Klarinet Archive - Posting 000730.txt from 1997/05

From: dfigi@-----.com (Dave Figi)
Subj: Re: Zonda Reeds
Date: Tue, 27 May 1997 18:56:18 -0400

>Hello everyone-
>
>Thanks to all of you who had good things to say about Zonda Reeds over the
>last week or so. There is one comment (a concern) that I have seen repeated
>over and over, the issue of longevity, and I would like to offer my advice on
>that subject.
>
>We grade our clarinet reeds to 20 different levels (actually with the
>proprietary strength grading machine we developed we can grade even finer
>than that, but we feel 20 levels is sufficient). Within the conventional
>half-strength system, which we use on the outside of the boxes, we have our
>"sub-strength" grading. This is an optional method which lets you really
>fine-tune your strength preferences. On the label on the back of the box you
>will find a 7 digit lot number. The right hand digit is a letter from A-T,
>and this represents the actual sub-strength of all the reeds in that box.
>This results in our being able to offer you a soft, medium, or hard in almost
>every conventional half-strength. This chart will explain it, I hope:
>
>2.0- soft@-----.5- soft= D, hard= E
>3.0- soft@-----.5- soft= I, medium= J, hard= K
>4.0- soft@-----.5- soft= O, medium= P, hard= Q
>5.0- soft= R, medium= S, hard= T
>
>The differences between each sub-strength are negligable, and most people
>find they are comfortable playing more than one sub-strength. (They are
>already playing a range of strength that is equal to 3 of our sub-strengths).
>If you find that the reeds are not lasting as long as you would like, we have
>had very good success asking people to try the next harder sub-strength. They
>may not play as well right out of the box, but as the reed "settles" (as
>every reed does) it will still have the body that you need, and should last
>longer. If you break your last reed, and in an emergency need a reed to play
>immediately without break-in, play the lighter sub-strength. We have been
>able to fix most of the longevity problems people report to us by educating
>them about the sub-strength system, so I hope it works for you.
>
>It is possible that your local dealer may have some reeds from before we
>began the sub-strength process. These reeds will only have a 6 digit lot
>number. They're still good reeds, but they will have a range of strength like
>a conventional reed. Ask them to get some sub-strength graded reeds for you
>to try.
>
>We also offer a Ready To Finish (RTF) reed that has most of the manufacturing
>done to it. This is for the player who has the skills to make their own
>reeds, but not the time or the inclination. It's left a little strong so you
>can adjust it to your liking, and the tip is not cut so you can shape it to
>precisely fit your mouthpiece.
>
>Good luck!
>
>Mike Abbott
>President
>HiNotes, Inc. (a sister company of Verne Q. Powell Flutes, Inc.)

Do you have your tenor sax reeds out yet? If so where are they available?
I prefer to use tenor sax reeds for bass clarinet.
Judy Figi

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