Klarinet Archive - Posting 000067.txt from 1994/05

From: Jay Winick <winickj@-----.CA>
Subj: Reeds: Vintage from Reeds Australia
Date: Tue, 3 May 1994 14:39:00 -0400

Yesterday I received my two boxes (3.5 & 4.0) from Reeds Australia, a
visual inspection of the reeds was made and the consistency of tip was
suprising. All were reasonably balanced (visually and tactile tested) and
the xylems seemed to be fairly consisent and of a normal size.

Upon wetting I discovered there was a distinct white-yellow tinge to the
cane, as compared to the Vandorens they are much less "green" than the
average V-12.

The density of the cane is remarkable, based upon current discussions this
will lend well to the longevity, however from an immediate playing I could
feel no great difference.

The one thing which I noticed was the shape of the heart, where the V-12
has an inverted V shape tapering down the rails, the shape of the Reeds
Austraila was more along the line of a 90 degrees left ) so there wasn't
as much of a taper along the rails. This could be attributed to the
additional density of the cane.

Overall my preliminary 1 hour blow revealed that these reeds need to be
broken in much more than the V-12.

As I continue with my tests (actually using them) I shall post the results
here.

Regards,

Jay Winick
"I wish I had chosen banjo"