The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Rick2
Date: 2000-05-23 04:33
Yes, indeed. Today I retired a reed that I started using November 19th 1999. This was the reed that would not die. Even after7 months I can still manage get a reasonable tone out of it, but it doesn't last more than five minutes anymore. So, I put it out to pasture.
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Author: Pam
Date: 2000-05-23 13:05
My teacher claims he can use the same reed for a whole year (with occassional work!) and always starts a new one in November, just enough before the Christmas concerts to break it in.
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Author: Kontragirl
Date: 2000-05-23 20:31
'Twas a good reed...
Seven months is impressive though...at least it lived a good long life.
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Author: ron b.
Date: 2000-05-24 00:04
Condolences, Rick2;
Which pasture did you put it out to? I've found dead reeds useful for minor quick-fix household repairs. I've used them for squishing new window caulking and letting the air out of bike tires - not out of meanness, rather when they need fixing.
They're not bad either for fashioning that lost model airplane part. I usually give 'em a nice hot water rinse and a 'thank you for services rendered' then, wipe my eyes and put them to rest in a special spot reserved in back of a kitchen drawer so they'll be available as needed. The thrill may be gone but the memories linger on.
ron b.
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Author: Willie
Date: 2000-05-24 02:14
You got it Ron! Used a couple old reeds under my Fox .60 to add some down thrust. That Telemaster flies better now fitted with a couple old Vandorans.
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Author: Contragirl
Date: 2000-05-24 02:24
Sorry to hear about it. Sounds really sad, I sympathize.
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2000-05-24 06:43
Aging for several years,rinse after use,dip new in reed life,and ciculation uses are generally good for long reed life. But such a long period is very impressive.
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Author: C. Hogue
Date: 2000-05-24 19:09
I toss my dead reeds in my composter. Better than sitting in a landfill for eons!
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Author: paul
Date: 2000-05-24 19:12
I'll chime in and say the length of the reed's life varies greatly. If used constantly and for hundreds and hundreds of hours of use, then 7 months of life out of a natural cane reed would be impressive. The microscopic analysis of the reed's internal structure would probably show lots of stress fractures. However, I've heard of some folks putting apparently "dead" reeds into a special place for long term storage and bringing them back after a few years, just for grins. Voila! The reed works just fine. Strange, but possible. So, if you ever want a ready reed, even for an emergency pinch, don't use it for household patches as a sister to bubble gum and bailing wire. Rather, hold your usual memorial service, wrap the reed in a safe manner (a good but old reed case will do very well), and put it in the back drawer of your desk or another appropriate temperature/humidity controlled nook or cranny. Then, wait for a few years and resurrect the reed and try it again (perhaps with a different lig, mp, etc.) and see if it comes back to life. If not, no harm done. If so, that's one less reed to buy at that time in the future.
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Author: Rick2
Date: 2000-05-25 04:24
> Which pasture did you put it out to?
It's somewhere on my computer table under some papers.
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Author: Quido
Date: 2000-05-31 04:58
I go through reeds very quickly and have almost completed building a miniature house out of them. I'll take a pictures and put it on my page when it's done.
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