Klarinet Archive - Posting 000158.txt from 1999/12

From: "W. Edinger" <wde1@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] more reed questions
Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1999 18:53:11 -0500

Another aspect of reed life that's always puzzled me is why there
seems to be a general principle (in my own experience, at least) that
the larger the reed, the shorter the life. I think others have made
note that Eb reeds seem to last forever. I haven't played enough Eb to
have a good feel for that, but when I was playing bass cl., the reeds
always seemed to have a shorter life than the Bbs, and the darned bari
sax reeds lasted about six hours, at $3-$4 a pop (another reason I
stopped volunteering for bari parts). It seems to have been that way
across the board for both saxophones and clarinets. Maybe the lower
vibration frequencies do more mechanical damage? Certainly the travel
is greater on a bigger mouthpiece, with a larger tip opening. I am
assuming that the basic cane structure is similar for different reed
sizes (not strengths, SIZES), or at least not very much different.
Anybody else get this impression?

Bill Edinger
--
****************************
"Music and wine are one."

- Ralph W. Emerson

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