Klarinet Archive - Posting 001054.txt from 2001/02

From: "Karl Krelove" <karlkrelove@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Warped reeds
Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 08:30:35 -0500

Donna,

Wetting these reeds for a little longer should straighten them out. I've had
students who, while they were wetting them in their mouths, also pressed
against them with their tongues in such a way that they forced the tip into
a curve. You can try wetting the reeds in a small container of water to see
if that works any better. If they are still wavy at the tip, press them flat
with your finger against a flat surface (I rub over the reed tip a few times
against the table of my mouthpiece). They _will_ probably be wavy after they
dry out again. You just need to repeat the process each time you play.

This is not the problem many of us call warpage, which more often describes
a curvature that develops along the back of the reed. The side that should
be flat becomes slightly convex, so that when the midline sits on the table
of the mouthpiece the side edges tend to be curled upward slightly. This
almost never happens until the reed has been wet a couple of times. It can
only be repaired by flattening the back with a reed knife or sandpaper and
sometimes the reed can't be salvaged. There's an ongoing debate about
whether or not forcing the reed to dry with its flat side against a glass or
other non-porous flat surface prevents this from happening. The other
recommended preventive practice is to dry reeds flat side up or on the
mouthpiece (where the window allows drying from the back as well as the
exposed front surface).

One solution to your crinkled tip problem that some players use is to keep
the reed from ever drying completely. This involves either putting your reed
case in a sealable plastic bag (like a Ziplock) or leaving a favorite reed
on the mouthpiece and putting that in a bag. We've had at least one fairly
heated debate about this, too, because the possibility of mold, mildew and
bacteria formation on the reed is higher than it is when you dry your reeds
thoroughly.

Hope all of this helps - it's probably more than you wanted to know.

Karl Krelove

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Donna Higgins [mailto:Donna@-----.com]
> Sent: Monday, February 26, 2001 11:14 PM
> To: klarinet@-----.org
> Subject: Re: [kl] Warped reeds
>
>
> Sorry for not being more specific. The tips of the reeds are
> wavy, and when I
> play these reeds, they produce a thin, weak sound compared to my
> "good" reeds
> that are not warped.
>
> Wetting the reeds seems to make the tips warp even more.
> Pressing them against
> a flat surface helps temporarily, but once the reeds dry out, the tips are
> warped again.
>
> I may try storing reeds on a piece of glass, as Gavin suggested.
>
> Karl Krelove wrote:
>
> > I'm always a little suspicious when I read something like this
> that we're
> > not all talking about the same thing when we talk about
> "warped" reeds. What
> > exactly are your reeds doing? Where is the warpage?
> >
> > Karl Krelove
> >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Donna Higgins [mailto:Donna@-----.com]
> > > Sent: Monday, February 26, 2001 10:11 PM
> > > To: klarinet@-----.org
> > > Subject: [kl] Warped reeds
> > >
> > >
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > I've been having a problem lately with warping reeds. I
> bought a box of
> > > Mitchell Lurie 4.5 reeds, which all looked fine when I got them, but
> > > within a week or two about half of them (unused) had warped.
> I kept the
> > > whole box in my clarinet case. Several reeds that I had been using
> > > (same brand and strength, different batch) also became warped.
> > >
> > > Is there any way to fix a warped reed? And what's the best
> way to store
> > > reeds? I used to use one of those reed cases that Vandoren makes, the
> > > kind that holds four at once, but my reeds got moldy very quickly, so
> > > now I keep them in the little plastic things they're sold in.
> > >
> > > Thanks!
> > >
> > > --
> > > Donna M. Higgins
> > >
> > > "The thing that impresses me most about America is the way
> parents obey
> > > their children." - The Duke of Windsor (1894-1972)
> > >
> > >
> > >
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> --
> Donna M. Higgins
>
> "The thing that impresses me most about America is the way
> parents obey their
> children." - The Duke of Windsor (1894-1972)
>
>
>
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