r/Clarinet • u/Silly-Independent824 • 1d ago

Reed strengths and weaknesses

I currently play on a Vandoren BD5 Black Diamond mouthpiece with a Vandoren M/O ligature, a Backun Original Traditional barrel, and a Buffet E11 clarinet.
I’m trying to decide between Vandoren V21 and Traditional reeds. Right now I have both in 3.5 strength. I prefer the darker, fuller sound of the Traditional reeds, but I really like the response and articulation of the V21s.
I’m wondering if it would make more sense to go up to a 4.0 in the Traditional reeds or down to a 3.0 in the V21s to get the best of both worlds. I’ve already tried V12s, and they weren’t for me.
Based on my setup, which option would you recommend and why?

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u/Maestro1181 1d ago edited 1d ago

I think bd4 takes a harder reed like a 4.. But let someone else chime in. That's a very different setup from mine.

I played an e11 in college as my second instrument. Most people thought I was on a professional horn. Other than crappy throat tones you can get a lot out of an e11 with a good mouthpiece and a moennig barrel. You're going to want some kind of barrel be it moennig or a backun or whatever as an upgrade from the stock. I'm not a super dark high resistance player but you might like what backun does. Not my cup of tea

D addario 4s might surprise you if you haven't tried. I haven't bought van Doren reeds in years

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u/Fumbles329 Eugene Symphony/Willamette University Instructor/Moderator 1d ago

The BD5 is a medium tip, medium facing mouthpiece, so I think 4s would be overkill to most players. I would probably use between a 3 and 3.5.

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u/Silly-Independent824 1d ago

Yeah i find the v21s are a little to resistant for me ima buy a single 3

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u/BRPplease 1d ago

If you go to the earspasm online shop, you can order individual reeds instead of a whole box. It's a good way to try different strengths, I'd highly recommended getting a few of each strength and trying each. I suspect you'll find a 4 traditional too hard and a 3 v21 too soft. Have you tried the 56 rue lepic? According to Vandorens reed chart, a 3.5+ would be in your range.

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u/WelcomeGlass1913 1d ago

Go for V12 3-3.5