 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2004-09-22 15:58
I bought about 15 boxes of #5 Vandoren Reeds in the early 80s(1982 they were purchased in Paris...)
....I have just started opening a few reeds up and have found they play magnificently..
The cane is not green whatsoever and they have become very easy to adjust....they are quite good..
I wonder how many players "save" cane out there??
David Dow
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Author: William
Date: 2004-09-22 16:14
My 98 yr old mother uses a walker--her old cane wasn't any good.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2004-09-22 16:18
I've been buying bargain-priced boxes of 'new old stock' reeds of many brands for the last ten years or so, and to reinforce what David Dow wrote, older 'aged' cane reeds do seem to play better, pretty much across the board. So all you younger players out there --- if you can spare a little bit of money, buy an extra box of reeds every so often and set it aside, to be opened a few years down the road.
When I was young I raised Cain, but neither raised nor saved Cane.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-09-22 16:22
I still have (and use very sparingly) a few boxes of Morré reeds purchased in the early 1970's.
Simply glorious cane that has never been equaled.
Yes, storing today's newly purchased reeds and using aged ones does (IMO) seem to make a difference.
Better cane? Now sufficiently aged? Who knows??
I've also noticed that the reeds from 10 - 20 years ago do play harder.
I always date the packages of new reeds so I know just how old they are when finally opened...GBK
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Author: bill28099
Date: 2004-09-22 16:29
I've got a sealed blue box of 25 Vandorens 2.5-3 purchased in 1961 for use with a crystal clarion HS*. I'm saving them both for a rainy day.
A great teacher gives you answers to questions
you don't even know you should ask.
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Author: Ed
Date: 2004-09-22 16:41
I came across some of the old purple box Vandoren #5 reeds from the early 1980's a number of years back. I was able to buy a good supply and have been using them for some years now. I have found the same results that David has reported. They play great and really last. I don't know if it is the cane, the cut or the aging, but they do play softer than current Vandorens of the same strength.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-09-22 16:53
Ed wrote:
> ...old purple box Vandoren #5 reeds...
> I don't know if it is the cane, the cut or the
> aging,
Vandoren has changed their cut, specifically the tip profile, a few times since the 1980's...GBK
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2004-09-22 17:26
Hi,
I, like DS, lay in a number of NOS reeds when I can get them at a good price. I just buy reeds that I prefer like VDs, Concert Grands, LaVoz, Mitchell Lurie, and even got an unopened silver box of Roy J Maier last week (so you can see that I have a Rico lovejones). I also have about 30 boxes of soprano sax reeds that I will probably end up selling on eBay.
I find that these reeds have never disappointed me but the funny thing is that since using the ATG reed System, I have not had to crack any of these boxes since I keep doing the Lazarus-thing and "raising many old reeds from the dead!"
A couple of my BB pals out there know about my good fortune last year with an accssory purchase that I am holding as an investment (I do wish it were Kaspar MPs). As DS said "So all you younger players out there --- if you can spare a little bit of money, buy an extra box of reeds every so often and set it aside, to be opened a few years down the road." Think of this as an artistic investment.
HRL
PS I used to use some old sax reeds called Conrad. This was in the 1950s and they were wonderful. Anyone know this brand? I also tried Hine's Supremes and they were not good at all.
Post Edited (2004-09-24 12:47)
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2004-09-22 18:09
Hank, I was unaware that Roy J. Maiers were made by Rico. Several people have told me they were sold by Selmer, but I never knew who made them.
They have been my favorite reeds for over 50 years, and although I have a sickeningly huge stock of reeds (lots of Vandys and diverse other stuff), when I'm doing something that makes me feel like using real wood instead of Fibracell, the old Roy J's come out.
I bought a few Roy J. Maier boxes from an old gone-out-of-business music store a few years ago, and they're great. If you run across some softer ones (2, maybe 2 1/2) that you don't need, please let me know.
Regards,
John
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Author: Roger Aldridge
Date: 2004-09-23 12:30
Since I started using Alexander Classique reeds three years ago I've gotten into the habit of stashing away eight boxes each year. This is the number of reed boxes that I can fit into a large ziplock bag. The bags are dated by year and kept in a large tupperware type of box.
I've heard conflicting opinions on whether reed cane improves by keeping unplayed reeds over a period of time. One opinion is that the most direct seasoning is the amount of time between when the cane is harvested and it's made into a reed. It's my understanding that the reed cane used in Alexander reeds is seasoned for 2 years. It's hard to know whether 20 or 30-year old reeds actually improved by being kept that long or if it's a matter of the cane from back then being of much higher quality than what's normally available today. It sounds a bit like the chicken and the egg.
Either way, it's a good idea to keep a reserve of reeds for future use.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2004-09-23 21:47
Maybe I'll open that old box of Ricos I bought in high school.....
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2004-09-24 08:18
Hey, Hank, thanks for the fine links. Amazing that I never tried to look for anything like that. Don't know about that upcoming wine, but I sure like his reeda.
Regards,
John
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2004-09-24 12:42
Hi,
"My reed's great" is something to say
Playing anything else ruins your day
So horde some old cane
And save mucho pain
By using old brands like Morre
I just got some old Roy J. Maier
The auction took days to transpire
I bid with great zeal
Cause the box had a seal
And I nosed out another wise buyer
HRL
PS Like GBK, two of these per day is my limit
Post Edited (2004-09-24 12:44)
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-09-24 13:26
Finding the best reed is one costly chore,
Order on-line, have them sent to your door.
Easy response, good color and nice tone,
Is what we all want when the clarinet is blown.
So what is the factor that makes one the best?
A reed that stands out, oh so far from the rest.
I like the cane that is from Argentina,
It doesn't take thought, not even a subpoena.
Our knife can be such a remarkable tool.
It adjusts a bad reed and makes it a jewel.
Many major brands use Argentinian cane.
Thin fibers, bad cutting, is why I complain.
For fixing V-12's, it takes more than a knife.
All your scraping and shaping won't bring those to life.
And don't change your tip shape for reasons unknown,
Or harvest the cane till abundantly grown.
You must start with good cane - a simple fact that is known.
Right now, it all comes from the South Temperate Zone.
I'll put down my pen, for I'm out of ideas.
Mr. Gonzalez and I are going out for tortillas...GBK
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-09-24 13:40
Not a bad rhyme, really.
The other choices I was considering were : pizzeria, panacea, gonorrhea, and South Korea ![[wink]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie3.gif) ...GBK (who wrote this while shopping at Ikea)
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2004-09-24 14:25
GBK,
Reading poety is really difficlt when one has only a limerick-type rhyme scheme in mind.
HRL
PS I Love IKEA!!!
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Author: Tom J.
Date: 2004-09-24 17:52
Since biblical days, goes the fable
New cane was always unstable
One man worked all night
'Til his reeds were just right
Goes the story of cane and Abel
He scrapes them and cuts with an axe
To balance them, those were the facts
If you asked their condition
He would moan "great attrition"
That's why he named them Donax
The story, which does not surprise
Says cane caused Abel's demise
He continued to fret
No wife would he get
And his mouthpiece was also no prize
TMJ
Post Edited (2004-09-24 18:37)
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2004-09-24 18:53
Hi,
Did D. Dow know what a can of worms he was opening? Tom, things must be slow today in SEA!
HRL
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2004-09-24 19:55
Our poetic talents exceed
our mastery of the darned reed.....
If those flat sticks of wood
could be made half as good
as our rhymes, then we'd sound great indeed!
things are also slow in DC today.
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Author: OpusII
Date: 2004-09-26 09:53
I always save the cane for 6 months and thing this really improves the reeds (I play currently Vandoren Traditional/V12). They just seem to be more consistent and are much easier to adjust. I always thought that I was a little bit crazy, but I'm very happy to see that Alex (EEBaum) feels the same about his cane....
![[toast]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smiley15.gif)
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Author: LeWhite
Date: 2004-09-26 10:35
My teacher buys reeds in bulk. About 6 years ago he stopped using Vandoren V12's and over the years has been selling these old boxes off to students. We (his students) generally don't buy boxes off him because he charges a little more than the stores do. However, recently I was desperate for reeds so just got a box off him. WOAH. I'm always getting aged boxes now I think.
__________________
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