Klarinet Archive - Posting 000736.txt from 1998/11

From: GrabnerWG@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] Reed Making...was "Double rip embouchure"
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1998 15:10:32 -0500

In a message dated 11/19/98 11:31:12 AM Central Standard Time,
sls2t@-----.edu writes:

<< Hey,
I'm doing a little research on homemade reeds. My new teacher
makes his own and gave me a few books with instructions to get me
started...these books date back to the fiftys and I was wondering if
anybody A) makes their own reds and how they like them and B) is it
possible to learn from a book, or should I just keep pestering teachers to
show me? Some teachers, like my old one, still live and die by Vandoren
V-12 #4, but for me they're gutless and only last a few days at
best...What opinions have you all formulated concerning homemade reeds?
Are there good instruction books out there? Is it worth the time to make
them? (I spend a lot of time already just breaking in and balancing the
vandorens.) Opinions on reeds are just as diverse and subjective as the
people who have them (all of us) so keep the replies free of opinions and
more on what ya'll consider to be some "known" facts or observations.
>>
I made my own reeds for years. I used prepared blanks, which are available
from various sources. When I got great cane, I made great reeds. When I got
lousy cane, I made lousy reeds.

Making reeds is hard work, no doubt about it. Claims are made that it is worth
it, because hand made reeds last longer. I cannot verify that. Some of the
techniques that help "hand-made" reeds last longer can also be used on
"store-bought" reeds. Some of these, like polishing the backside of the reed
to a mirror finish, do help prolong the life of the reed.....at the
expense...of a lively, vivid sound.

I no longer make my own reeds. When I learned, the quality of VanDoren reeds
(IMHO) was terrible. Maybe one good reed in a box of 25. (Old timers, remember
the box of 25...I used to get them for $6.50 a box).

These days, we have VanDoren V-12's, Grand Concert, Zonda, and Mitchel Lurie
reeds to play with. With this quality and variety available, I think my time
is better spent practicing! A good VanDoren or Zonda is as good as anything I
ever made, and I played professionally on my own reeds for 4 or 5 years, part
of my undergrad days, and while I was getting my Master's.

If you want to learn to make reeds, there are two good sources:

Kal Opperman's book....Making and Adjusting Single Reeds
Stubbins book...The Art of Clarinetistry - Chapter VI

I still refer to this chapter in the Stubbins from time to time.

The rest of the book.......well.......................................

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