Klarinet Archive - Posting 000179.txt from 2010/12

From: fred jacobowitz <fbjacobo@-----.us>
Subj: Re: [kl] Splotchy Reeds
Date: Sat, 25 Dec 2010 12:13:09 -0500

If you soak the reeds in alcohol or peroxide, it'll kill the mold,
tho the discoloration will remain. The discoloration harm the reeds,
tho.

Fred Jacobowitz

CASE CLOSED Musical Instrument Case Repair Service
Kol Haruach Klezmer Band
Ebony and Ivory Duo

You don't get harmony when everybody sings the same note.
~Doug Floyd

On Dec 24, 2010, at 10:26 PM, Steve Hartman wrote:

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
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Klarinet mailing list
> Klarinet@-----.com
> To do darn near anything to your subscription, go to:
> http://klarinet-list.serve-music.com

_______________________________________________
Klarinet mailing list
Klarinet@-----.com
To do darn near anything to your subscription, go to:
http://klarinet-list.serve-music.com

_______________________________________________
Klarinet mailing list
Klarinet@-----.com
To do darn near anything to your subscription, go to:
http://klarinet-list.serve-music.com