I love V-12 reeds, and use them exclusively now.  I tried the 56 Rue Lepic, but can honestly say I hate them.  They are very stiff, a different "resistance sizing" than the V-12s so far as I can tell, and that seems a bit crazy.  I recently took up clarinet playing after a very, very long absence.  My degree is in clarinet performance/music education.  I decided to give Vandoren another try (never used to like them) and have found my favorite reeds are the V-12s.  I have tried several of my "old brands" and just like the V-12s for their sound....it has a lot of clarity, and with the right mouthpiece, the sound is not "too bright." And by the way, I am finding 6-8 out of each box of 10 are really good reeds, some of them are great.  I am just transitioning from 2.5s to 3s, so I tried the 56 Rue 2.5s....no way....they are very stiff and I am going to have to spend a lot of time to see if I can make them playable.  If my opinion changes in the future, I will update this review.