 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: John Morton
Date: 2003-07-30 15:23
I don't know much about reed scraping, so I've been collecting archived wisdom from this group and from literature. There is a lot of technique devoted to problem solving, i.e. curing imbalance, squeaking etc., but I'm only interested in simply limbering up a reed. This could be a reed that is perfectly OK, but one grade stiffer than I can play comfortably. (I have lots of those.)
So what do you think of the idea of trying to turn a box of 3s into 2.5s, just for practice? It brings up the question of just what distinguishes one grade from another. Given unvarying cane, exactly what part of a reed goes away when you reduce the stiffness by a grade? Does a reed machine give the same dimensions and proportions to all 3s, or is the cane tested and then machined with attention to its native stiffness? Could it be that all grades are about the same dimensionally?
One thing for sure is that measuring reeds doesn't tell you much, either to identify it by grade or to monitor your progress while adjusting them.
My apologies if the BB has beaten this to death earlier, I'd be glad for a pointer to a thread I might have missed.
John
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2003-07-30 16:01
John Morton wrote:
> Does a reed machine give the
> same dimensions and proportions to all 3s, or is the cane
> tested and then machined with attention to its native
> stiffness?
The other way around. The reeds are machined identically (more or less), then a "reed strength machine" determines its grade. The machine leaves those little impressions on the butt end of the reed.
> Could it be that all grades are about the same
> dimensionally?
They are.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2003-07-30 16:23
Having neither reed-shaping skills nor "machines" to do it, for my needs [mainly tenor sax for my bass cl] , I buy 1/2 to 1 harder than I think I want. I then try out a new reed, dry it and "polish" the back SLIGHTLY, if soft enough, or MORE HEAVILY if "too hard". I do have all 3 [Bb, Alto and TS] reed trimmers if needed. Works for me. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Bob A
Date: 2003-07-30 19:49
Don, could you please define/describe what you mean by "polish". My mind boggles.
Bob A
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2003-07-30 20:24
We better cure the boggles, Bob! Using fine [600+] emery [carbide] "sand-paper" on a flat surface, I push the reed [dry] on its back, a few strokes, which puts a bit of shine on it, smoothing it, taking off very little wood, unless softening is desired. Its possible it improves the sealing between reed and table. If the reed is reasonably "balanced" [held up to a light], I prefer to not tinker with the mfgr's scrape. Just "My Way". Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Jerry McD.
Date: 2003-07-31 18:28
There are a couple of ways to make this adjustment. First lets assume that the reed is balanced on both sides so the only thing that is wrong is that it is too stiff. You need to take cane off equally over the entire reed vamp and you could do it in two different ways.
First take 400 or 600 sandpaper (I use 400 for the back of the reed and 600 on the vamp) and sand the back of the reed on a flat surface, you will have to do more sanding than the usual amount you would do to just to flatten the back, you actually want to make the entire reed thinner.
Second you could work equally over the entire vamp of the reed with a knife, dutch rush, or 600 grade sandpaper. You would need to keep moving and not scrape too long in any one area because you want to take off cane evenly. I almost always use a reed knife, but for this process I would probably use a small piece of 600 sandpaper under one finger and move from the bark cut all the way off the tip of the reed. When it is all said and done, with this technique you might need to trim the very tip of the reed (less than 1/32 of an inch) so that it is not too thin.
As for reed gauges, I make my own reeds and use the Jeanne reed gauge (which is similar to many others available such as the Perfect-A-Reed gauge) and the best use is to ensure equal thickness along both sides of a reed. Within seconds you can tell whether your reeds are properly balanced, and if you have a reed that you just can't figure out what's wrong with it, measuring different areas of the reed can help you fix it if you have a set of measurements that you know work on your mouthpiece. No two reeds are alike but if you know that a certain area of your reed should be around 15 thousandths of an inch and you measure it and it is 25, you know you have a problem, and without the gauge it might take you longer to find the problem. I have found that using the gauge has cut my reed making time in half, and I'm making much more consistent reeds..not always great, but certainly playable.
Sorry about the long post, but I hope this helps.
Jerry McD.
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Author: Bob A
Date: 2003-07-31 18:53
"Bob, what part of brain surgery didn't you understand?"
I guess it's just one more reason that I settle for Legere's on my Bass.
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