially for the player who has ‘tried everything else’. Luyben and Bois with their dramatically different designs are cases in point and worthy of consideration.

 

How do I make a choice?

When you are trying ligatures is a good idea to make sure that you are using a new or ‘newish’ quality reed of sufficient strength (an older reed is likely to disappoint or make discrimination difficult and a too soft reed will disguise all benefits) and then  you should play the same scale, same volume, both legato and staccato, on each option under consideration, without spending too long on any one because it is the comparison BETWEEN ligatures is most important – they will all work - and one can easily lose track of what each plays like if too much time is spent.

A good ligature can be as important to a player as their choice of mouthpiece and it is worth taking time to discover the difference that can be made.

Apologies to any manufacturer whose products have not been mentioned by name. I am aware that despite my efforts there will be many omissions and, of course, new products are continually being introduced. I would encourage all players to be open minded and try the options available as widely  as is reasonable for them to do. It is not unusual to own and use a number of different ligatures for different purposes and to fit different mouthpieces.

Further comments:

How much should a ligature be tightened?

            Finger tight is the short answer. Too tight and the reed fibres are damaged and the reed’s vibration is strangled – too loose and the reed more likely to move or begin to warp and then  will not hold a vacuum.

Are most of the brands available for metal mouthpieces?

            Yes, but some metal ones have to be very carefully sized for fit. There can be more confidence and ease in offering flexible ligatures in cases of unusual dimension or shapes.

Personal opinion:

The ligature is the ‘icing on the cake’ and reflects a player's personal preferences and playing concepts. In my estimation the ligature is responsible for approximately 3-5% of the overall sound generated. It has a bigger impact upon ‘playing feel’ and reed response than tone quality itself.

In my opinion the mouthpiece, and very importantly its reed match, is far more important. My estimate is that together they are responsible for up to 70% of the overall sound generated. Getting this combination right will have a huge impact upon tone.

The combination of the above leaves just over 20% effect upon sound from the instrument itself.

These conclusions are not meant to suggest that the ligature or the instrument used is not important, far from it, but they should indicate the relative importance of the mouthpiece and reed working well together. As long as the ligature does its job - holding the reed in proper position - results will follow. It is in the subtleties of the result that the interest for the player really lies.

-----------------

The tips and comments above are the result of many years of providing help and advice, my personal interest and study, and the teaching that I have done during my career. I have many colleagues and teachers to thank for sharing their thoughts and suggestions on this and other topics. In addition I am indebted to Woodwind & Reed, Cambridge ( www.wwr.co.uk ) where, in the course of helping customers, many of these concepts have been refined and have proven helpful.

Thomas Dryer-Beers

Jazz and Classical Reeds. A Brief Comment on Jazz and Classical Single Reed Design

What makes a JAZZ reed? 

Why are some reeds designated CLASSICAL for use?

In truth almost any type of reed can be used for any type of music, after all, jazz and classical music are playing styles and as such they not specific to an narrow or exclusive sound palette or technical demands. However, in anticipation of the expectations of players, reed manufacturers make great efforts to offer products more likely to perform well on the type of equipment, i.e. mouthpieces and instruments, used and therefore more likely to meet the repertoire requirements for the different playing styles and as a result satisfy the needs of their diverse customers.

In general it is fair to say that JAZZ use reeds will have greater flexibility, less subtle (thicker) tip regions and less wood in the central heart region. CLASSICAL use reeds are generally the opposite having greater rigidity, thinner tip regions for greater subtlety of articulation and more wood in the central ‘heart’ region.

Many jazz reeds are designed to impart an ‘edge’ quality to the sounds to aid projection and achieve a distinctive ‘personality’ to an individuals tone. Classical reeds are intended to warm and round out the tone quality providing a more focused quality with an emphasis on stability and accuracy as these are most important aspects of performance for classical playing. Having said this there are many reed brands which are used successfully by musicians for both styles of performance, notably those by Vandoren (Traditional Blue Box) and various Rico brands, but even within their ranges some products are much more likely to succeed for one type of playing style over another.

In my personal opinion it is best to identify what one wishes to achieve from every set-up and for every style of music and select the best performing reeds for the purpose - even it this means having multiple brands and/or strengths always to hand.This is a relatively small price to pay for getting the best possible results from your equipment.

---------------

The tips and comments above are the result of many years of providing help and advice, my personal interest and study, and the teaching that I have done during my career. I have many colleagues and teachers to thank for sharing their thoughts and suggestions on this and other topics. In addition I am indebted to Woodwind & Reed, Cambridge ( www.wwr.co.uk ) where, in the course of helping customers, many of these concepts have been refined and have proven helpful.

Thomas Dryer-Beers Consultant to Reeds Direct Cambridge
Compiler of the Reeds Direct Cambridge Reed Strength Comparison Chart
www.reeds-direct.co.uk