Vandoren V5 A35/A45/A55

[SaxyAcoustician]

Anyone play any of these mouthpieces? Apparently, they're still geared towards classical playing.

[Merlin]

The A35 is .080" - pretty big for classical playing, but quite usable in concert band for an all-round piece - i.e., going from classical transcriptions to pops material.

I also use it to play big band lead on.

[Canadiain]

I have a Vandoren alto piece that is marked only "A35", nothing else. What are the chances this its a V5 that predated that designation?. Its probably from the early 1980s? It doesnt seem to have the same step between body and shank that the V5 has...its a lot more Java ish to look at, but doesnt have any baffle to speak of, so maybe thats not the case. Anyone know for sure? Vandoren themselves now have the A35 facing down as a "V5 Jazz", or the 2 Javas, no straight V5 option in the catalogue.

I have to agree with Merlin though (and not just cos hes always right!)

I was just messing about with it the other night after it had spent years sitting in the case unplayed. I'd forgotten what a good piece it was...It was my first "name brand" piece , recommended by my teacher at school. Still, I'll stick with my Beechler and Selmer S80. My mystery A35 is somewhere between those two in attitude... a good all around piece.

[zorroperro]

But use the A45 Jumbo Java. All are Jumbo Javas. The A55 is an excelente piece with very good low notes. the altissimo is not as easy that it is with the A45 because the A45 has a shorther facing and it is narrower.

The A35 feels too close for me.

What I have found very relevant with the A45 is that the reed hardness is not only important, but essential. A softer reed may give problems even with the low notes. A35 and A55 have not given that feeling to me.

Anyway, state of the art pieces. Warren Hill uses an A45 and you can tell he can play!

Altissimo is excelent and very powerful pieces.

[J.Max]

I have a Vandoren alto piece that is marked only "A35", nothing else. What are the chances this its a V5 that predated that designation?. Its probably from the early 1980s? It doesnt seem to have the same step between body and shank that the V5 has...its a lot more Java ish to look at, but doesnt have any baffle to speak of, so maybe thats not the case. Anyone know for sure? Vandoren themselves now have the A35 facing down as a "V5 Jazz", or the 2 Javas, no straight V5 option in the catalogue.

I have to agree with Merlin though (and not just cos hes always right!)

I was just messing about with it the other night after it had spent years sitting in the case unplayed. I'd forgotten what a good piece it was...It was my first "name brand" piece , recommended by my teacher at school. Still, I'll stick with my Beechler and Selmer S80. My mystery A35 is somewhere between those two in attitude... a good all around piece.


If it doesn't have a step baffle of some sort, it's a V5. (Also, if you are positive that it's from the 80s, the Java and Jumbo Java pieces from that period are blue in color.)

[MM]

Actually Vandoren call the V5 A35 and A45 their V5 jazz models. They have somewhat different chamber designs than the closer facing models, a bit more rollover baffle, to give more brightness. Nothing very radical. These are pretty decent mpcs which can go both ways.

[MM]

J. Max, I wouldn't consider the Java mpcs I've seen to have a step baffle.

[Merlin]

The V5 has a step from the chamber into the shank bore. It has a flat baffle.

The Java models have a rollover, and the chamber has no step going into the shank bore.

The Jumbos have a pronounced baffle with a sharp edge, kind of like a D series Dukoff.

[SaxyAcoustician]

Great. Exactly the answers I was looking for. :)

Sounds like the V5 "Jazz" A35/A45/A55 are not much different from their V5 classical counterparts except in facing length and tip opening. Exactly what I wanted to hear.

I ordered the V5 A45. It should be an interesting piece. Thanks!

[J.Max]

J. Max, I wouldn't consider the Java mpcs I've seen to have a step baffle.


You're right, I was thinking of the Jumbo Java. The regular ones have a rather large rollover, though.

[MM]

I'll reiterate. If you look at Vandoren's literature on their alto mpcs, they show cross-sectional diagrams of a somewhat different chamber profile for their V5 "jazz" pieces, with a higher rollover baffle and a wider throat than the other V5 mpcs. But it's nothing radical.

On a related subject, how would people compare the Java (non-Jumbo) to the V16?

[J.Max]

Man, I can't type today...I meant the regular Java pieces, not the V5s.


I've played both the Java and the V16 recently. I found the Java very hard to control and "chirpy". The V16 felt a lot like a Meyer to me, but with a bit more pop. (It's worth noting that I have never played a Meyer on a regular basis, but I was comparing jazz pieces at that point and I had a Meyer for comparison. For this trial, I had a Meyer, V16, and the Rousseau Studio Jazz.)

[MM]

J. Max, thanks for the clarification. Funny, your description of the Java sounds like my experience. I had wondered if piece I tried was a dud. Maybe the Javas were an earlier attempt at a rollover baffle piece by Vandoren that just didn't work out. Do any alto players like them?

Interpolating from your past comments, it seems you like the R. Studio Jazz even better than the V16. How do these two compare? Did you try the V16 medium or small chamber? Thanks.

[paulwl]

A55? That's a helluva name for a mouthpiece...

"Got music in you? Blow it out your A55!" :D

[hershel]

my off the shelf Java mthpc plays just as well as my great JVW Meyer.