Vandoren

Vandoren is a manufacturer of mouthpieces, reeds, and accessories for the clarinet and saxophone families. History Vandoren was founded in 1905 by Eugène Van Doren (1873-1940), a clarinetist for the Paris Opera. The original location was eventually moved to 56 Rue Lepic, Paris, where his son, Robert Van Doren (1904-1996), took over the business around 1935 and designed the 5RV mouthpiece. In 1967, Bernard Van Doren (b. 1945), grandson of the aforementioned Eugène Van Doren, took over the company and designed the B45 clarinet mouthpiece. Bernard also introduced new machinery to the company, and moved the factory to its current location in Paris at Bormes les Mimosas in 1990. With the improvements in technology, Vandoren was able to increase production, becoming a major manufacturer of reeds and mouthpieces for woodwind instruments. Mouthpieces Vandoren clarinet and saxophone mouthpieces are made of vulcanised rubber called ebonite. Their V16 tenor saxophone mouthpieces are also available in a metal variant.