La Voz vs. Vandoren

[WorldIRC]

Would you say Medium Hard = 3.5

I have the La Voz med hard and they seem a slight bit harder to play -- or rather, my face hurts a little quicker then normal.

[singlereed]

I would say they are closer to a 3 Vandoren, but the 'cut' is different too, so you couldn't compare them directly. The La Voz is designed to give different playing characteristics, I found, for example that they (and V16 from Vandoren which I think are similar to La Voz) worked well for me on soprano, the stiffer heart of the reed seemed to help me control the instrument. There are quite a few reed comparison charts available on the web that you might like to consult, they will probably contradict me......

[Chris S]

I'd say that MH is pretty close to 3.5. I don't know why it would be any more difficult to blow, except for what singlereed had to say. I think that most of the difference lies in the cut. Are LaVoz French cut? I can't remember, haven't played one in about 5 years. And which Vandoren are you comparing it to, because if you were playing on a 3.5 Java then the LaVoz is going to feel a lot different. I'd say take a look at the reeds and find one that looks consistent (I'm assuming that you bought a box). Hold each one up to the light and look for where it gets dark, if it looks symetrical, then it'll probably play at least decently. Vandoren and LaVoz are pretty different though, so maybe play aorund with the different hardnesses of LaVoz until you find one that's comfortable for you.

Chris S

[Saxophoon]

MedHard= 3.25 they are right between ZZ(run slightly soft) and V16. If you find that the ZZ's play just a bit too soft for you and the V16's are just a bit hard then odds are you'll dig the LaVoz MedHards.

[WorldIRC]

Yea..one prob I'm noticing though is C-Bb (low) waver a lot. I can't determine if its me, the mouthpiece, the reeds, or what. It's not a leak since the leak light test passed.

[Chris S]

What kind of a setup are you using? Horn, piece and lig? What reeds did you play prior to the LaVoz?

[WorldIRC]

I am playing a Yani A901 with the #5 mouthpiece and La Voz med.hard. I used to play a Yamaha AS23 w Selmer C* and vandoren 3.5

[Chris S]

IMHO, LaVoz hasn't ever worked as well for me as Vandoren. I currently use Alexander reeds, which I love because they're more consistant. I'm not familiar with Yani, but I do suspect that it might perhaps be the reeds, have you tried using you're old piece/lig/reed setup with the new horn? To each his own, but for my money, I would have stuck with Vandorens.

Chris S

[WorldIRC]

I switched back to Vandoren -- haha all back to normal.

[Vortex]

Yea..one prob I'm noticing though is C-Bb (low) waver a lot. I can't determine if its me, the mouthpiece, the reeds, or what. It's not a leak since the leak light test passed.

In that case yes, it's you. The sooner you stop blaming problems on your equipment, the more quickly you jump to the next level as a player.

[WorldIRC]

I was only blaming the equipment cuz the equipment was brand new. I was able to play other alto's. I just bought a new mouthpiece -- it is more open and lets me play now. The Yani mpc was more closed then the plastic crap the school gives us.