Klarinet Archive - Posting 000266.txt from 1994/12

From: "Julia M. Heinen" <JULIAHEINE@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Comments on Reeds
Date: Tue, 13 Dec 1994 17:40:39 -0500

I too, was a faithful Olivieri user for several years. I order my reeds many
boxes ahead and it was not until this summer when I noticed a significant
change in the reeds. The strength I have always used was suddenly soft and I
had to move up two strengths to get something that seemed comparable. The
tips of the new reeds were extremely uneven and had many spots that were too
thin. This was causing these reeds to chirp in any register. Clipping did not
help as the thin spots seemed to go farther up the blank. Thinking that this
was perhaps only a problem with this batch I ordered several more boxes and
found it to be a problem with all the reeds. I also called Olivieri and asked
if anything had changed in their production and was told that everything is
fine and that no one else has complained of a similar problem.

I was not happy to hear of your reed frustrations but I was glad to find out
that it was only me who noticed these changes. I have sinced switched reed
brands (as all my students have also, since they also have been having this
problem for a while).

I have switched reeds and my reeds seem much more stable now. I am currently
using a combination of V-12's and Rico Grand Concert Thick Blank. I sincerely
wish that Olivieri would come back to their former reed style.