Klarinet Archive - Posting 000698.txt from 1996/10

From: "David B. Niethamer" <niethamer@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Reed adjustment
Date: Sun, 27 Oct 1996 19:58:53 -0500

Deborah - you wrote:

>Can anyone give me some advice on reed adjustment? It seems that lately
>anything that I do to my reeds produces a "tinny" sound or a slight
>whistling sound. Most people do not notice this, but it is quite
>disturbing to me.
> I have been using vandoran v-12 #4 since v-12's came out, but
>lately they haven't sounded the same.I have tried regular vandorans, but
>they don't seem to be the solution. I have also tried Queen reeds lately
>because I used them in college, but they are so hard. My dilemma is
>that I can't get the dark sound that I used to get and still have
>flexibility in my playing.
> SUGGESTIONS PLEASE!

I wonder if your mouthpiece has warped. All the symptoms you describe are
the classics for this. When the side rails warp inward toward the window,
reeds go from stuffy to tinny without any of the in-between steps, and
reeds become harder (if not impossible) to adjust. Find a good mpc person
in your area and have them check this out. In some cases this can be
repaired.

David

David Niethamer
Principal Clarinet, Richmond Symphony
niethamer@-----.edu
dbnclar1@-----.com
http://users.aol.com/dbnclar1/