This is what the amateur musician needs to hear about the Legere bassoon reeds - some clear ideas about the subjective experience of owning and using these great reeds. I will likely never use a cane reed again, with the stability and reliability of the Legere reed available. I was pleased to hear the easy fix for the loosening back end, though I have not had that problem yet. That was the only good hard information in this talk, though. A professional bassoonist would not make it through listening to the first three minutes without clicking away from the puffery. What I want to see now is approved procedures for adjusting these reeds, and whatever it takes to get that price down!
Jim Katz If you haven't blown a Legere reed, or just seen it on a picture, than this video is for you. If you already have one, than you really can skip the first 3 minutes. :) And I have one more trick for you: If my reed gets dirty, I usually clean it with Corega tabs. This way I don't have to fear about scratches. (I soak the reed in water for 2 minutes, than drop a tab into it, and wait another 2 minutes, than I strongly blow through the reed from the back.) Hope that helps too!
Hey bassoon girl! Thanks for the video about the Leger reeds. I also use them (medium) I find they slip off or turn around on my bocal a lot but otherwise I am really happy with it.
Having researched on line and watching and listening to your videos and recording, I am now taking the plunge and ordering a medium reed. I'm really looking forward to my first blow-on one in a day or two.
Oh. And I’m also a professional orchestra bassoonist; I play both 1st and 2nd, and I play on a very old Heckel which tends to have smaller sound and higher in pitch. What model of the reed/year do you recommend? Thank you for your advice.
@@wanching_wu How did you find this review? It's intentionally hidden from the public. Because I wasn't satisfied with Legere reeds recently. I played them exclusively for years, and new models got worse and worse. I could not recommend the reeds I got last time. I indicated my issues at Legere. Maybe they'll change their reeds. I hope so.
In theory, these reeds are a fantastic idea, but the two I've tried for oboe just did NOT perform as I'd hoped. I much prefer my own reeds. Your tone on the bassoon with these Legere reeds is just awesome!
Thanks Weihan! They change the shape of the reeds a little in every 1-2 years, and for me some seasons' reeds fit better (2015 and 2017). I think it worth to give them a chance in every 2 years. Hope that helps!
@@ZsofiaStefanBassoon Thank you! Even though I'm an oboist and can't play the bassoon, I do recognize your incredible tone and musicality, both of which shine through in your solo segments I've heard on RU-vid (e.g. the Shostakovich 9th). Do you have a CD with bassoon solos?
@@Xingqiwu387 Nice idea, thank you for that, Weihan! :) Now I only have one CD, containing my own transcriptions, this one: zsofiastefan.com/enchanted_gardens.html (But Shostakovich No.9 will be released soon by "Tacet" publishing)
Yes! Thank you! This transcription turned out to be pretty difficult! ;) You can listen to the whole track on my CD! zsofiastefan.com/enchanted_gardens.html
Hi Zsofia! Thanks for your review and your thoughts on the Legere bassoon reeds! I recently purchased one for myself, and really love it. The biggest problem I have is that it falls off the bocal at the end of phrases. It's great to see that you have solved the problem with cigarette paper. Question: Do you wrap the paper on the bocal first? And then... put the reed on after? (That's how it looks in your video). Also: Do you use saliva to seal the cigarette paper? Or can I use regular water instead? Thanks, and I really enjoy your music, too!
Steve Waters I'm really glad I can help! I don't use any liquid when I wrap the end of the bocal (yes, I wrap the bocal first). But if I play for a while it remains on its place, even if I pull off the reed. I like the other end (the non sticky) of the cigarett paper better, I just kind of fear for my bocal.
Wetting the bocal before putting the reed on has helped me with the "falling off" problem. Wrapping tape around the bocal end of the reed adds weight so that in a fall the bocal end hits the floor first and not the blade end.
I’ve been struggling with my reeds breaking and not sounding so great. I feel like I’m wasting my money from buying cane reeds. So I think I should consider this product. Is the reed good for playing with loud and soft sound, and is it good with intonation and changing dynamics from soft and loud?
Logan Stokes These reeds are really very good in intonation! A Legere reed is maybe not the loudest, but it can play very flexible and sensitive. If you want to use it in orchestra, I think the medium-hard reed's forte is totally enough! You can listen to some samples I played on these here: www.amazon.com/Exploring-Enchanted-Gardens-Zsofia-Stefan/dp/B078WJSBZ8 I think it's definitely worth a try. But you really have to be careful not to break it! ;)
Hello Erick, If you use it on a daily basis, it won't last for years. I would say months, if you are lucky. I still have a reed from 2015, that I only used to record my CD, and to play a couple of recitals, and big orchestral solos. I use it very sparingly, this is why it lasts for so long. It is still working. Otherwise I would say they last for 1-2 months. But nowadays the shape of the reeds is quite different. I liked their old shape better. Good luck! Let me know, how much they worked for you.
Hello. I love your sound!!!!! Do you use medium or medium hard? I’ve been playing Bassoon for 16 years and cane reeds are my biggest issue. Please let me know. I wanna try it. Thank you
Hi! I use medium reeds. I use medium-hard only occasionally. You can hear medium reeds from 2015 and 2017 on this recording. It is surely worth a try! Then tell me how much you liked it! Good luck!
Hellooo. I bought the reed !!!!!!!!! It’s fantastic. I was playing it for two hours and then when I tried to play with the cane reed it was so diferente. I really loved it.!!!!❤️🙌🏻
Sorry for bother you but I need to ask you something. I trying to buy a bocal for my bassooon but I don’t know the diference between Nikel and Silver. Which one do you recommend me. My instrument it’s a Fox 220 and the bocal that I wanna try are CC 2, CD 2 and C-XL 2 all Heckels. If you have another recommendation please let me know. You’re the best 🙌🏻🙏🏻🎊 Thanks for everything. I really hope we can meet one the day. You play like God 😊
Sorry to hear that! Yes, my reeds from 2018 are the same. After a a week or two I got used to it, but I agree, it is more exhausting for the mouth to blow them to the right pitch. I didn't have this problem with reeds before 2018. Hopefully they change the style back to the previous version soon! I got a promise in letter. ;) Aaaaaaaaand you could cut it, but I wasn't brave enough to do that. :)
Hi! To be honest I also liked the older ones (before 2018) better! Today's medium model is too light for me as well! I have to work hard for a nice sound. It is a lot of work with the mouth. I used to use mediums, but because of this medium-hard is a better fit for me now. Legere promised to manufacture different reeds in the future, reeds that are more similar to the older models. I hope they will! Sorry about your disappointment! (Older medium-hard equals today's medium, they are becoming lighter and lighter every year. What a pity!)
@@Warzillor I'm just thinking about the target audience of those reeds: maybe 4. bassoon players, music school pupils and anyone who wants to sound like a saxophone, haha. :) But seriously: I hear you! And those reeds are very low in intonation as well, you have to bite. I usually use them for chamber music (when bassoon is only an accompaniment for the others) or to play basso continuo, because it doesn't go sharp and you can play extremely soft pianos with those! I hope you can use yours for something similar in the future!
@@Warzillor I'm sure you can produce a much better sound with the new medium-hard! I use them in a professional symphony orchestra. Here you can listen to the sound of it. It's a Hungarian music show for kids, but you can hear some bassoon sounds in that from 6:13 and 22:28. And it's also important to know, that every reed is different, even plastic ones! Good luck! ;) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_BzsBjm80FM.html
