[mmichel]

Has anyone tried both of these on bass clarinet? If so, could you tell me how they compare?

I'm currently playing on a tenor sax Legere Signature 2.75 (that I've been playing since March) and I'm looking to get a backup.

I've tried a number of different types of cane reeds on bass clarinet (including bass clarinet Vandoren Traditionals and V12s, along with a bunch of different tenor sax reeds), and I found that I preferred the sound and response that I got with the tenor Legere (that had not worked for me on tenor sax). I just want to know whether I should stick with the tenor sax version of the reed or try the bass clarinet version. Any info on relative response, hardness, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

In case it's relevant, I'm playing these reeds on a Fobes HB (and sometimes on a Vandoren B50).

Thanks,

Melchi

 

[dirty]

I've tried both a fair bit. I would say, if this point of reference helps, the bass clarinet signature is a pretty exact translation of the Bb clarinet signature (not the European cut) for the bass clarinet. It's very dark and a bit slower response. For me, it didn't have enough color in the tone. The tenor signature was a lot closer to working for me. It's much faster to respond and a lot more colorful in the tone. I still find it a bit lacking compared to a cane reed, but I would probably use it in a situation where the bass clarinet would have to sit around for a long time.

My opinions are obviously just my own, but I would say that if you are looking for something a little darker, the Signature bass clarinet might be a good option. I think you'll probably want to go down a 1/4 strength, so if you are playing the tenor signature 2.75 you might want the bass clarinet 2.5 or even the 2.25.

Still waiting for the European cut bass clarinet reeds. I'm hoping that's what can free me from cane on the bass clarinet.

 

[saxtek]

I've tried them all, and I like BARI bass clarinet and tenor sax reeds (the ones without the star) best on bass clarinet. Sorry to throw another variable into the mix. BARI reeds are cheaper, too.

 

[Isle of Jazz]

I use both the "classic" Legere BC reed and the tenor sax Studio Cut. It took me a while to find the right cut and strength for my two main mouthpieces. Fortunately I have enough tenor reeds around so I only had to buy a few of the classic BC's before I found what I liked, a 3½ for my Fobes San Francisco. I also have a George Bundy Signature, bought on your recommendation mmichel, and found that 3½ Studio Cut tenor reeds work really nicely. Yet I don't care for either reed when switched to the other mouthpiece. It's my contention that the right Legere reed is out there for any bass mouthpiece, but it takes time to find the right match. Do look at the Studio Cut option.

 

[MojoBari]

I mostly use 2.75 Studio Cut TS reeds on BC. I do find the strengths vary so I buy a few over time and micro grade them for my use. I have some soft 3’s and hard 2.5’s that work for me. I have some regular cut BC reeds that work too.

I heard that they are dropping 1/4 sizes from some of their cuts. But this may have just been a rumor started at NAMM or ?

 

[Atonal]

For the record, I generally hate synthetic reeds. However, Legeres do work for me on bass clarinet. I use a 2.75 tenor reed or a 2.5 bass clarinet reed. They both work and sound pretty much the same. The tenor reed seems a bit more flexible, while the bass clarinet reed offers a bit more resistance and stability, for me.

 

[mmichel]

I've tried both a fair bit. I would say, if this point of reference helps, the bass clarinet signature is a pretty exact translation of the Bb clarinet signature (not the European cut) for the bass clarinet. It's very dark and a bit slower response. For me, it didn't have enough color in the tone. The tenor signature was a lot closer to working for me. It's much faster to respond and a lot more colorful in the tone. I still find it a bit lacking compared to a cane reed, but I would probably use it in a situation where the bass clarinet would have to sit around for a long time.

My opinions are obviously just my own, but I would say that if you are looking for something a little darker, the Signature bass clarinet might be a good option. I think you'll probably want to go down a 1/4 strength, so if you are playing the tenor signature 2.75 you might want the bass clarinet 2.5 or even the 2.25.

Still waiting for the European cut bass clarinet reeds. I'm hoping that's what can free me from cane on the bass clarinet.

Thanks, this is exactly what I was looking for. I find the brightness of the TS Legere Signatures to be just about perfect and I don't think I would want to go darker, so I'll probably stick with the Tenor Sax reeds.

For the record, I generally hate synthetic reeds. However, Legeres do work for me on bass clarinet. I use a 2.75 tenor reed or a 2.5 bass clarinet reed. They both work and sound pretty much the same. The tenor reed seems a bit more flexible, while the bass clarinet reed offers a bit more resistance and stability, for me.

I don't like synthetic reeds at all on saxophone either, and not for lack of trying. I've tried them repeatedly on all voices (S/A/T), including forcing myself to play them exclusively on tenor for about a month and a half to try to get used to them. That's why I happened to have these reeds around to try on bass clarinet.

However, I prefer them to cane reeds on both soprano clarinet (I use the European Cut) and bass clarinet.

I've tried them all, and I like BARI bass clarinet and tenor sax reeds (the ones without the star) best on bass clarinet. Sorry to throw another variable into the mix. BARI reeds are cheaper, too.

Thanks. I happen have a few different strengths of Bari tenor reeds from about 15 years ago (from one of my previous failed attempts at switching to synthetics). I'll give these a try before ordering more reeds.

I use both the "classic" Legere BC reed and the tenor sax Studio Cut. It took me a while to find the right cut and strength for my two main mouthpieces. Fortunately I have enough tenor reeds around so I only had to buy a few of the classic BC's before I found what I liked, a 3½ for my Fobes San Francisco. I also have a George Bundy Signature, bought on your recommendation mmichel, and found that 3½ Studio Cut tenor reeds work really nicely. Yet I don't care for either reed when switched to the other mouthpiece. It's my contention that the right Legere reed is out there for any bass mouthpiece, but it takes time to find the right match. Do look at the Studio Cut option.

I mostly use 2.75 Studio Cut TS reeds on BC. I do find the strengths vary so I buy a few over time and micro grade them for my use. I have some soft 3's and hard 2.5's that work for me. I have some regular cut BC reeds that work too.

I heard that they are dropping 1/4 sizes from some of their cuts. But this may have just been a rumor started at NAMM or ?

Thanks, I'll give the TS Studio Cuts a try. Do you know how they compare, strength wise, to the TS Signatures?

 

[mmichel]

Reupping this thread because I just tried the new European Cut reeds for bass clarinet. These are outstanding!

As indicated above, I'd been using the tenor sax Signatures (2.75) for a while now on bass clarinet. Those are good; they allow me to get a good sound in the clarion and altissimo, while avoiding the "covered up" sound that I get when using cane bass clarinet reeds of comparable strength. However, the problem I found with the tenor sax Signatures (and tenor sax reeds in general on bass clarinet) is that they can be a bit hard to control and have a tendency to jump partials.

The European Cut reed gives me the best of both worlds. It is powerful in the chalumeau, with a bit more "core" than the tenor sax signatures, but much more stable and easier to control in the clarion and altissimo registers. It also gives me a bit more flexibility in tone quality, a much smoother timbre transition across the break, and, surprisingly, it requires less air.

It took me a couple of days to get used to it, but I've found a new favorite!

 

[dirty]

Interesting. I've had a European cut bass clarinet reed on backorder from wwbw for about two months now. I actually forgot about it entirely until this post. That sounds like it might just work for me.

Now I'm impatiently waiting for it again, so thanks a lot!

 

[Taragot]

Mmichael, which strenght of the European Cut do you play?

 

[mmichel]

Mmichael, which strenght of the European Cut do you play?

Sorry, I forgot to say. I'm using a 2.5 in the European Cut, which feels roughly equal in strength to (or maybe a just a hair stiffer than) the tenor 2.75 Signatures.

FWIW, the reeds are in stock at Weinermusic (which is where I got mine).

 

[the_eleven]

Being a Legere virgin, could you give me an idea of how a 2.5 European cut correlates in strength to a cane bass clarinet reed, for example VD trad, VD V-12, or D'Addario Reserve, in your experience?

The updated Legere strength chart has the 2.25 EC roughly equivalent to the V-12 2.5 and D'Addario 2.5, while the 2.5 EC is equivalent to the VD trad 2.5.

thanks!

 

[mmichel]

Being a Legere virgin, could you give me an idea of how a 2.5 European cut correlates in strength to a cane bass clarinet reed, for example VD Bluebox, VD V-12, or D'Addario Reserve?

As with all reed comparisons, it depends somewhat on the tip opening and facing length of your mouthpiece. However, on my main mouthpiece (a Fobes HB), a blue box Vandoren 2.5 feels softer than a V12 2.5 and the 2.5 European cut falls somewhere between those two.

 

[the_eleven]

Thanks! The 2.5 strength should be perfect for my setup.

 

[the_eleven]

Just received the Leger reed. What a disappointment.

It is loud, but there is no warmth to the sound. It seems like some of the harmonics are missing.

As well, it doesn't fit the mouthpiece and hangs off both sides of the rails.

Guess I will stick with cane from here on out.

 

[mmichel]

Just received the Leger reed. What a disappointment.

It is loud, but there is no warmth to the sound. It seems like some of the harmonics are missing.

As well, it doesn't fit the mouthpiece and hangs off both sides of the rails.

Guess I will stick with cane from here on out.

It might not be for you, but give it some time. As I said above, it took me a couple of days to get used to it.

At first, I didn't like the response, but after a couple of days on it, I found that it was much easier to control and that the sound was much easier to shape than what I was used to.

As far as fitting on the mouthpiece, what's your normal setup? It fits perfectly on my Fobes.

Moreover, I wouldn't necessarily worry about the overhang. The Legere European Signatures for soprano clarinet are definitely wider than any standard clarinet mouthpiece (they are roughly the same width as standard soprano sax reeds), but they work great. I love them and everyone I know of who plays Legeres on soprano clarinet prefers them to the narrower (standard width) Legere Signatures.

 

[the_eleven]

Hmm. I emailed Legere and their customer rep thinks I need a stiffer reed. This one already feels pretty planky compared to cane, and I am not keen on forcing it with a reed that is too stiff as my setup works fine with the usual 2.5 strength reed.

 

[the_eleven]

I noticed that the Legere European Cut bass reed is wider than any of my cane bass reeds and hangs off the sides of the mouthpiece table. In comparing a VD Red Java bari sax reed to the Legere European Cut bass reed, it appears that they are exactly the same width.

 

[dirty]

That aligns with my experience on the soprano clarinet. Those weird reeds are wide as hell and super thin/flat. Neither the M/O nor the Optimum ligatures I have even worked with them. The reeds were too wide to fit in the reed indentation on the M/O and too flat for the Optimum's reed plate to make good contact.

I really like them on the clarinet, though. I'm using cane again, but I keep a couple of the European Cut Legeres in my clarinet case.

 

[mmichel]

FYI, in case you haven't yet seen this. Michael Lowenstern tries out most of the synthetic reeds currently available for bass clarinet (as well as many available only for tenor sax), playing the same piece (a movement from one of the Bach cello suites, I think) on each.

It's worth checking out the whole review (though I find both his repeated references to cane as "bamboo" and his lame "explanation" for why synthetics are important annoying). But, like me, he finds the Legere European Cut reeds to work the best.