Klarinet Archive - Posting 000892.txt from 2003/02

From: Richard Bush <rbushidioglot@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Allergies, reed treatment chemicals?; was, Wood allergies (to Lelia)
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 22:08:35 -0500

Dear Patricia,

I certainly can't answer question #1 below. As in many businesses, the
farmers who grow cane are competing with each other. Those that produce
the best product probably demand and get the highest price for their
cane. A lot of quality depends upon how it is handled after it is cut.
It must be dried out and then sun cured, being rotated for a consistent
exposure to the sun. The cane is graded, sized and trimmed. Crooked and
misshaped pieces are discarded. It is possible that there might be
special steps taken that are kept secret, but I would doubt it.

Some cane producing companies go out of their way to advertise their
product as being organically grown, using no artificial fertilizers. Go
to http://www.argendonax.com.ar/
or
http://www.reedsaus.com.au/about.htm
You'll notice that both the above companies make a point of stating
that they use no pesticides or artificial fertilizers.
Since we have this organic material in our mouths and suck on it, we
should be concerned.

On Wednesday, February 26, 2003, at 04:35 AM, Patricia A. Smith wrote:

> Kelly Abraham wrote:
>
>> Anyway, I am NOT allergic to clarinets, or the wood billets
>> after they are finished. I can continue my pursuit of
>> clari-tooting for as long as I wish with no bizarre wood allergy
>> to make practicing difficult. I just can't shred my clarinets if
>> I have a bad practice session! ;-P
>> I just wanted to thank Lelia for the blurb about the wood. I had
>> forgotten about it from the post all the way back in 2000.
>> Thanks again Lelia!
>
> It is not unusual at all for people to be allergic to some rather
> "unusual" things, it would seem! IIRC, not too long ago, someone
> posted to this list with an allergy to reeds. I have noticed that
> some reeds definitely have a rather funky taste to them, when I first
> take them out of the box and begin to work on them.
>
> I'm wondering a few things -
>
> 1. What chemicals is raw cane treated with before it is cut, etc.
> commercially and made into reeds? Now, I visited the Rico factory
> many years ago, but it has been AGES, and I cannot remember this for
> the life of me!
>
> 2. Are reeds treated with any sort of "preservative" chemicals before
> shipping to retailers, etc.? After all, they ARE an organic product -
> they were once living things, and are subject to breakdown in their
> raw state.
>
> I will readily profess my ignorance here...I used to always simply
> take them out of the box, do what I had to do to get them to play, and
> that was that. However, this thread made me think about this - and it
> certainly could cause problems for someone who has allergies.
>
> Patricia Smith
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
Richard Bush
Maker of 'BasSonic' bassoon reeds
760 Robins Avenue
Ogden, UT 84404
(801) 393-7265
IDRS member
rbushidioglot@-----.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------