 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-09-23 00:10
The subject of Chinese reeds has been discussed before on this forum, but maybe since then, new Chinese brands have been created and progress has been made. I tried some and found that the cane was great, but that the scrape wasn't. We must have some Chinese readers out there that could inform us.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2024-09-23 04:40
I cerainly don't want to in any way hijack this thread.
But I might want to expand upon it. 
Rubin's OP made me research where Arundo Donax, at least for reed production, is made and opened my eyes to not simply coming from the Var region of France and parts of Argentina, which I knew, but includes places like China (which I will presume Chinese factories might be inclined to use.)
This got me thinking--having only tried cane from these 2 aforementioned regions, about the qualities for great musical reed cane production. No surprise there about weather, soil, nutrition and harvesting techniques being high on the list, but I was always under the impression that the Var region's winds played a role in the desirability of cane from there, in that when it comes to plants and winds, if I may quote pop singer Kelly Clarkson, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," and that cane bent in the wind, not entirely different from a bodybuilder effecting controlled muscle tears through resistance training, encourages a response in growth/strength.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-09-23 09:09
The constant Mistral wind definitely plays a part. The plants bend and sway with the wind and become more sinewy. The Mendoza area of Argentina also have the Zonda wind. The reed is doing on the plant what it will do onyour mouthpiece: vibrating with the wind.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2024-09-23 10:20
Where I live in the Balearic Islands, Arundo Dorax covers the banks of the 'torrentes', water courses that now may only flow briefly and then be bone dry for years on end. It really is a tenacious weed once established and I would venture that there's no art to growing it save for the fact that it will only grow thick and tall with adequate ground water. If you have this plant growing in your garden here, you won't get rid of it without digging out every last bit of its tuberous roots.( Its a hard battle to win definitively 😬)
So as cane for reeds, I can only imagine that the wind element is the only significant determinant of the material quality.
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2024-09-23 16:38
...which leads us full circle to the question of whether the regions in which Arundo Donax is grown in China for musical reed production shares some of the characteristics for the making of good reeds (e.g. wind), in addition of course to the harvesting and manufacturing techniques in country.
As a matter of full disclosure I come with no preconceived notions of Chinese products lacking quality. What I know is that in this world you tend to get what you pay for, and to the extent that Far East Countries can produce certain goods at relatively low cost, quality may suffer in order to achieve such price objectives.
That said, ask Chinese firms to produce high quality electronic components, and be willing as an importer to pay for that quality, and you the quality (and quality control) is often commensurate (i.e. infinitely better) with the price.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-09-23 18:15
Julian: When I was a youngster, the two clarinetists of the Duke Ellington orchestra told me that the world's best cane was Cuban They got it from the Cuban New York musicians. Then there was the embargo on Cuba and that ended, to the great dismay of my two Ellington friends. Maybe Vandoren would be interested in investing in Cuba.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2024-09-23 22:36
As I understand it, the Var region of France is particularly good for reed cane because the winds blow back and forth throughout the day, which thinking about it, is not something that you get in many places.
Incidentally, in Spanish this plant is called "caña", and a reed is called( you guessed it )...a "caña".
This plant's traditional use here and throughout the Mediterranean, is for shucking almonds, olives and carobs down from the trees, and this is probably how it ended up in the here, as the species is believed to derive originally from Asia.
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-09-23 23:30
An indiscrete question, Julian: What are you doing in that part of the world? Do you find musical activities there? Maybe I should retire to an island.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2024-09-24 10:01
Well Ruben.... growing up I was first in Greece, then in Florida, then in Ibiza, then at 16 I returned to the USA, then moved to the UK before ending up again in Spain and eventually moving back to Ibiza.( At 16 I swore I would NEVER return to the island).It was a sleepy island back when I was a child, but now it's a touristic madhouse in summer. It's move cosmopolitan now however and looking to models such as Barcelona which is probably Spain's biggest hot spot for the arts.
Apparently Bruce Springsteen loves playing Barcelona because the audience is so on fire 😂
We now have a new, purpose-built and very sophisticated municipal music school designed in collaboration with the musical directors and lessons are subsidized by the town hall, so the musical arts are high on the cultural agenda here which is a wonderful thing and make this by no means a bad place to be music wise.
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-09-24 12:39
Thanks for the info, Julian. I suppose I"ll end up on an island. Rikers Island! ha,ha.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: lydian
Date: 2024-09-24 18:59
@ruben, Can you drop some brand names of these Chinese reeds with "good cane"? The last ones I tried were apparently balsa wood, lasted almost a whole day and left me with splinters. Since I regularly buy for 6 different woodwinds, my reed costs are up there. Would love a cheap alternative, even if I have to smooth out the finish myself.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-09-24 23:44
Unfortunately, I can't remember. The scrape was terrible, but I doctored the reeds up and they lasted a long time.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-09-25 00:04
Nobody Chinese seems to have responded to this thread.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: elmo lewis
Date: 2024-09-28 22:23
I'm not Chinese but I've tried Global Royal reeds and they are decent reeds.
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