specializing in woodwind repair
H. KARLSSON WOODWINDS IS THE OFFICIAL IMPORTER FOR AW-REEDS GbR IN NORTH AMERICA.
And now what you've all been waiting for: information about these reeds and who makes them and all that good stuff. To order the product, click here!
First, the technical aspects of the product (which is what most of you want to know about, anyway):
What is the difference between the 301 and 302 clarinet reeds?
The 301 has a very strong tip, whereas the 302 has a thinner tip. As for which reed would work best for you, it really depends on the mouthpiece, your style of playing, the climate you live in, etc. My personal preference is the thick tip. The thick tip of the 301 gives me more stability in the upper register, and it also gives me a little more leeway in articulation (translation: it allows me to articulate like a jackhammer). That being said, some people like the 302s better because it gives them a clearer, cleaner, more lyrical sound, and responds more easily.
How do the reed strengths compare?
The clarinet reed strengths are similar to the V12s (Vandoren silver box). The alto saxophone/alto clarinet reeds tend to run between a quarter to a half strength softer than the Vandoren blue box reeds. Now for the weird part: when used on tenor saxophone, the classic cut (721) tends to be somewhere in between a quarter and a half strength softer than the Vandoren blue box reeds, and the jazz cut (722) tends to play a solid half strength softer than the Vandoren blue box reeds. When used on bass clarinet, the 721s tend to be somewhere between spot on and about a quarter strength soft in comparison to the Vandoren blue box reeds, and the 722s are about a quarter strength softer than the Vandoren blue box reeds. As for the soprano saxophone reeds, the jury is still out. I'm awaiting word from my test panel.
How will these reeds work on my mouthpiece?
The best way to know for sure is to try. However, below are some notes that I hope will help you in your decision making process.
Clarinet reeds: To order, click here!
As far mouthpieces go, it really boils down to personal preference. I've tried them on Brad Behn's student mouthpieces (they seem to respond best with #2 and #2 1/2 of either cut) and liked them. They seem to work pretty well on most of the Vandoren mouthpieces (I say most because I've only heard them used on the M15, M30, 5RVLyre, and the M13. Y'all let me know if they work on any of the others, please.) I've also had success with them on David McClune's student mouthpiece (for me, a 301 #3 seemed to do the trick, but a student could get away with going with a softer strength; I would not, however, recommend going any harder than a #3, because it starts to get a little edgy after that.) I know some people who play the Lomax Classic mouthpiece who really like them (they're split 50-50 over which tip style, though). If I've left your favorite mouthpiece maker off the list, I do apologize, and if you have tried these reeds with a mouthpiece not listed, I would appreciate your comments on whether or not they worked for you.
One more thing: if your mouthpiece has an asymmetrical facing, chances are these reeds will not work very well for you. I have a theory as to why that is, but I don't feel like typing it out right now. I will say that four out of five people who have asymmetrically faced mouthpieces who tried these reeds did not sound good. You are welcome to give them a try just to see if you can prove me wrong, but I just thought I'd throw that out there to possibly save you some time and money.
Alto sax/alto clarinet reeds: To order, click here!
more info as soon as I find my notes, because I was a genius and did not save my original website file...
Tenor sax/bass clarinet reeds: To order, click here!
more info as soon as I find my notes. Bass clarinet: Selmer C* seem to work best with #3, and it depends on personal preference whether or not people use the jazz cut reeds. I waffle between the 721 #3 1/2s and the 722 #4s, depending on the style of music I'm playing, the weather, and the demands of the part. Most of the time I do play 721 #3 1/2s on my Selmer HS* mouthpiece.
Soprano sax reeds: To order, click here!
I'm waiting on the verdict on how the strengths measure up to other brands.
Does AW-Reeds make baritone sax/contrabass clarinet reeds?
No, and I've asked them about it, and their answer makes sense, even though it's a real bummer. It's very difficult to find high quality cane that is large enough to make this size of reed. The people at AW-Reeds feel that it wouldn't be a good idea to produce such a reed unless they could have the highest quality cane available, and since they can't seem to find any that's good enough, they're not going to do it. (I'll keep bugging them about it, though, and I'll keep you all posted if they ever do get some going.)
Does AW-Reeds make E-flat clarinet reeds?
Only for Germany system clarinets. However, I did give out some German cut reeds to people to use on E-flat clarinets (they either cut the end off to shorten it or they have one of those barrels that allows the player to use German cut soprano clarinet reeds), and the verdict was "hey, these work pretty well!"
Do the German cut reeds work on French mouthpieces?
No, not really. They are way too narrow to cover the window of the mouthpiece, and, consequently, everything above open G is very unstable. The production manager warned me not to try it, but did I listen? Nooooooo, I did not. So I subjected a few people plus myself to this little experiment, and we all ended up sounding like someone was mistreating a set of bagpipes. Then the neighbors called the police. (Well, they didn't really, but it was not pretty. At all.)
Who is AW-Reeds GbR? AW-Reeds GbR is a reed and mouthpiece manufacturer based in Nürnberg, Germany. The company was founded by Alexander Willscher, who is principal clarinetist of the Nürnberg Symphony. (This is where the "AW" comes from, not root beer.) His business partners are Prof. Martin Spangenberg (he was principal clarinetist of the Munich Philharmonic for 17 years and currently teaches clarinet at the Franz Liszt Academy in Weimar, when he's not giving concerts in places like Egypt and Korea and other, undisclosed locations) and Hermann Uhl (he owns Uhl-Technik, and is the inventor of the technology that makes these reeds so consistent. He also has reed profilers and machines and strength gauges and other nifty electronic thingies.) There are people behind the scenes, too, but they prefer to hide behind the machinery and under piles of tube cane.
Where does their cane come from?
The Var Region in France. I asked for more specifics, but all I got was: "we could tell you, but then we would have to kill you." Really, though, it doesn't matter one way or the other where the cane comes from, as long as it does what it is supposed to. That's my opinion, anyway.
How are their reeds processed?
Check out their website for more information: http://www.aw-reeds.de/en/aboutus.html
