Vandoren
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Image:Vandoren Paris.jpg Vandoren is one of the most famous woodwind instrument mouthpiece and reed manufacturers in the world; its products are used by professionals and amateurs alike. Vandoren's reeds are widely regarded as the standard in both the clarinet and saxophone world.
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[edit] History
Vandoren, which began in 1905, is now one of the most popular makers of mouthpieces and reeds for clarinet and saxophone in the world. Began by Eugene Van Doren, a clarinetist for the Paris Opera, the company did not start really growing until his son, Robert Van Doren, took over the business in 1935. In 1967, Bernard Van Doren, grandson of Eugene, took over the company. During this time period, the company started making its most famous mouthpiece for clarinet, the B45. Still today, Vandoren continues to be a prominent manufacturer of reeds and mouthpices. [1]
[edit] Mouthpieces
[edit] Clarinet mouthpieces
One of the most famous and popular makers of clarinet mouthpieces, Vandoren mouthpieces are made of hard rubber. Vandoren clarinet mouthpieces range from being relatively closed, such as the 5RV mouthpiece, to being relatively open, such as the B45 mouthpiece. Additionally, Vandoren makes separate mouthpieces specifically in the German and Austrian style. [2]
Recently (as of February 2006), Vandoren has started manufacturing the B40 Lyre mouthpiece. This new mouthpiece is medium open, with a tip opening of 1.175 mm. [3]
[edit] Saxophone mouthpieces
Like Vandoren's clarinet mouthpieces, Vandoren's saxophone mouthpieces are world renowned. Also like Vanodren clarinet mouthpieces, Vandoren saxophone mouthpieces are made of hard rubber. [4]
[edit] Ligatures
For a number of years, Vandoren have manufactured ligatures, both of the flexible (leather) and metal variety. The metal 'Optimum' ligature differs from many other ligatures in that it ships with three interchangeable plates which apply pressure upon the reed in different ways, producing slightly different timbres with each plate.
[edit] Reeds
[edit] Clarinet reeds
Like its mouthpieces, Vandoren's reeds are world famous. Clarinet reeds by Vandoren come in a variety of styles and filed or unfiled.
[edit] Traditional reeds
The oldest and most popular type of Vandoren clarinet reeds, Traditional reeds are the basic reed offered by Vandoren, in addition to being the most widely played reed in the professional world. [5] Coming in strengths from 1/2 to 5, all strengths of Traditional reeds have a .09 mm thickness at the tip and a thickness of 2.8 mm at the heel. [6]
[edit] V12 reeds
More expensive than the Traditional Reeds, Vandoren V12 reeds are different than Traditional reeds in that they are produced from the thicker cane that is used to make saxophone reeds. At the tip, V12 reeds have a thickness of .10 mm and at the heel, they have a thickness of 3.15 mm. This is equal to .124 inches, which is where the name V12 comes from. The V12 reeds come in strengths from 2 1/2 to 5. These strengths don't correspond to those of Vandoren Traditional reeds, with a strength 4 V12 equalling a strength 3 1/2 Traditional in hardness. [7]
[edit] 56 rue Lepic reeds
The most expensive type of Vandoren reeds, the 56 rue Lepic reeds are named after the address of the Vandoren central offices on 56 rue Lepic Street, Paris. 56 rue Lepic reeds differ from the other two types of Vandoren reeds in that they come from the thickest cane. At the tip, 56 rue Lepic reeds have a thickness of .11 mm and at the heel, they have a thickness of 3.25 mm. [8]
[edit] Saxophone reeds
Like clarinet reeds, Vandoren saxophone reeds come in a variety of styles. The most basic is the Traditional reed, which is very similar to the Traditional clarinet reed. Vandoren also makes the Java reed, which is for jazz playing (Java stands for jazz Vandoren). In 1993, Vandoren began making the V16 reeds, also for jazz, which have a thicker tip and a longer pallet than the Javas. [9] The newest type of Vandoren saxophone reed, the ZZ is the most free blowing and open, making it ideal for many forms of jazz. [10]
[edit] Vandoren performing artists
[edit] Clarinet
- Stanley Drucker
- Guy Deplus
- Paul Meyer [11]
- Eric "Ricemaker" Briesacher
