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couldn't hear a difference between stock and the rubber Behn, but the SS one had slightly more punch... if I won the lottery and could buy this, I would be getting it for the tuning adjustment ability, not for tone per say. going from a cold AC room and then playing outdoors in humid/hot venues is difficult, but this barrel would seem to be the solution....
Kinda shitty of the audition committee tbh, nearly everyone plays the excerpt on Eb, I imagine the only folks playing the original D part already have elite orchestra jobs
Do you find that that the Legere Signature clarinet reeds require significantly more embouchure effort when the blowing resistance is more or less the same as a cane reed such as Vandoren? I do for clarinet. Not so much with alto sax, for me anyway.
Thank you for another great video. My personal preference was for the metal barrel which a little more edge and projection. I think it may be better for orchestral playing, but I am sure they are both great. We could end up with more barrels than clarinets in our case. Sorry bad joke! Thank you once again looking forward to your next video. God bless you. Bill. Uk 🎶🎶🎶
Question- I have only done one audition and the committee cut me off and said "thank you". Does the committee say thank you to everyone? Like because you got to the end of the excerpt list, how do you know it was a rejection thank you and not a thank you, you will know our decision shortly
Bro, you are the gold mine i have been looking for: a clarinet based RU-vid channel. Too bad you stop posting, but if started again just know that i will happily watch your videos
Every Tosca I have ever heard or tested sounds like the instrument is getting in the way of the music. Lots of reedy and woody quality especially in the throat tones instead of just sounding like a clarinet, and lots of keywork noises - way more than any other Buffet instrument! I'm not super impressed with it and I don't get what the hype is all about. The mopane R13 sounds nice but not as dense/dark as I prefer. Obviously no way to know for sure without playing it myself but I think GreenLine is still my preferred material
I've made my own reeds for years and the key is can quality. Much of cane used in commercial reeds is too "young." Reed making gives the player so much more control. That said, I'm now retiring and have reed-making tools available for sale. Please write me a note if interested in purchasing the equipment.
Not fan of the flip flop sound from the left pinky to right pinky interactions on those notes when laying down all the keys. Could be player technique error or the instrument itself. The last option is a deal breaker.
IMHO, the best ligature is when you hold the reed on with your thumb! I’ve played the Gigliotti ligature for years. It is a modified Bonade. I like it because if I accidentally step on it it won’t bend 😊
According to Vandoren's strength chart, the Rue Lepic 3.5 is a very soft 3.5, relative to their other reeds. Could this account for why you did not think it produced as big a sound as the others? I play Vandoren 3.5 Traditional or a V12 3.5+, and a #4 Rue Lepic seems closest to these for me. I have found the V21s to be very hard, relative to other Vandoren reeds of the same # strength, significantly harder than the Vandoren strength chart suggests.
You only played one vintage reed in the video. Are telling us that that reed was pretty representative of many of the reeds in that same box that you tried?
You make a good point. Many people think that they will be the exception. I think part of this is the fact that when we are in high school back in our regions that we might be considered to be a phenomenon. Places like Curtis, Juilliard, the Paris Conservatory, etc. are literally gathering points for such people. The math is scary because you are not just competing with those people for an orchestra job. You are also competing with people that attended school before and after you as well. Since conditions are so harsh, corruption is rampant. One of the biggest sucker games going is screened auditions. The orchestras ALWAYS know who they want well in advance (or at least have narrowed the pool way down). For example, if your mother walked behind a screen and spoke, you would know that it's your mother without having to see her face, right? Everyone has a "fingerprint." Signals can also be used. I've seen and heard about it all because I've been a member of an audition committee but refused to participate in the corruption (was never asked back).
Someone should also mention that since demand is so small, the level of corruption is very high. This means that even if you are exceptional you can be perpetually blocked out simply because you weren't in a certain circle. This has happened to me and many others.
It's mostly ultra wealthy Koreans and Chinese involved in classical music. When there families are worth 8 or 9 figures, all of these figures are meaningless. That's reality.
I liked the SandS standard 2 ring and Fat Boy wooden ring best. I guess I would say I like the latter best overall, but I don't here any really dramatic differences with any of them.
I thought the Privilege had a slightly more brilliant sound and the Muse had a slightly denser and richer sound than the others. The rest sounded pretty much the same to me and none of them jumped out as being drastically different.
Great video. When I was a kid had a selmer catalogue from the 90s and I used to dream about owning one some day. What a thrill it was that my first clarinet was a Selmer 300 student model. Back then I always wanted the gold plated one they offered at the time... if you told me back then I'd some day have a gold set of cocobolo Backuns (which didn't exist yet haha) I would have been super excited!
Thanks Sean, love the vignette! I remember similarly dreaming about all the different instruments you could find in the old WWBW Catalogue that would come out; my Dad always had a copy on his desk as a kid! Past me would have been super excited I eventually got to try these all out as well!
You sound good on all these, but I do prefer your sound with the stock barrel. More overtones and colors with that barrel, to my ear. By the way, regarding synthetic barrels, Is there one you particularly like that has maximum projection, while still maintaining a reasonably full sound and respectable intonation with an R-13 or similar instrument? I actually intend to use it on a plastic instrument mostly (Backun Alpha) for playing in louder situations in difficult climatic conditions. For reference, my standard barrel on the R-13 is a Chadash.
How does their strength numbering system compare with Vandoren's? If you were going for a sound a bit more on the brighter and more flexible side, which reed of any make would you chose? FYI, I play Gregory Smith 1+ and Kaspar-style mouthpieces (mostly with Vandoren regular and V12 #3.5 reeds), if that is any help.
IMHO the Muse and the Signature are tied in the first place, but with different characteristics. While the Signature is pure silk and velvet, the Muse is a swashbuckler. Now the Prestige is a close second place and the Recital comes next. The Presence would be a definitely great choice by the price and quality combo.
In my dreams I would have a Bb Muse and an A Signature in my bag. The first to play Choro, Jazz and Pop music, the second to play Classical and all kinds of introspective music.
Thanks for sharing your experience! Auditions are such a F*****G nerve wracking experience. I recently took one, I prepared really well, went and played for one of the top players in the field. It's such a "cattle" call. You show up, wait and wait and wait. I played really well considering they didn't even have a clarinet stand so I had to put one instrument on the floor . I started the last excerpt, and my G# didn't speak, so I started again, big mistake. The more I played, the more nervous I became and totally blew it! It was so disappointing. All of that hard work for NOTHING!!! And the damn "Job" only pays $10K a year, this field really SUCKS!!!!!! I'm going to continue to play, practice and improve but I think I'm done with auditions.
I'm a bassoonist and I hand scraped a clarinet reed from tube cane today and it was not anywhere near the worst reed you'd get in a box you buy. Was no where close to the best either. Going to try and get access to a clarinet reed profiler to see if I can further experiment.
I played the E flat clarinet in college and absolutely fell in love with it. Of course, getting to play the solos in Grainger's Lincolnshire Posy and Hindemith's Symphony for Band helps!
Your version of making clarinet reeds looks so much easier than remedial. If I thought I could locate the tools I would pursue this as a retirement hobby/biz, It looks like fun. Of course, you could someone to remake the tool that has been discontinued but you would need to make a change so you did not have issues with the patent . Maybe ghe patent has expired?
