Klarinet Archive - Posting 000477.txt from 2004/07

From: "Chuck Currie" <reedguy@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] micro mesh sandpaper
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 09:51:53 -0400

Dear Christy,

I must admit I may come off a little over-enthusiastic about the =
Superial
product, but you know how life is a as a reed player...endlessly =
unfulfilled
expectations. As a doubler, I have half a dozen reeds on the go for =
each
of 11 instruments, plus 4 or 5 backup boxes of each. Not an =
inconsiderable
investment of time and money. =20

I embarked a mouthpiece customization project 2 years ago with Morrie =
Backun
when he first opened his shop. He cleaned up the inside and refaced all =
my
mouthpieces, using the Micromesh sandpaper for final polishing on =
mouthpiece
tables...the grit was 12,000 per square inch. Once my mouthpieces were =
that
smooth, I purchased a nice piece of very dense and flat granite for =
reedwork
and picked up 3200, 6000 and 12,000 grit paper from a high end furniture
refinishing retailer. I use the 12,000 for polishing my students' =
mouthpiece
tables. Micromesh is made with a latex/cloth backing that allows the =
fine
sanded reed particulate to go through the paper without building up on =
the
surface. The sandpaper is very expensive, but lasts a very long time. =
It
was originally developed to polish scratches out of aircraft windows. I =
go
through one or two pieces of each grit per year. I carry some in my =
road
reed kit, and have sanded many colleagues reeds...they are usually =
delighted
with the improved response and articulation.

The first three days I play a reed, I soak them about 10 minutes, play =
them
for only 5-10 minutes, then sand the tables with 3200 the first day, =
6000
the next two. The next 4 days I play them progressively more each day, =
and
do any adjusting necessary (which is not much on Superial--my tendency =
is
too play reeds that feel just a little hard and scrape the lowest end of =
the
reed to open up the warmth and response of the low notes.) I find I =
need
another few strokes on the 6000 paper after about 3 weeks of playing, as =
the
table of the reed "roughs" up. With any decent reed, the results are
great...with Superials the table of the reed is as smooth as glass!

If you don't have a high end furniture refinishing supply retailer hand, =
you
can search for micro-mesh on the web and purchase it via mail order.

Chuck Currie
Quality Food, Systems & Training
Sax Noir Studio
www.saxnoir.com
reedguy@-----.net
604 254-9625
604 970-2694
2105 E 3rd Ave
Vancouver, BC
V5N 1H9
=20

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Klarinet is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org