Legere, The Ontario Cut, by far closest to flexible cane

This posting is actually an addendum to my other posting concerning this interesting product which has made great inroads into the world of reed instruments. I have done several long tests with the ordinary cut, the Quebec cut and now the Ontario cut.

Although all of these reeds will give you a good response, both the normal and the Quebec cut are not as  flexible the Ontario cut, in my opinion.

Readers may know that I have been using the Richard Hawkins “R” mouthpiece because it plays quite beautifully and also because he is an excellent clarinetist, a professor at Oberlin who has many fine sound clips all made with Legere reeds….. and he sounds quite lovely. 

So, my motive was to achieve what he has achieved with this same reed. Hawkins more than proves the quality of the reed, but I myself was unable to achieve it. Until I played these Ontario reeds. They are a bit shorter and much more flexible than are any of the other Legere reeds and I feel that with this Hawkins mouthpiece, I have come as close as I need to in order to play any of the repertoire utilizing this Ontario Cut Legere reed. It has been in existence for several years and I did prefer them when first I was sent a few, however it was not until recently that I was able to buy some that I was able to fully test  and with this Hawkins mouthpiece. They also play with my Gennusa mouthpieces, however staccato seems easier to perform with that special articulation that I like to use so much as in that middle section of the Debussy Rhapsody, the change in tempo and mood toward the middle of the work.(Actually my staccato is based on Hamelins early recording of the piece.) The Hawkins mouthpiece allows me to play exactly as I would with cane. I purchased the strength #3 and that seems perfect. The Ontario reed has three dots on the butt of the reed and I believe that it will be in greater usage as soon as they become more available.The tip is actually thinner than other Legeres allowing for more flexibility.

Congratulations, Legere!

 

Sherman Friedland

 

 

Sherman Friedland

A “Legerexperience”

Mr. Friedland:

I read your website frequently because I enjoy the information you offer to those to ask. I’ve noticed that you’ve been working with Legere reeds lately. I just wanted to share my experience with them. I first tried them in college, and I don’t think they had the Quebec cut yet. I found the reeds to be too thin in the heart (standard cut Legere), and I gave up using them. A couple years later I tried the Quebec cut. I liked the tone better, but I never could get a good response in the altissimo. I tried going down a 1/4 strength like many suggested to me…response was a little better, but I just didn’t feel I was getting it at the level of my best cane reeds.
I’ve since started using Tom Ridenour’s ATG reed system, and I’ve found it works well on Legere reeds. I started with some reeds that were slightly on the thick side and worked them down to my liking. I found that I really needed to do some work on the tips of the reeds to get the response the way I liked, but since I started with thicker reeds, I didn’t lose the tonal depth I wanted. I’ve had good luck with a Grabner K13. My wife and I just finished playing a show this past month. She’s heard me play Legere before I really got them working well. I didn’t tell her I played them for this show until a couple days after it was done, and she was surprised that I was using Legere again!

I don’t know how they’ve been working for you, but I thought I’d share my story!

J. W.
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Hello J. W .:
My story with Legere reeds has been that they’ve always worked for me, but they have never worked enough,meaning that I cannot get the quality of sound with the the flexibility that I desire.
I have tried every kind that I have purchased or that they have sent to me,Quebec cut, Ontario cut,Center cut, and eye of the round , but to no avail. I have yet to ever play one at a concert, but have on occasion at rehearsals, but cannot recommend them because I have the audacity to believe that my playing expresses a certain lyric quality,a vocal quality,which I cannot achieve with a plastic reed. I believe that it may take a player in the wrong direction to use plastic.
I know that Richard Hawkins, of Oberlin uses them and he is excellent,a great player. But alas, I cannot. Thank you for sharing your “legerexperience”.
Sherman

More on Legere, and hard rubber

Sherman,
I have decided to abandon my experiment with the
Legere reeds and am too going back to cane reeds, at
least for my soprano clarinet playing. I have found
that I produce too uneven and uncontrolled sound from
them. As the Legere reeds vibrate they have a
tendency of producing additional undesired harmonic
tones and periodic tone fluctuations. This is just
too hard to control and adjust.

I do still see a purpose for them, especially when
playing multiple instruments in quick instrument
change situations. Therefore I do still intend on
using them in my Symphonic Band where I am changing
quickly back and forth between the Bass and Alto
Clarinets. Not needing to wet the reed and being
confident that you will be able to play right away is
a nice convenience the Legere plastic reeds offer.
Also, it seems the harmonic variances and fluctuations
are not as dramatic or as noticeable on the lower
pitched instruments I have found. Maybe you might
have a good explanation.
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Thanks for the news about the L27. If only I were independently financially , I’d buy it in a minute, that and any other clarinet as well.
In any event, I believe that the extra and additional overtones or extra noises you are getting are attributable to the mouthpiece you are using, as I have experienced the same thing with the Redwine or Gennusa mouthpiece.
I have not gotten the same overtone or sounds on Fobes mouthpieces or a new mouthpiece, which I’ve heard about for years, first suggested to me by Mazzeo when I was studying with him so many years ago.
This is a Borbeck, one I have purchased to try fro WWBW. It was B stock, meaning someone may have scratched it slightly, but about 1/2 the price.
Beautifully finished, really, and affordable, about 75 bucks, I think.
The legere are on again off again, but it depends upon what you are playing on. If a regular Legere, try a half a number softer, but the Quebec cut seems better.
But, once more, they just play, no problem and with this Borbeck beak, it really leaves me worry free.
Right now, I prefer them, but then again, this has been an iffy transition for me, having experienced frustrations of many kinds with them, bringing me to an opinion that the reeds are not as consistent as they say, however one must remember that we are always fiddling with reeds made from cane, so it seems less with plastic. The idea of lengthy use, (make sure you keep them clean as they accumulate calcium.) (This from a great payer and teacher who uses them, Richard Hawkins, who teaches at Oberlin) He has worked on the legere for them, developing the Quebec cut, and for Leblanc with the Opus II. Go to his website and listen to him play many fine performances using only Legere reeds. He plays them when he plays with the Orchestra, where he plays clarinet and Bass, using Legere on both.
So, it is interesting finding someone like Richard who is shall we say, current, not an old guy like myself.
My experiences with the hard rubber instrument is that they do not have the same quality as wood, not worse mind you, but definitely different. My feeling is , if you can work, either literally or figuratively with hard rubber, you can save a bundle of money, but it is a different quality, a different response, if you will.
If I were auditioning for a big job, got the job and I won the audition using a hard rubber instrument, I would swear by them, really. That is the way of the world.
I believe that a young kid who may be talented but who doesn’t have the strength to make it in an orchestra should not have to pay 3 grand for a horn that will eventually be in the closet, which is my reason for supporting Toms horns.
That, and the fact that the scale is about as good as there is in the industry, save for the altissimo high F#, which is flat, no matter how you slice it, and the thumbrest which is too high, and badly made. (I can’t stand it).
best to you and thanks for the ad.
sherman

Legere Reeds, Zinners and Babbitts and the Arioso

Mt. Friedland,
Thank you for your wonderful “Clarinet Corner.” Though one may not agree with your opinions or advice 100% of the time, surely all agree with your forthrightness, professianlism, and generosity of help.

I have three unrelated questions. First, what is your current opinion of Legere reeds? I have come to play them solely, and I particularly like the “Quebec cut.” I listened in awe to Richard Hawkins playing with a Legere, though probably he could make a make a popsicle stick sound great.

Second, As I recall you have been in the process of obtaining a Lyriqe clarinet. I have an Arioso Bb which I like a great deal. I believe you also have an Arioso. If you now have a Lyrique, could you comment on the differences in it and the Arioso, and are the differences sufficent to warrant upgrading to the Lyrique?

Third, in commenting about mouthpieces, you have reffered to the Babbitt blank and Zinner blank. What are the differences in the various “blanks, and what may make one “blank” superior to another?
———————————————————————–

Hello James:
Thank you for your letter.
My opinion of Legere has changed over a couple of years, and I too am in awe of Richards playing/ He is very gifted.As a young person, I can strongly recommend that you go and play for him to get his reaction. He has to be a great teacher, further he assists Legere with their reeds and he helped design the Opus II of Leblanc, as I have been told.
There used to be so much prejudice against them, but that has softened considerably and so have my own feelings about them…. though in honesty I cannot play on them because I feel that for me at least, they are not as consistent as are cane, or more correctly, a good cane reed is more responsive to the kind of playing I do than is a Legere, though the Quebec cut comes close.
They sent me a few with three dots on the butt which also played well.
Anyone who plays them all the time is great and I hope feels more secure about them than did I . If you are using them and are successful, more power to you.
As far as he blanks are concerned, I only know how they sound which is different one from the other, but neither is better. Most of my judgements in fact, are based upon my impression of playing on them, not from taking measurements, which is not my forte.
Many prefer the Zinner because of its rich rather sensual quality, the Babbitt to me being less so, but more regular in achieving all results. Neither blank is superior. It couldn’t be, because what criteria would the player use to express his preference but useless personal adjectives which change for everyone?

I just received my Lyrique clarinet,for which actually I sold my Arioso in order to buy.
I bought the Arioso from a dealer who was dumping a few at low price.I really did think it great but had constant trouble with the bridge and two main joints binding.
I sent it to Tom a couple of times and he got it right for me, but the feeling I had about the fit still bothered me, hence my change to the Lyrique.
It is better in that it looks better and fits better than my Arioso and it is very well set up. The keys look better as well. I do not like the ergonomic register key and Tom is replacing it for me. (This purely my own background and not a reflection on the key.)
Actually it is just about the same as the Arioso. One thing is distinguishable between the two: the Lyrique is set up completely and personally by Tom Ridenour, and his set up, his very understanding of the clarinet in general is well worth the change. However,if you like your Arioso, you will be getting just about the same thing in the Lyrique.
One more thing, my A clarinet plays better than anything I have ever played in A. Years ago, when a student, we would always buy an A which played easier than the Bb because they were always so resistant and totally thick in the middle of the horn. One would have to practice on the A constantly and then the Bb was always easy to play.
The A that I have is also a Ridenour, but as I said, the best of any A I have played. This, I hardly practice the A because I will get spoiled.
Thanks for the comments about my site.
They are appreciated,
With best holiday wishes, I am , Sincerely,
Sherman

Legere revisited, for Dave and Carol

Dear Mr. Sherman
I was wondering if you have any experience
with the “legere” clarinet reeds, and if so, what your opinion is of them? I have been trying them for the past year or so, using them for practicing and find that they seem to work well with my setup. Although they took a while to get used to, they seem to play very similar to a V12 Vandoren reed, although they seem somewhat
freer blowing in the lower register, and produce a focused sound quite easily.
I was wondering what your thoughts of these reeds might be? I know they are not a replacement for a good cane reed, but they do give one the
opportunity to play on a reed that lays flat on the mouthpiece facing and stays open, seeming to make it easier to pick a good cane reed.
——————————————————————— Here is another note from another clarinetist:

What do you think of plastic reeds? I like the consistency and ease of play. I find my sound doesn’t “dip” as I tire as much as it does with a wood reed but I’m beginning to feel like I’m cheating myself a bit. I’m not sure if I’m ready to go back to hunting and pecking for a good wood reed that I need to dump soon after I have it just right because it’s had it.

——————————————————————–

Hi Dave and Carol:
I have had many experiences playing with and on Legere Reeds.ou should look in the index of the site under Legere and you will find a longish article I wrote last year relating the results of a 4 month test of Legere Reeds.
My feelings at the time were not very positive at all,but you should read that article for youself.
As far as the present is concerned I am playing on Legere reeds and finding no difference between the synthetic, (which sounds better than UGH, plastic). That is right no difference.
Why?
When I started my survey, I was playing number 2, 3/4 regular cut on a Van Doren M13 mouthpiece and I found the results quite good, however it was at the time necessary to get “used to” them. I then was sent a number of different cuts, some good, some sort of, a few not good at all. I then moved to Quebec cut Legere, # 3 and I started changing mouthpieces with many different results, none really good, or rather assuring. I did not feel as if I could play on this reed in performance.After several months I went back to cane, with very good results, specifically the Gonzalez FOF, and Zonda, both #3 both with good results.
Then I came across an old Gennusa mouthpiece, one that produced what I call, a darker quality of sound, not as bright or trebly as the Van Doren. I began tryig the Gennusa every few days, liking what I was getting.
Then I sent this mouthpiece to Ben Redwine, current pwner and distributor
the Gennusa mouthpiece. He is a very good mouthpiece maker, and he copied the mouthpiece I had sent him, and, though I have tried others, I keep coming back to Bens mouthpiecew, the one he copied for me from the one I had inadvertantly found.
Just a few days or a week ago, I gathered up my Legeres for filing in the round file.
Prior to extermination, I tried a few and was shaken. Why? Because they, (especially the older Legeres, (pre Quebec cut) played like cane, no problems, intune, all ranges, dynamics, everything I want in a reed.
That is where I am now. I have a hard time believing it, but must recommend this Ben Redwine Gennusa mouthpiece for your consideration and Legere reeds as well.
I wouldn’t have believed it, but I think what I want to leave you with is just play the things; don’t get used to anything. Only one thing, or rather
2. Get the right strength, and yes , it is possible that you may have to change your mouthpiece.
I did, and am very happy, and recooment these reeds .
I also want to suggest tat you go to Richards Hawkind website. He is an excellent clarinetist, makes prisitne mouthpieces and has a number of playing examples on his site. The kind of music I play, Brahms, Stravinsky, etc. All of the examples were played on Legere reeds.
That is about as much as I can say. Go with these reeds. They are the future for the clarinet reed. They just play too well.
It is my understanding that Mr. Hawkins has workd with them at Legere in developing the Quebec cut, and further that he will be going to work with them again at the end of May.
Good luck, and play well.

Sherman Friedland

>This update is written after trying the new Forestone reed for 5 days. It is the best synthetic reed I have played , bar none, including Legere, which requires all kinds of changes prior to getting the right cut, the right strength and then, tthe right mouthpiece. The Forestone requires really none of the above and plays like cane on your mouthpiece with no changes of anything , save the reed itself.May 23, 2009.

SF

Legere synthetic reed, and what to play it on, and how, and what to change.

This entry was first written in 2007. There have been many changes in all of the synthetics available. Legere itself has produced other cuts and models, its newest being its best.I have found a synthetic which for me, is the closest to cane, without the inconsistencies of cane.

To those readers who have an interest in Legere, here is a candid story from a doubler who has given Legere a very comprehensive try and has had some good results, also my own response, which as you know, was a bit different. I hope that this can be of some help in discerning whether a try of this synthetic would be of interest.In the end, I have reached a slightly different conclusion on this product, one based upon a long trial and comments such as those of Mr Aldridge.
The conclusion is quite simple: If you are searching for a reed that will allow you to play without preparing the reed prior to blowing it, this reed may be for you. You can put it right on , blow and it will play. Now, as to what contortions you may go through and also put your equipment through before becoming satisfied, that is quite another story.
The sound is only acceptable for a few minutes, then you begin searching: mouthpiece,ligature, reed strength, even instrument. If you have to alternate reeds in order to play them you are in the same ballpark as cane. Just what is it that you are doing? It plays immediately. So?
I myself, prefer cane reeds. I have never been kept from playing no matter how many times I have given clinics or taught while playing because of a dry or weird reed. I usually speak durng the performance of a concert of chamber music without fail. It is a way of becoming friendly with the audience and it is also informative. Never has a cane reed stopped me from speaking, or demonstrating.
best regards, sherman
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Sherman,

Speaking from my personal experience, I ended up changing mouthpieces and ligatures in order to get the best possible results I could with Legere reeds. I discovered that Legere reeds work better on some mouthpiece facings than others. When I tried Legere reeds on some mouthpieces the results were absolutely terrible. But, on another mouthpiece….hooray.

Most of my performances are in doubling situations. In this context having a synthetic reed that I truly like is like a gift from God after years of picking up a clarinet or saxophone from the stand to find a dried out reed. I first discovered the potential of Legere reeds on clarinet. If I had not seen that potential early on, frankly, I would not have bothered with them and the Legere reeds would have gone into the trash can….following the path of every synthetic reed I tried over the years.

As I mentioned in a previous message, it took me several weeks to become comfortable with Legere reeds on clarinet. But, it took even LONGER on saxophone. I quickly discovered that Legere reeds (regular cut) sounded terrible on my primary mouthpiece. I then went through a period of trial & error to see if I could find a facing that gave me a better results with Legere. Long story short, I hit pay-dirt with the Ralph Morgan 6C saxophone mouthpiece. For whatever reason, this facing and mouthpiece design works in a stunningly beautiful way with a #2.5 regular Legere.

I experienced similar mouthpiece issues on bass clarinet. I had been using a Morgan D. Cane reeds work fine on it. But, with Legere response went to hell in a hand basket. I then tried a Walter Grabner LB mouthpiece with a #3 Legere and it was like finding the promised land. I was amazed at the differences the Grabner mouthpiece made.

After getting such good results with the Grabner/Legere match on bass I then HAD to try a Grabner mouthpiece on soprano clarinet. Walter suggested his K14 Kaspar-style piece. I tried it with a #3 Legere Quebec and was deeply impressed with the improvements it gave me over the previous mouthpiece I used with Legere.

Along with the trial & error I was having with mouthpieces, I also discovered that the ligatures I used quite happily with cane reeds were problematic with Legere. So, more experimentation with Ligatures! UGH….. But, again I hit pay-dirt — this time with the Vandoren Klassik string ligature. Remarkable improvements!

Looking back, I shudder to think about all of the work I put into finding the best possible match between myself as a player, my equipment, and Legere reeds. I would NOT have done that for a different cane reed! However, I’m extremely happy with the results I’m getting on each of my instruments. I can honestly say that I’m happier now with these set ups than I was before. However, it’s also clear to me that Legere reeds are not for everyone. If one is happy with cane reeds on their particular mouthpiece and equipment why change?

Best Regards,
R A

Reply To Message

R:
Many thanks for your interesting and thoughtful reply concerning Legere reeds. The clarity with which you speak and the intensity of your search is impressive. I didn’t think there was that much to be gained, and it was perhaps my own problem, however I’m quite delighted that you are happier now.
see my article on Leger on my survey elsewhere in the archives.

s.f

Here’s a thought: as the field becomes more crowded and the product more consistent, players may always find tiny differences, which will exacerbate the problem…..all over again. There has been a perceptible change for the better with the appearance of the newest of the Legere reed. I will have to check the name. It does play circles around the others for the most part, however please give the poor players  a break on the price, which is around 30 bucks a pop, taxes in.

A Comment on my comments on Legere

Mr. Friedland, you have had a number of less than positive comments about Legere reeds. I have never requested a refund, but I have successfully exchanged them until I found the strength I prefer, a #3. You also seem to dismiss the Legere reed as being only a “plastic” reed. I don’t really care, as I have been complimented on my tone when using a Legere reed, and I find them more much more playable and reliable than the usual cane reed or other synthetic reeds. I can buy a Legere #3 and know what I am buying. Good luck in finding even one decent cane reed in a whole box. A Legere reed may or may not be as good as the best cane reed, but I sure like them.

———————————————————————- Reply:

You are most certainly entitled to your opinion and it is certainly respected.
I do think however that the material is plastic.
I find many reeds that are playable in each box of cane reeds I purchase, really many. The reeds have changed very much in the past few years, the import of cane from Argentina and Australia being most important in this change.
There are also reeds from Valencia in Spain and they are excellent as well.
Legere frequently get tubby very quickly, cane,if treated well, last much longer.
I tried Legere for six months and my writings about them are my conclusions after this much time, and many years as a professional clarinetist.
I am glad you have good comments on your tone.
Good luck in all your work.
sincerely,

sherman friedland

Legere Synthetics, my six month trial, with updates

Several months ago I received an unannounced telephone call from a complete stranger in Toronto. A heavily accented gentleman, he wanted to talk to me about a product he was representing, one that he wished me “to write about”.
It was a plastic reed, however he wished it to be called “synthetic” even though it is plastic.
I related to him my experiences playing such a reed as Principal Clarinetist of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra forty years ago. I told him that they vibrated, sounded something like cane but had a nagging ability to stay fresh while my embouchure got tired. Further, I related, I received and had received compliments on my playing until I told someone in the orchestra that I was playing plastic. From that moment on I became a pariah.
We continued talking and he, at the conclusion of our conversation said I was a gentleman and that he would send me a few samples, which he did. I received these reeds with interest and for the last several months I have been trying them(and more than 60 purchased from Music 123) and I feel prepared to give my readers my impression
Oh, yes, I almost forgot, they are called Legere and they are patented by two PHDs in Toronto(in chemistry) . It sems that they are amateur clarinetists and wished to designed something that would allow them to play without worrying about the vagaries of cane.
In essence they did well, for it does play and about as well as any other plastic reed. It plays for longer, costs 5 times as much and they claim that you can get get your money refunded if you are not satisfied, something which I have not found to be the case*.

The question is of course, how do they play?
They play as if designed by two Phds in Chemistry who want to have no further reed worries as amateur clarinetists.

They do play for hours and they play intune (if you do)
Curiously, I heard over and over again by people in authority that yes, you may have to get used to them**, and that you may have to change your mouthpiece for them***, both of these facts I found to be very true.
As to the quality, there are several qualities available: The ordinary Legere which is very bright, brittle is the word a former student of mine, now a respected professional said. I have heard them described as far as the quality is concerned as “bright enough to peel paint” I would have to agree.
There is also another cut available: “The Quebec Cut” which purports to be be less bright, but in my tests I found it to be a thunky quality but certainly less bright. When they get a bit older, they really get very tubby and you have to change them or alternate them.
They do play however, let me stress that.There is also a model with three dots on the butt which plays a bit more like cane,and is darker which of course is the whole problem: they are trying to emulate the sound of cane without the adjustment problems, and actually they wind up with a whole other set of problems. Read the articles, and you will find all of these new problems well described. I did test these reeds for a good six months of playing nothing else in order to attempt to be fair.
Now, there was one absolutely unequivocal compliment, this from a retired Music Educator who had developed mouth cancer. After treatment his mouth is constantly dry and he could not play ordinary cane reeds. I suggested Legere to him and he was very happy because the reed claims to be remain always like a reed that is wet, and for him, it certainly did, and he was very grateful****.
For everyone else I find the comments equivocal: that is to say, “you have to get used to them”. “You may have to change your mouthpiece”
“They are extremely bright”
For me, I find them unexpressive to a remarkable degree. The timbre remains very much like the color of the reed, kind of like skim milk.
A problem remains, that of being able to play or to practise on plastic when one does not wish to use his or her special cane reed.
How in the world does one do that, I would ask?
The subleties of a good cane reed are as full of life as the music of the composers, and subtle responsiveness is totally lacking in these plastic synthetics. If I am playing a sonata by Brahms or Hindemith, a chamber work like the Mozart Quintet or the Messiaen Quatour, how do I practise those works on plastic?
My conclusion? I don’t.
Best holiday wishes,
sherman
* I was offered absolutely no refund for any reed which I did not like. I was given an address where to send the reed, with a satement that I would be sent another. This is not the same as money refunded.,

** Just what does “getting used” to a reed mean? If one must get used to plastic, then why not play cane? Plastic is serious. Sorry, but it is dead, and cane is hopefully not, and we all know that it will change with us as we play. The question must be asked? Is that not an advantage?

*** I find this to be the most serious incongruence of all. We seem to spend so much time finding the right mouthpiece, the best response, the best timbre, intonation, etc, and then we are asked to blur all of those subtle things with changing a mouthpiece for a plastic reed?
**** this person has recently written stating that in the end the Legere were too brittle and he just prefers to keep a glass of water by his side while playing on cane”.
One person with whom I spoke told me that she cannot play on the reed for it is too brittle, however every once in a while she will take out her B45(dot) and just play away with no worries at all.

I find all of the above a strong warning to stay away. Or perhaps not.
Step right up! Here is a set of problems to replace the problems of cane?

Happy New Year.

fed up, exhausted , In rural New Zealand, and, a response

stalled out. I play old time jazz (favorite Albert Nicholas) and hassidic/klezmer wedding music (fantasize Dave Tarras, “the Jewish Benny Goodman”) on an unique antique Buffer C 2-ring Albert system, with Boehm style long keys. I’ve had it for 35+ years and love it. I am using a 15 year old Ralph Morgan C Clarinet mouthpiece, a new Van Doren ligature (replacing Eddie Daniels) and Legere 2-3/4 Signature reeds that could be past their prime. Plays best at about A=441.(response;comment. Ralph Nicholas seems to play more like Benny Goodman, and plays well, especially in the low register, where he emulates Goodmans use of triplets outlining chords(1900-1973)/ Listening to Dave Tarras is much more fascinating, since Tarras seems to be a clarinetist who needed work and drifted into Klezmer without too many chops for Clarinet, period. The clarinet played by Mr Mermin is interesting, but only in the sense of his love for it. The C clarinet muthpiece is nothing he needs and not neceesary to duplicate. It is the length and pitch of the horn, which can be played by any Bb clarinet mouthpiece, without much sacrifice. Nobody who plays C, plays a C mouthpiece. As far as a new mouthpiece for your clarinet, I cannot suggest any better maker than Richard Hawkins, of Oberlin College. Astonishingly consistent mouthpieces, very well made.

… So maybe this is time to revisit all of the pieces.(comment: how interesting that most of us come to this conclusion, which is usually overlooked because of an impending job or , “on second thought“, maybe not. But, in your case, you can certainly use a new horn, more contemporary, which would mean “better tuned”, and perhaps those long keys you talk about, have already mention Hawkins mouthpieces, and I repeats, a c clarinet mouthpiece is simply not needed. I play c clainet withmy regular Bb mouthpece, without any problem. Most do. And , do not cut the barrel short, which would mean a trip to tiger country, a dangerous place, probably, even more so in New Zealand.

The Van Doren metal ligature with it many twists and turn and plates, is too heavy for any clarinet. A virtual shtick drek, even in France, and it is too expensive, and it is too heavy, though you may like its looks. The Eddie Daniels ligature is a fabric version of the Van Doren, expensive, and gaudy with its gilt colors. I is virtually a copy of the Rovner, which, in its simplest form, is the best ligature for your instrument and your mouthpiece.

You ask if Legere reeds wear out. My problem is the opposite. They do neither. I have never found one that has been duplcated. Crazy for a synthetic reed, the best proberty of which should be its ability to play like the next. That, dear sir is what synthetic implies .hey cannot be duplicated,therefore they cannot be revived. Forestone comes much much closer.

The cost of any so-called synthetic reed is in itself punitive, therefore prohibitive the forestone reed plays for a long time, with no real change in the quality. It doesn’t matter what your age might be. 20 bucks or more for a synthetic reed is ridiculous. Of course, when you hear a fine players demonstrated on synthetic, it does sound well. But that player sound well all the time on cane or a bird or a plane.

The best new stick or clarinet for your is Ridenour, any of the variously available models./
. Very well made, inexpensive, and doesn’t break or crack, not even in NEW zealand.

beat of luck , always, sherman

Deja entendu, again, the synthetic and the difference

Factually, a synthetic reed is a copy of a cane reed. In order for a copy to be made to sound like a cane reed, it should play the same. There are two companies manufacturing reasonably acceptable synthetics” Forestone “and “Legere.”

The Forestone process is a complete process, the reed is finished , ready for playing, it being a molded process, but Forestone is able to make the tip flexibly thin as an end process.

Legere is also a molded process, howeer the concluding step is the cutting of the tip of the reed with an excellent diamond quality tool. Two Legere reeds will each play slightly differenly. Two Forsetone reeds will be much more similarly, one to the other ,because of the complete process of the manufacture.

I was given many of each, free . Big deal. The Legeres have so many (seemngly mind boggling) cuts. That is like cane. We are attempting to limit the variables, why make multiple slightly different copies?

Forestone are much more consistent because the process is complete.

After that, it is all a matter of sales pitch, price and opinion.

stay well.

sherman