Is Vandoren VK1 the Ultimate Synthetic Clarinet Reed?

Подписаться 6 тыс.

Просмотров 7 тыс.

50% 1

Study clarinet with me - www.clarinetninja.com/dojo-la...
Check out: www.clarinetninja.com/
Enjoy our best free content www.clarinetninja.com/joinus
In this video, we're taking a look at the Vandoren VK1 synthetic clarinet reed. Is it really the latest and greatest in synthetic clarinet reeds? We'll find out in this review!
If you're looking for the latest and greatest in synthetic clarinet reeds, then the Vandoren VK1 might be the perfect choice for you. This reed is highly recommended by many clarinetists and has quickly become one of the most popular reeds on the market. In this review, we'll find out if the Vandoren VK1 is really worth your money!
VK1 reeds here: www.westmusic.com/search-resu...
Clarinet Ninja approved products
Links are affiliate links - a great way to support the channel!
Mouthpieces:
Affordable professional Bb clarinet mouthpiece:
Vandoren BD 4 amzn.to/3iSEmAc
Vandoren 5RV LYRE amzn.to/3H1mECA
Vandoren M30 amzn.to/3J6ExTs
Student mouthpiece:
Fobes Debut Student clarinet mouthpiece www.clarkwfobes.com/products/...
Vandoren V12 reeds:
#3 amzn.to/3J6ExTs
#3.5 amzn.to/3WvJHLD
#4 amzn.to/3J7LJhY
Vandoren Traditional (Blue box)
#3 amzn.to/3J7LJhY
#3.5 amzn.to/3ZKTGPY
#4 amzn.to/3QTusLm
Books all clarinetists should have:
Baermann third division amzn.to/3j2fTsd
Kell Staccato studies amzn.to/3wkLisZ
Jean Jean Vade Mecum amzn.to/3J9U6cO
Rose 32 etudes amzn.to/3J9U6cO
Rose 40 etudes amzn.to/3GWDwdW
Kroepsch 416 progressive studies amzn.to/3wj48kb
Reed equipment:
Ridenour ATG reed finishing system amzn.to/3XqF7zu
ReedGeek Universal G4 reed tool amzn.to/3HnjWZC
400 grit sandpaper amzn.to/3H1oof6
600 grit sandpaper amzn.to/3j2hiyZ
Vandoren V12 Reed Trimmer amzn.to/3H7K8r6
Vandoren V21 and 56 Rue Lepic amzn.to/3GLkC9I
Vandoren Traditional amzn.to/3kjMQRi
Vandoren Black Master/Black Master Traditional amzn.to/3HcErs1
Vandoren White Master amzn.to/3kl4hRz
Reed cases:
Vandoren Hygro case Bb and Eb reeds amzn.to/3koZmPo
D'Addario Woodwinds Multi-Instrument Reed case amzn.to/3XubIVg
Rico Reed Guard Bb clarinet amzn.to/3J1h06d
Ligatures:
Bonade inverted silver plated amzn.to/3wlJdNy
Vandoren M/O ligature amzn.to/3XPYNNg
Vandoren Optimum Ligature amzn.to/3QYvOof
Rovner Mark III amzn.to/3J6H7ZE

Опубликовано:

24 июл 2024

Ссылка:

Скачать:

Готовим ссылку...

Добавить в:

Мой плейлист

Посмотреть позже

Комментарии : 39

@mdrapkin 4 месяца назад

Very thoughtful review.

@clarinetninja 4 месяца назад

I appreciate and am humbled by your kind words. I am a fan of your work. As a matter of fact, I just went to your website and your work is even more far-reaching than I knew. Thanks for watching and contributing to the conversation here

@DocCSE 11 месяцев назад

Thanks for this test and review. It is the 3rd one I have watched on RU-vid and each of you bring something unique to the review. The similarity is that all of you have come to the conclusion that this is the closest to a cane reed. I have not tried this yet but am playing on a Legere EC; I have tried the Venn and the Silverstein, but find the Legere a better match. With those three I find that the feel on my lip is not as comfortable as a cane reed (I have been playing on cane for over 60 years so there is that also). So far the VK has not been around long enough for us to know about the life of the reed. At a price of $49 it would need to last a long time to be of the same value, dollar wise, as cane, considering that a box of 10 cane reeds will cost less than a VK. Again thanks .

@sherryreid6163 4 месяца назад

I agree on the more water with a synthetic reed

@BorisClarinet Год назад

Good to find your channel quite by accident. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

@clarinetninja Год назад

Boris! Thank you! Long time no see. I hope you are well

@Trevor_Stewart 11 месяцев назад

If you visualize the tone as a sphere, the VK1 sound creates a smooth and rounded exterior shell, but it sounds a bit hollow; whereas, the V12 fills the sphere with a dense core (creating focus) and adds a glowy aura (creating flexibility, sweetness, and color). You could be fooled in the upper clarion, but for me, the VK1 sound spreads in the throat tones and chalumeau, thankfully not in pitch, but in timbre. But there are times when consistency and utility are more important than having the most indulgent sound imaginable lol!

@clarinetninja 11 месяцев назад

I think you stated that all very well! Thank for watching and taking the time to articulate your thoughts so clearly:)

@robynrox 9 месяцев назад

So interesting! One of my hobbies is 3D printing, and I once printed a reed. (There's a 3D model of a clarinet reed available out there.) Probably it would have been better if sanded down afterwards, but I was able to generate a tone out of it. I guess the problems with that approach are the type of plastic used (have to make sure it is food grade as a minimum - you wouldn't want to poison yourself) and QC, especially if using one of the cheaper printers. Printing on a glass plate bed would be the best bet to achieve a flat bottom and not all printers have that. It might even need some bespoke G-code to get the best results as opposed to that produced by a slicer (for anyone else who is into this stuff and understands what I mean). Perhaps the level of flow could be a way of controlling the strength of any reed thereby produced. Just thinking that these reeds are expensive!

@clarinetninja 9 месяцев назад

indeed, all of the synthetic options are expensive. At the same time, the increased usage time probably makes them less expensive than a traditional cane reed if one can make them work the way they want. I know the research and development time on these was long and expensive to undergo. I certainly don't know much about 3D printing, but I would think it would be difficult to get materiel that would have enough flex in it to make a reed work that way. Everything that I have seen 3D printed (more than most people but not as much as you - I am sure) has a rigidity to it that I can't see how it would work out with reeds.

@bobblues1158 Год назад

On the Rose etude, the V12 wins. But the synthetic has a place. But the price is high. and the slightest hit on the tip is a hit on my pocket book. When I toured I used synthetic and was a much happier player. Now that I do not tour, I am back to cane. And the Reed Wizard and the Ridenour ATG system. Plus 7 years of oboe playing. And I have the time.

@joachimakerlind4453 Год назад

How did it go with exploring the world of Pieterson and Brymer etc? Did you listen more? By the way- what mouthpiece do you play? American or Vandoren? And the clarinets are standard R13?

@jamesdanderfer1299 Год назад

Jay! Thanks for this. Any idea how consistent they are from one VK1 to the next? ie. Do two vk1 reeds of the same strength play the same?

@clarinetninja Год назад

James! I don’t have a huge sample size to judge, they were very similar between the two reeds that I tried. Finding two similar synthetic reeds is what made me stop using the the last time I tried using synthetic (other brand) full time. It’s expensive to get enough reeds to find out how consistent they are:) hope you are well!

@johnkotches8320 7 месяцев назад

I am apparently late to the party by a few months. And new to the channel 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to put together this comparison. The two are really close, and honestly if I sounded this good the very small differences might be worth investigating. Since there's been some time after this do you have any thoughts on VK1s longevity? As someone who is not a professional, not having to spend time balancing reeds across multiple instruments is worth the small difference in sound quality. Are you planning on looking at the new Legere French Cut? I am certainly going to look at them.

@clarinetninja 7 месяцев назад

Thanks for watching and commenting. I don't have any real insight into the VK1 longevity. I anticipate it would last a few months or more depending on how much one plays it. I have the French cut Legers on my desk ready to try! I am hoping to play them today and see whats going on with them! Video should be up soon. I totally agree on the benefits of a lifestyle of a synthetic reed. It allows for a lot more time to practice the clarinet. At the same time, I like the frustrating optimism that I will be able to get a perfect cane reed happening lol

@clarinetninja 7 месяцев назад

John! just checked out you on tenor - Beautiful playing!

@johnkotches8320 7 месяцев назад

@@clarinetninja I appreciate your taking the time to listen and the compliment. As a late in life re-learner I'll never be playing bebop at 'Trane tempos. But if I can play with a warm inviting sound and generate interesting ideas I am a happy player.

@johnkotches8320 7 месяцев назад

@@clarinetninja I tend to rotate across 2-4 Legere's depending on which voice. I've found that after about an hour to hour and a half of hard playing they need a break so I usually flip on breaks at rehearsals and on bandstands. I get somewhere around 9 months to a year on the rotated reeds as opposed to 4 weeks or so on cane reeds in rotation. Living in a relatively dry climate (Colorado) makes reed anxiety worse. If I lived in a more humid climate I might be using cane reeds still. I'm interested in what you think of the French Cut. I'm ordering some later this week for clarinet and tenor.

@vasileiospetropoulos2046 11 месяцев назад

Hey ⁠rico blue tape number 1 For traditional Greek clarinet Albert system Have you done a comparison about Greek traditional clarinet vs western or classic please Do you know the Greek traditional clarinet community ??

@clarinetninja 9 месяцев назад

Sorry I didn’t reply to this sooner! I am out of my expertise with the Greek clarinet tradition. I have heard it and loved it, but am far from having an ability to speak about it

@joachimakerlind4453 Год назад

Interesting! I tryed Legere no success.

@musokid89 Год назад

I thought the first example was the VK1 synthetic, the second example sounded a bit fuller when articulated to me

@davideichler5105 3 месяца назад

I play Vandoren regular and V12 reeds, #3.5 (on Gregory Smith 1+ and Kaspar-style mouthpieces). Do you think the VK1 #60 would be the closest in strength to these, or possibly the #55?

@clarinetninja 3 месяца назад

It’s hard to say for sure. My best guess would be to try a 55

@allanjmcpherson Год назад

I thought #1 was the synthetic. It sounds just a little thinner than the V12. I bought one at ClarinetFest, but I've since realised I should have gone stronger. Oh well!

@williamrappaport9203 8 месяцев назад

I do like the sound of the V12 better. But synthetic isn’t bad.

@whoitisnot 10 месяцев назад

So which was was the synthetic?? Why ask if we don't get to know the answer? I'm with team #1 - it sounded a bit thinner. Thanks for the interesting review. I bought one at ClarinetFest. I tried every synthetic reed there. This was the best for me and Legere was the only other one that did anything at all for me. I'm still sticking cane 98% of the time but look forward to VK-9 - that one will finally be as good or better than cane (I'm hoping!)

@clarinetninja 10 месяцев назад

#1 is the synthetic. The answer is in the video. I promise - you know the ol’ strategy to keep people watching:)

@whoitisnot 10 месяцев назад

@@clarinetninja So while the video was going I got naturally got my VK-1 out and started noodling with it. Highly possible I missed you giving the answer - although I was (mostly) paying attention. The consensus seems to be, yes - we can tell the difference!

@clarinetninja 10 месяцев назад

@@whoitisnot that is the totally correct way to watch clarinet videos:)

@donross5352 5 месяцев назад

Thanks for confirming my prejudice! Plastic reeds are getting more and more lifelike the same way plastic fruit is getting more and more life like. But for playing outside on a windy day, ya, they’re good…