| Question - How
do Légère Reeds differ from other synthetic reeds? |
| Answer -
Légère reeds are made from a special polymer compound with a very
fine microtexture. They have low density, so that they float, like cane reeds.
In fact, our material is designed to mimic the important properties of damp
cane as closely as possible. Because of the microtexture, we can machine very
fine tips for the fantastic response you would expect from a great reed. See
our Science and Materials pages for more details. |
|
| Question - How
long will one reed last? |
| Answer -
Players report a variety of lifetimes, but most would agree that our reeds
easily last long enough to make them a very economical choice in the long run.
Some players have reported playing for months on a single reed. You can prolong
the life of your reed by treating the tip with care, and by rotating the reed
after an hour of hard practice. |
|
| Question - Why
are Légère reeds so expensive? .Aren't they just cheap bits of
molded plastic? |
| Answer- No! Our
compound is our own trade secret. We have to make it ourselves in order to
control the strength of the material, and thus to make reeds of different
strength. Our reeds are machined on an expensive CNC machine, not stamped or
molded like conventional plastic parts. In fact there are many steps in the
manufacturing process, and the entire process takes approximately two weeks.
|
|
| Question -
Don't I have to get used to a "real" reed anyway? |
| Answer - Many
professional musicians don't think so. They are playing and recording on
Légère reeds full time. There is no need to play on any other
type of reed. Larry Combs, Principal Clarinet of the Chicago symphony,
recommends Légère Reeds for his students. Have a look at our
Artist pages. |
|
| Question - How
do I pick a strength? |
| Asnwer - Go to
our Our Reeds page to learn more about each type of reed and to compare our
strengths to those of other reeds that you might be familiar with. We do offer
an exchange of strength policy in many countries. Please see our Guarantee for
details. |
|
| Question - Can
I work on the reed? |
| Answer - It is
possible, but not recommended. |
|
| Question - Why
Do they work? |
| Answer - The
secret to the success of Légère Reeds is a combination of a
unique synthetic material, and meticulous computer controlled processing
operations. Natural cane has a combination of high stiffness and low density
that can be difficult to duplicate in a synthetic material. The manufacturers
take advantage of the natural variation in cane to produce reeds of different
strength. Cane reeds are graded according to strength: stiff cane is generally
used to produce “harder” reeds. We have successfully duplicated this
property variation in our material, and because we can control the material
properties very precisely we are able to deliver reeds of consistent strength
– each and every time. |
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