My good bass clarinet is a Boosey & Hawkes Regent bass clarinet, grenadilla, about 20-30 years old. Plays beautifully, but I don't favour the neckpipe that was on it, so I took the one from my other one. Only cost me about 900 pounds.

The 'other' one is an old Selmer student model (name of model unknown), resonite, it's a perfect marching band instrument.

This might make some people cringe, my Bb is just a plasitc Yamaha.

My tenor saxophone was my father's, but he is physically unable to play anymore on account of too few teeth. Selmer professional model.

I'm renting a wooden Amati bassoon.

All of these are second hand instruments.

now the fun begins, your preferred reeds, strength, mouthpiece, ligature, et cetera ad nauseum.

Reeds: for most music, Legere 3.75 reeds; for a dark tone, Legere Qubec 3.5's, and if cane is necessary, Rico Royal 3.5's or Vandoren 3's. (bass clarinet and sax)*
Vandoren 3.5's (Bb clarinet)
Jones med. hard (bassoon)

*(for those of you unacquainted with Legere reeds, they are a long-lasting polymer developed by Canadian chemists, play better than cane and last half a decade)

Ligature: Francois Louis "Ultimate Ligature" enough said

Mouthpieces: Charles Bay something (I don't have my B&H bass with me at the moment) [bass]
Vandoren 5RV (Bb)
Hite "Premiere" (sax)

I bought a Amati bassoon 'bout 4 months ago. It cost me HK$20630(about US$2650).
I'd like a Heckel if i got rich.

My flute is a Selmer.

I play with a wooden E13 clarinet, played with Vandoren 3s, or Vandoren V12 2.5s - I don't remember what mouthpiece I use

I also play with a Selmer Saxophone, new, with a Selmer D mouthpiece, which I play with Vandoren V16 3,or Vandoren regular 4
Alternatively I use my Dukoff Super Power Chamber D8 (I think) with my Vandoren ZZ 2.5, or my Rico Plasticover 2.5/3/3.5 - it's a very large tip opening, so I have to use different reeds strengths depending on how long I intend playing, or the kind of playing I want. It is of course much much harder to stay in tune with a wide tip opening and a weaker reed, but the benefits, if you can keep the tone, means that you can slide notes much more easily, among other techniques.


The flute I am considering is a vintage YFL-21

My saxophone is a Yamaha, i like the rico royal reeds.

I have a yamaha flute and plastic clarinet. I might get a wooden clarinet when I leave school, but i don't want to risk it til then!!

I have realised after looking at this thread that we tend to buy Yamaha instruments to start with (good quality assured?) so we have Yamaha piano and electric piano and clarinets and guitar and cornet and saxophone. Flutes are Claudel (v.old) and Pearl and Altus. Recorders are either Aulos or Moeck. The violins were very cheap from the music shop and are chinese I think! I'm not sure without looking what make the piano accordion and concertina are but I could look if anyone is interested.BTW we are looking to upgrade the piano accordion does anyone have any recommendations on this??

QUOTE (Katet @ Jul 24 2004, 08:48 PM)

My saxophone is a Yamaha, i like the rico royal reeds.

Rico Royals are the best cane reeds for sax and low clarinets.

QUOTE (LavaLampMaster @ Jul 26 2004, 12:08 AM)

QUOTE (Katet @ Jul 24 2004, 08:48 PM) My saxophone is a Yamaha, i like the rico royal reeds. Rico Royals are the best cane reeds for sax and low clarinets.

That's a very subjective opinion - have you tried all of the 40 or so readily available reeds, let alone the difficult to obtain ones?

i have a Yamaha sax

QUOTE (DavidMusic @ Jul 26 2004, 07:18 AM)

QUOTE (LavaLampMaster @ Jul 26 2004, 12:08 AM) QUOTE (Katet @ Jul 24 2004, 08:48 PM) My saxophone is a Yamaha, i like the rico royal reeds. Rico Royals are the best cane reeds for sax and low clarinets. That's a very subjective opinion - have you tried all of the 40 or so readily available reeds, let alone the difficult to obtain ones?

it is a subjective question; this is a matter of opinion

QUOTE (LavaLampMaster @ Jul 31 2004, 05:18 AM)

it is a subjective question; this is a matter of opinion

Then put 'I think'.

What I KNOW is that Rico Royal reeds are not made with the same quality cane as vandorens, but they have a much softer sound

QUOTE (Mr. Curious @ Jul 20 2004, 01:10 PM)

I bought a Amati bassoon 'bout 4 months ago. It cost me HK$20630(about US$2650). I'd like a Heckel if i got rich.

Mr Curious, where did you buy your bassoon? Only HK$20630? It's cheap! the cheapest oboe which I can get in HK is around $8000, do you know anywhere that I can find a cheaper oboe?

My oboe is a Ward and Winterbourne, and my flute a Trevor James....

As of today a new setup. My clarinet is still a Selmer C85 mouthpiece (I bothered checking this time) but I'm now using a Rico Plasticover 3 for Jazz, a Mitchell Lurie Premium 3 for clasical work, and a legere 2.75 for instant use.

My clarinet is a boosey and hawkes edgware and i don't have a clue how old it is. It's not the best of clarinets but its got me up to grade 6/7 standard so far and i don't want a new 1 cos i'm quite attached to it!
My tenor sax is a selmer and I keep forgetting the details.

I use vandoren reeds for both of them - 2 1/2s

I got a pair of Buffet R13s (got it about 10 yrs ago), using a James Payne m/pc and No.3 Marca reeds.
Just recently bought a Yahama YAS-62 alto sax with Otto link m/pc and No.3 Vandoren reeds. Lastly, my tenor sax is La Monte, with a Selmer m/pc and No. 2.5 Marca reeds!

QUOTE (DavidMusic @ Jul 31 2004, 07:16 AM)

What I KNOW is that Rico Royal reeds are not made with the same quality cane as vandorens, but they have a much softer sound

Rico Royals IMHO and the most pleasing of the Rico reeds i have ever tried, i ocasionally switch back to Vandoren as they are generally consistent in quality but a little breathy i find, where as the Royals have a good edge when you get a good one.

The instruments i have-

Alto Sax (Yas 62)
Trombone (Yamaha Zeno)
Double bass (Chinese but Solid)
Spanish Guitar (Alhambra-intermediate)
Jazz Guitar (Tanglwood copy of Gibson ES175)
Violin (German circa 1860)
Fife in D (Napoleonic age unknown)
Set of LP pro Congas
More Percussion instruments than i care to think of.
Marshall 50 watt Acoustic amp. (Hmmmm technically not an instrument)

My flute's a Yamaha.

My clarinet's a LeBlanc - my favourite reeds with it are Mitchell Lurie Premium (size 2 or 2.5).

My Flute at the moment is a Yamaha 211 but I am getting a new one soon nt sure what kind yet though!

I thought I'd better add an oboe to the list.
My oboe is a Howarth XL, my second oboe (emergencies) is a Howarth S20, I love it just the same as the XL.
As for reeds I use my local reed maker or Ke-Xun Ge reeds. Reeds are funny things. I had a Howarth one that just wasn't right for me then I had another which was a good year old, chipped and wonky but played like a dream? How it made any sound beats me but the tone was fantastic. I've never had one as good as that since!
I knew someone who had a Yamaha oboe and every 3 months you could guarantee it would crack! After 4 Yamaha oboes he switched to Howarth.

Hi Alison.

What do you think of the Ke-Xun Ge reeds? I've not tried them before. Do you use the porfessional one or the standard one, wired or unwired?

I've just tried the Torda reeds, which if found tended to cross after a while, and I'm trying a Stray reed at the moment but not getting on with it very well. It might be a duff reed, but it's most disconcerting when there is not much difference between the G and G#!

That would be really strange...!

Kinda like when your flute gets so wet inside that you get a bubble over the hole that makes the difference between B and Bb, so that you loose B!

It's a real nightmare!

I play a Buffet Crampon RC clarinet with Vandoren 11.5 mouthpiece and either vandoren 3 reeds or concert 3 reeds.

My flute is a Pearl

I've got a Howarth XL oboe too. I tried out just about every other make available, but the XL had the upper hand.

Apart from the terrific tone, the keywork is really comfortable under the fingers. I believe it took about two years development work to produce the XL.

My Bb Clarinet is a R13 Buffet Prestige with a M13 vandoren mouthpiece and I use 4.5 Mitchell lurie premium or a 3.5+ Vandoren Rue Lepic. My A Clarinet is awful - Stomas is think! I have a Thomas Rauch violin c.1739 which is gorgeous and a Yanagisawa soprano sax with either a yanagisawa ebonite or metal mouthpiece lay 6. I use Plasticover reed 2.5 or Rico Royal 2.5. My alto sax is a Keilwerth SX90B with a selmer C** mouthpiece and I use 3.5 Hemke reeds.
I also have a technics piano, organ, descant, treble, tenor recorder, electric and classical guitar!

QUOTE (Winnie @ Aug 1 2004, 11:17 PM)

QUOTE (Mr. Curious @ Jul 20 2004, 01:10 PM) I bought a Amati bassoon 'bout 4 months ago. It cost me HK$20630(about US$2650). I'd like a Heckel if i got rich. Mr Curious, where did you buy your bassoon? Only HK$20630? It's cheap! the cheapest oboe which I can get in HK is around $8000, do you know anywhere that I can find a cheaper oboe?

Im so surprised....It aint cheap at all. One of my skoolmates bought the same model for about HK$18000~19000. But iono if he's telling da truth....
Actually, my bassoon teacher (Well, he owns a Heckel...) ordered several bassoons at the same time. So there is a decrease of shipping fee or he may even get a discount.
I dont know if there is cheaper oboes since I dont play oboes. But i can ask the others for ya.

my flute is a yamaha

My clarinet is a Buffet RC. My mouthpiece is a Vandoren Profile 88. I use a Vandoren Optimum ligature. My preferred reeds at the moment are Vandoren V12's strength 2.5.

My Tenor Sax is a yamaha YTS-475. I prefer Vandoren Jazz zz's strength 3.

My bassoon is a corton and I use britannia reeds.

Buffet B12 Bb Clarinet-- Vandoren 3's standerd mouth peice
Amati YCL351 C Clarinet -- Vandoren 2.5 or 3's in an Amati No 6 Mouthpeice
Selmer Bass Clarinet -- standerd mouth peice, Rico Royal 2's
Boosey and Hawkes 400 Eb Clarinet. No idea about the mouthpeice. vandoren size 2's

i bought a violin in hk just for $400
cheap eh??

OK I'm only going to state my recorders because if I say all my other instruments as well my post will go on forever.

Sopranino: Yamaha, plastic
Soprano/Descant: OK I've got a Norwegian unnamed model which is wood but I can't remember what wood it is lol... I've got another Norwegian instrument which looks like a desant recorder and is played like one but isn't exactly the same; I can pronounce its name but can't spell it! I've also got an Aulos plastic model.
Treble/Alto: I have another unnamed Norwegian model (they've got no markings, but my parents bought them from Norway) and an Aulos plastic model which I take carol singing lol
Tenor: I have the most gorgeous wooden Westoren tenor... it's an absolute dream to play!!
Bass: I have a Yamaha plastic direct blow bass... it's all good fun!!

My mum has a Jupiter flute which I mess about on sometimes.

QUOTE (cheeble @ Nov 23 2004, 10:19 AM)

OK I'm only going to state my recorders because if I say all my other instruments as well my post will go on forever. Sopranino: Yamaha, plastic Soprano/Descant: OK I've got a Norwegian unnamed model which is wood but I can't remember what wood it is lol... I've got another Norwegian instrument which looks like a desant recorder and is played like one but isn't exactly the same; I can pronounce its name but can't spell it! I've also got an Aulos plastic model. Treble/Alto: I have another unnamed Norwegian model (they've got no markings, but my parents bought them from Norway) and an Aulos plastic model which I take carol singing lol Tenor: I have the most gorgeous wooden Westoren tenor... it's an absolute dream to play!! Bass: I have a Yamaha plastic direct blow bass... it's all good fun!! My mum has a Jupiter flute which I mess about on sometimes.

Are these all Baroque style instruments with equal tempered tuning and a full two-octave range? For some of the best recorder ensemble music (mostly borrowed from viol players, but dating from the days when that was common practice) there are benefits from using Renaissance style instruments, like the Hopf Pretorius model (of which I have two, a treble and a bass). They have a much fuller sound than the Baroque instruments on the bottom of the range. The downside is that the top two or three notes tend to be dodgy or non-existent. However, for much of this repertoire that doesn't matter, as most of the parts stay within one and a half octaves. The trick that you have to learn with these instruments is not to fight the tuning. Notes (e.g. B and E) that usually occur as thirds in home keys sound flat to anyone whose ear has been perverted by piano tuning. If you let them settle to the natural tuning of the instrument, you start to get beautiful, sonorous major triads with the 4:5:6 frequncy ratio that 16th and 17th C. composers expected on these instruments.

QUOTE (kenm @ Nov 23 2004, 03:36 PM)

Are these all Baroque style instruments with equal tempered tuning and a full two-octave range?

I wish they were... I don't really know what they are or very much about them, I keep meaning to take them to a dealer to be told a bit more about them...

Yours sound lovely though!

I'm starting to get an inferiority complex about my flute - it's made by a firm called Arbiter and no-one I've ever talked to about flutes seems to have heard of it! Apparently Arbiter also make saxophones. It was recommended to me by the owner of the shop in Worcester where I bought it although another shop suggested I buy a Trevor James. Are Arbiter a good make (I enjoy playing it but some of the notes sound a bit "fluffy" - could be my technique) or would I be better swapping to a Yamaha or a Trevor Jones? Advice, please!

Stephen

QUOTE (cheeble @ Nov 24 2004, 05:22 PM)

QUOTE (kenm @ Nov 23 2004, 03:36 PM) Are these all Baroque style instruments with equal tempered tuning and a full two-octave range? I wish they were... I don't really know what they are or very much about them, I keep meaning to take them to a dealer to be told a bit more about them...

You can easily tell if the top notes happen easily with the standard fingering, which they certainly would not on my Hopf bass. To look at, the Renaissance instruments have less taper, so that the bell opening is larger, and usually have larger finger holes. Both these differences help to produce their fuller sound. I have some Baroque instruments that I like too, particularly a treble by Adège and a "knick" tenor by Roessler ("knick" refers to the bend that makes it look a bit like a saxophone). I also have a pretty little Moeck sopranino that I bought in 1956 for £4 15s, but I don't play it myself nowadays, because my pitch perception is inaccurate in the upper part of its range. IMO, the smaller Baroque recorders sound better with other instruments than in a recorder consort, but among my recorder playing friends I am near the bottom of the talent list, so I am more likely to play keyboard or 'cello than recorder in a trio sonata.

QUOTE (flute_girl @ Nov 4 2004, 07:48 PM)

my flute is a yamaha

Same here...
which serie no. is it??
mine's 221a

Most of the Arbiter instruments that I have come across seem rather poor quality compared to Trevor James/ Yamaha/Jupiter student instruments. Sorry to say that to you!

That's what I thought, too, I'm afraid. Might have to change to a Trevor James - a friend's got a 3011E and it sounds much more like a proper flute. Time to e-mail Father Christmas!

i have a yamaha flute..not sure what model though..i'll have to find out!

xxx
Lea

I have a yamaha flute, series 221a...i needs a very very good clean though. =)
xxx
T

My flute is a Yamaha 574 with a William Simmons headjoint.

QUOTE (flute_girl @ Nov 4 2004, 07:48 PM)

my flute is a yamaha

Snap! Yamaha 311