 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-03-30 19:21
Your question is not clear. What do you mean?
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Author: Ken
Date: 2000-03-30 19:32
Sorry.
My reed has a tendancy to bend closer to the tip of the mouthpiece and bottom side of the heel is not flat--not all the time.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-03-30 20:00
For the tip problem, just take the reed off the mouthpiece and press it flat against a flat surface and put it back on.
Can't help you with the heel though.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-03-31 16:29
I nearly always sand the back of a new reed LIGHTLY on a very flat surface [we have discussed this before] to insure flattness. Is the table of your mp flat?? Some newer ones appear to have slight curvature, I dont understand why! OR, are we talking about flat PITCH?? Don
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Author: Ken
Date: 2000-03-31 21:52
I'm talking about reed.
I found some of them warped very badly when I left my reeds in the case for couple of days. Some of them looked OK but I'm not sure. I usually sand the back of the reed again.
Is it wrong to let reed dry completely?
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2000-03-31 22:08
Ken wrote:
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[The bottom of my reed is not flat.] How do you test?
Ken -
The best way to test flatness is to dampen the bottom of the reed and press it gently against a piece of plate glass, looking from the other side fo the glass. Unless you have sanded the bottom absolutely flat, you will usually see that the reed doesn't make even contact with the table of the mouthpiece, and this is deadly for response.
I usually use a very large (15" long) flat mill-bastard file, which works very well and doesn't take as much off as using sandpaper. Moisten the tips of 3 fingers, put them only on the bark, and take maybe 20 strong strokes. Check the bottom of the reed to see whether it's shiny all over, and keep working until it is.
Reed blanks are often cut unevenly. When you look at the butt end, you can see if one side is higher than the other. You can correct most of this as you sand the bottom flat by pressing down on the higher side.
As the reed soaks and dries, the body of it often warps, so you should go back several times as you break the reed in to make sure the bottom is flat.
If you leave the reed on the mouthpiece overnight, or even for most of the day, the bottom of the reed will swell into the window opening in the mouthpiece. If you can see or feel such an impression, sand it off right away.
Finally, if, as you say, the tip of the reed is closing down toward the lay, the reed may be warped lengthwise. This requires minor surgery. Take a reed knife (or a sharp pocket knife) and take off a fairly thick shaving from the last 1/8" of the underside of the butt, so that part of the reed no longer touches the mouthpiece.
This trick can often extend the life of a reed that's starting to deteriorate.
Good luck.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Ken
Date: 2000-03-31 22:36
Thanks.
I think I got the answer I was looking for.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-03-31 23:29
I always let my reeds dry completely and have had no problems.
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