Klarinet Archive - Posting 000136.txt from 1993/11

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Jim Fay's comments on reeds
Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1993 13:18:58 -0500

I think Jim Fay's inquiry on reed cane is just the kind of thing
for which a board of this nature exists; i.e., to have an intelligent
and ongoing dialog on a specific subject related to the clarinet and
clarinet playing.

I'd like to add to Jim's interesting inquiry a question relative to
clarinet cane. Where does it come from? And the reason why I want
to know about cane is to address the issue of if there really is
a difference between one brand of cane and another.

If, for example, all cane comes from a very small area around the
Mediterranean, then it doesn't really matter whose reeds one buys
since it all originates in the same small geographic area.

And if cane itself is not measurably different from reed
to reed (and I am not at all suggesting this to be true - in fact
I don't really know if it is true) then it would seem that any
significant differences in reed quality must come from the manufacturing
process.

On the other hand, if reed cane grows in many places, then there
may be some technological advantage of one kind over another;
i.e., one cane is more dense and that slows down the process of
becoming waterlogged, etc.

Personally, I am so ignorant about the nature of reeds that I need
to have my head shaped correctly. I buy and use Van Doren reeds
for several reasons: (1) they are available is plentiful supply;
(2) they are available in a variety of strengths; (3) they
are available locally; (4) the are available in a variety of types;
for example, E-flat, B-flat, bass, etc; (5) they are available in
several natures; for example, German cut, jazz cut, etc; (6) I
lived in France and used to go to their factory to buy boxes and
boxes of them so I have a big supply.

None of these reasons are necessarily unique. There may be lots of
companies that satisfy reasons 1-5 above.

Perhaps the main reason is that I find them satisfactory. Of course,
some other brand might be more satisfactory, but I would not know
that having used Van Dorens exclusively for a number of years.

Bottom line is that I am an ignoramus when it comes to reeds and it
is time that I learned some more about them. And the first thing
I would like to know is what kind of geographical diversity do we
have in the reeds that are commercially available?

After that comes the natural question about the manufacturing
process. In what way does the manufacturing process for Lurie
reeds (for example) differ from the manufacturing process for
Van Doren reeds? Does one company sharpen its knives more frequently?
Does one produce a reed that is thicker (thinner), shaped
differently from the other in some measurable way, longer (shorter),
etc.? To what extent do such differences translate into usability
of the reed?

Or is this whole thing so subjective that answers to none of these
questions really matter? Instead it might just be brand identity
that attracts us in some subtle way; i.e., Lurie plays so well that
maybe I can play that well if I buy his reeds (or mouthpiece or
barrel or clarinet or music stand or ligature or who knows what).

I do not mean to sound overly scientific with respect to my questions,
but it will not be very helpful to me if the nature of this discussion
evolves to everyone liking one reed over the other because of a
perception that "it sounds better." That would not be useful
information.

====================================
Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
(leeson@-----.edu)
====================================