Klarinet Archive - Posting 000739.txt from 1998/01

From: lanewhite@-----.com (Lane G White)
Subj: Re: Reed rush vs sand paper
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 23:35:25 -0500

On Thu, 15 Jan 1998 21:49:11 EST GTGallant <GTGallant@-----.com> writes:
>This may sound silly, but what is reed rush? I always wondered what
>is was
>and was used for.

It's a plant material - when dried, it's hollow, hard, and abrasive. Mine
happens to be about the diameter of the business end of a cotton swab -
dunno if that's universal. Mine is cut into 2-3" sections.

You use it (or sandpaper) to scape reeds. Not that I'm an expert on
adjusting reeds, but the abrasive characteristic of dutch rush is
different than sandpaper, IMO - its abrasiveness is due to the ribbed
nature of the plant stem, so it acts more like a bunch of razor edges
bunched close together, rather than a lot of random microscopic jagged
edges, which is the nature of sandpaper. Not sure if that's good or bad;
since I have identified myself with the "PLAY OR DIE"[tm] division of the
Klarinet List, and don't give bad reeds a chance to redeem themselves
anyway.

Looking back on this last paragraph, I'm sure there's something in there
that I'll get flamed over. It'll give me something to do this weekend
besides practice for my recital.

Say, fellas, which reed company do you think will chip in for the
t-shirts?

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