Klarinet Archive - Posting 000177.txt from 2010/12

From: Tom Bassett <bassettt1@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Splotchy Reeds
Date: Sat, 25 Dec 2010 09:37:53 -0500


I agree. I work on friends' reeds a lot for them and I always use reed rush that I soaked first. When drops of water get on the reed from the rush combined with the scraping, all kinds of black stuff comes off. I assumed it was from dirty fingers or mold or something. It's never happened to my own reeds just everyone elses for some reason.

Tom

> From: sdh902@-----.net
> To: klarinet@-----.com
> Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 22:26:20 -0500
> Subject: Re: [kl] Splotchy Reeds
>
> It sounds like mold. Are you using water to wet the reeds? If so, try
> using saliva exclusively on the two unused reeds and see whether the same
> effect occurs.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kenneth Metz" <jazzkm@-----.com>
> To: <klarinet@-----.com>
> Sent: Friday, December 24, 2010 10:04 PM
> Subject: [kl] Splotchy Reeds
>
>
> > I've never experienced this before and I'm curious to know if anyone else
> > has. A couple of months ago I opened a new box of reeds and began using
> > first four, and later another four, all of which gradually became
> > discolored
> > over period of a few weeks.
> >
> > It began with small dark spots or lines that eventually grew to cover from
> > 10% to as much as 80% of the flat side and perhaps 50% of the other side,
> > although it varied considerably from reed to reed. The discoloration
> > appears, in color and pattern, as if someone had held a pencil sideways
> > and
> > randomly jiggled it over the reed surface to cover it with graphite,
> > similar
> > to what one does when attempting to see impressions in a writing pad of
> > previously written note by covering over the portion of the paper that has
> > not been impressed by the writing implement (imagine Cary Grant doing this
> > in North By Northwest). However, neither wiping nor scraping the surface
> > removes the discoloration. And soaking the reeds seemed to accelerate the
> > process.
> >
> > All the reeds played fairly well (with the usual variations) although I
> > stopped using them as the discoloration progressed. (I had hoped to use
> > them in a December concert but thought better of it.) There are still two
> > unused reeds that appear to be perfectly normal. (I'm saving them for a
> > future experiment.) No other reeds showed this effect during the same time
> > period, even though they were all treated the same and stored in the same
> > place when not being used.
> >
> > Any ideas about what is happening here?
> >
> > Ken Metz
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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