Klarinet Archive - Posting 001041.txt from 2000/06

From: George Kidder <gkidder@-----.org>
Subj: Re: [kl] V12
Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2000 20:22:25 -0400

At 05:38 PM 6/25/00 -0400, Bill Hausmann wrote:

>I think this may be a little confusing to some. The "density" of the cane
>is a given. Nothing can be done about it. That is the way it grew. Each
>piece is a little different. Cut to a specific thickness, whether V12 or
>Traditional, the density and thickness then combine to give the reed a
>certain stiffness, which is then measured, sorted, and boxed as 2, 2 1/2,
>3, etc.
>
As I see it (and as I said before): Reed cane has a gradient of density
from the hardest just under the "bark" to a much lower density adjacent to
the hole in the middle of the cane (where the density is that of air!).
That, as Bill said, is the way it grew. The reed is cut as a flat section
from the curved cane, and therefore has its highest density under the
"bark" (the uncut section) and a lower density at the tip, since some
material has been removed from the "bark" side. If a thicker blank is
used, as on the V12's, the tip is necessarily being cut from less dense
material, all other things being equal. (And I hasten to add that I have
no knowledge that all the other things ARE kept equal in making a V12.) So
there could very well be a difference between V12's and the corresponding
regular reeds due to this alone.

This same geometrical/botanical reasoning suggests that on any natural cane
reed, there is a higher density of cane toward the outside of the vibrating
tip, and a somewhat lesser density in the center of the tip. Is this
perhaps why we shape our reeds by removing material from the outside, to
equalize the product of density times thickness across the reed? Or, in
fact, is it better to have harder edges and a looser center? Could this be
why some of us (myself included) do not find synthetic reeds (Legere) to
our liking, since this gradient is not present in the plastic material?
Food for thought.

George Kidder
Bar Harbor, ME

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