 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Robert
Date: 2002-11-01 21:09
How long do your reeds last? I go through a box of 10 about 3 weeks. I play for about 20-30 hours a week. Anything I can do to make my reeds last longer?
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Author: Dee
Date: 2002-11-01 21:29
Some years back there was an article in the clarinet magazine saying a pro typically goes through 100 reeds per year. Since they have quite heavy schedules, I'd say you're doing something wrong but I don't know what. Do you break your reeds in? Do you rotate reeds so they have a chance to really dry out between sessions?
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Author: William
Date: 2002-11-01 22:08
I rotate my reeds in three groups of four: 1) "experianced" reeds (4) that are still good; 2) Reeds (4) that have been worked on and are concert ready; and 3) New reeds (4) that I am breaking in, slowly. That makes twelve reeds that are always in my reed case for use. As the "experianced" group plays out, I toss all four reeds and move the other two groups over one notch. I then start a "New" group of four and begin the breaking them in. Sometimes, if an "experianced" reed is exceptional, I will keep it "in reserve" for emergency use and toss a less remarkable "concert ready" reed. I think that reeds, on the average from stage #1 until stage #3, last about six to eight weeks, sometimes longer--and I tend to do a lot of playing.
A personal tip--I never soak my reeds in water (always just in my mouth) and always rub the vamps with my forefinger, before playing and after, to seal the xylem tubes left open from manufacture. This prevents too much saliva from entering the reed suring practice and performance and dramtically extends the useful life of my reeds.
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Author: Kirk
Date: 2002-11-02 01:32
I have tried William's hint of rubbing the reeds and only mouth moistening and it works fantastic !! Previously, I had a hassle with reeds drying out too quickly.
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Author: Robert
Date: 2002-11-02 07:20
Thanks for your tips. I'll definitely try out William's suggestions. I guess one problem is my heavy playing schedule. I play at an opera house, and the operas are usually at least 3 hours long. I find that I can seldom play on one reed for a whole performance. I do rotate my reeds and I do break them in. Perhaps one problem is that I don't always have enough time to break reeds in slowly enough. I'm often at a stage where my old reeds are "dead", and my new reeds aren't ready! Perhaps William's reed groups idea might help there. I'll give it a try. Tnanks!
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Author: GBK
Date: 2002-11-02 15:53
Robert....I discussed this very subject with Ricardo Morales.
While at the Met, he told me that he changes reeds after each Act. Thus, he needs (needed) 2, 3, or 4 reeds for each performance...GBK
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Author: Robert
Date: 2002-11-02 23:49
Dear GBK- thanks! Knowing that Morales has similar problems I feel much better! I used 4 different reeds tonight in our (almost) 4-hour production of 'Benvenuto Cellini'!
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2002-11-03 20:57
I play for about 30 hours a week spread generally between clarinet, tenor sax with some bassoon thrown in for good measure. These days I spend most time on the tenor because thats where the money is but at different times ie. the past month I have probably been playing slightly more clarinet. One the tenor I have found that non file cut reeds last longer, I use an Otto Link or a Berg Larsen metal mouthpiece. The Vandoren Java or Rico standard reeds will give me three or four gigs of about 4 hours plus a half hour or so of breaking in. Out of a box of 5 Java you probably get 3 reeds. The Rico's have a better usability rating. On clarinet I use 2 mouthpiece set ups. For any military band playing I tend to use a Selmer C85 120 with V12 3 1/2 and each reed takes about 1/2 an hour to get going and I get about 8 out of 10 that work. I would say that I only get about 2 gigs out of each one and a couple of practise sessions. I mainly use a very open Crystal Pomarico with Lavoz medium, Rico Royal 2 1/2, or V12 2 1/2. I get longer life out of this set up and get through probably three reeds in a fortnight depending of course on workload. Alto and soprano reeds seem less touchy to me than tenor or clarinet. On bassoon I use harder Jones Artist reeds which I scrape myself rather than making my own. I would get about two months out of two reeds playing 3 to 9 hours per week. Sorry about the length of this post but it does help to share this sort of info.
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