Klarinet Archive - Posting 001192.txt from 1998/10

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl] size of Eb soprano reeds
Date: Tue, 27 Oct 1998 23:00:41 -0500

Would some of you who play Eb soprano clarinet measure your reeds for me? I
need to know the total length of the reed and also the length from the tip to
the shoulder of whatever brands are available. I also need to know the width
at the tip and at the heel.

I ask because I'm looking for reeds that won't need outrageous amounts of
tinkering to fit the orginal mouthpiece of my 1922 King Saxello, an unusual,
obsolete design of Bb soprano sax. It's similar to a straight soprano but with
a slight curve in the end of the bell. If possible, I'd like to avoid either
making reeds from scratch :-( or replacing this mouthpiece (pro quality hard
rubber). I know from experience with my other saxes from the 1920s that they
generally play best with mouthpieces of the same vintage. Modern sax
mouthpieces are longer and make old horns play flat. (The proportion of
mouthpiece length to neck length has changed.) Modern soprano sax reeds and
Bb soprano clarinet reeds are too big for the Saxello mouthpiece. (The heart
of the Bb clarinet reed lies under the top ligature screw!) The Saxello mpc
lay is only 2-1/8" long. From the outsides of the rails, it is 9/16" wide at
the tip. The lay tapers to 7/16" wide at the heel. I've had some success
using thin jazz-type alto sax reeds on alto clarinet and hope I can work a
similar trick in reverse with a small eefer reed. Any help much appreciated!

Thanks--
Lelia
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"The saxophone is the embodied spirit of beer."
--attributed to Arnold Bennett
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