Klarinet Archive - Posting 000241.txt from 1997/04

From: BKruse@-----.COM
Subj: Re[2]: Reed Contradictions
Date: Thu, 17 Apr 1997 08:56:12 -0400

(Warning to the humor-impaired: some of the following is meant to be
tongue-in-cheek. That's different from tongue-and-groove for you cabinetry
students out there. It's also different from the tongue and tail
references you Shakespeare scholars are so fond of.)

The old guy in my band (he's 80 now) likes to use the tule reed that grow
wild up here in northern California. They're a lot like dutch rush only
much bigger around. He tried to teach me but I'm much too impatient. I
just get out my Herder reed knife and grind away. He actually got turned
on to tule reeds by a bassoonist he knows. Double-reed players, as they
are constantly reminding me, know worlds more about reeds than us clarinet
players. I found an article about cane at the following web site:

http://www.gntech.net/~jonesdoublereed/

At the risk of being attacked by double-reed players the world over for
sharing secret knowledge outside the brotherhood (not to mention unwanted
communications from copyright lawyers), here it is:

What Is Good Cane?

by Wendal Jones

The craftsmen at JDRP, along with the world-class professional players we
talk to on a continual basis, all know what makes cane good. They can
describe cane that seems to be the best. They like to see cane that has a
hard outer bark and coloring that is within a certain acceptable range. As
one of JDRP's workers said recently: "When you have personally gouged over
half a million peices of cane you have a good idea of what our musician
customers are talking about".

Some things that double reed professionals like to see in their cane:

1.Consistent Diameter -- One of the most crucial things in double reeds.
Oboists prefer 10.5 to 11 mm diameter cane by far because it will give a
consistent tip opening, while bassoonists can be comfortable with diameters
of 25 mm all the way to 28 mm. Since bassoon reads use wires to control the
tip opening, it is less important. At JDRP we use 10.5 for oboe cane and
prefer 27 mm for bassoon since so much more quality cane is available in
that diameter.

2.Color -- The color is a good indicator of quality. Players look for
golden color overall, but like to see some brown, or even purple coloration
too, and never want to see green color, inside or out. Black spots are
always avoided, both on the bark and underneath it.

3.Fibers -- The fibers should be straight, continous, and even in size. An
occasional large fiber, especially a white or clear one, is usually
avoided.

4.Gouge -- After cane selection, the most important characteristic is the
gouge (hollowing out the inside of the split raw pieces) and it must be
accurate to tolerances within a thousanth of an inch. Crucial in this
process is the center-to-side measurement, and the actual thicknesses are
under constant scrutiny. The overall pitch of the reed, and thus the
instrument, is affected most by this one process. Sometimes a musician will
blame his/her instrument for poor pitch when a little experimentation with
certain stages of reedmaking, like gouging, would clear up some problems.

5.Shaping -- JDRP sticks to one shape for all oboe reeds and oboe cane
semi-finished products, and another for all its bassoon reeds and cane
products. Many double reed players feel the need to shape their own cane
and the differences between oboe and bassoon shapes can be very subtle.
Consistency and symmetry of width is the key to this stage along with
shaping exactly in the center of piece of gouged cane.

6.Profiling -- Profiling by machine is very common these days, especially
for bassoonists. Some professional players use their own table-top machine
to scrape down the reed and then they finish scraping by hand after they
have assembled their reed. JDRP is fortunate to have developed the most
elaborate machinery for profiling known to the double reed industry. We are
able to create different reed patterns using a computer and then use the
computer to instruct the machine to cut the reeds to exacting
specifications. That is why a great many professional players use Jones
profiled cane to make their reeds even though they already have a small
machine of their own.

_____
Subject: RE: Reed Contradictions
Author: rteitelbaum@-----.edu at MINDSCAPE
Date: 4/7/97 3:43 PM

I confess that I know nothing of tubes in reeds or any of the other topics
that have been discussed on this thread (except what I've learned from
reading the recent postings.) But I do know that a former sax teacher of
mine recommended rubbing new reeds with a plant that I think was called
Dutch Rush, which he grew in his backyard. It has a sandpaper-like texture,
and seemed especially good for softening up overly-stiff reeds. I liked it
better for sax reeds than clarinet ones, but along a similar vein I've
found that gently pressing new Vandorens on a glass surface or the
mouthpiece table can be helpful, since those infernal plastic cases that
Vandorens come in have the tendency to bend the reed, causing it to be out
of shape when first removed from the box. In this way I've been able to
find 5-6 good V12's to a box instead of the usual 2-3. I think the
difference results because these bent reeds aren't straightened out, and
hence are not given a proper "chance" to prove themselves to be good reeds.

Rob Teitelbaum
Claremont McKenna College