 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: MRidgeP
Date: 2000-07-24 20:52
I was wondering if anyone knew if it was okay to buy boxes of reeds in bulk and slowly use them up one box at a time. Somewhere I have heard that it's not a good idea to do that because the reeds that sit will "dry up" over time. Although that didn't make very much sense to me I thought I would check it out with trusted people on this BBoard. Let me know. Thanx
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Author: Meri
Date: 2000-07-24 22:05
You got some pretty bad advice. Actually, it's good to buy several boxes at a time. The fact that the cane that goes into reeds is rarely aged properly means that most reeds would benefit from being being for at least 1-2 years. Another reason is that the number of good reeds in individual boxes can vary greatly--in some boxes, I get 8 or even 9 good reeds out of 10, but others only 4 or 5 out of 10.
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Author: J. Butler
Date: 2000-07-25 01:36
I got real lucky about 15 years ago. A former employer was selling his music store. The big guys finally "edged" him out as the local "faithful" dwindled. At any rate he called me and told me that he would sell me anything I wanted from the store for .05 on the dollar. Among other things I bought every reed he had left in stock. I'm still playing on boxes of VanDoren reeds I got from him although I'm down to less than a dozen boxes now. These reeds play great. All I have left are the "5's" but I work them down to a playable strength for me and the are top notch...so, I would say you got some questionable advice IMHO.
J. Butler
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Author: Sara
Date: 2000-07-25 03:25
I agree with the above advice, I try to buy my reeds in orders of like two or three boxes at a time, I order mine through the WW and BW because they have cheaper prices and for some reason or another they always haave more usable reeds in each box as well.
Sara
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Author: Allen Cole
Date: 2000-07-25 04:04
It's common for professional players to buy boxes of reeds, and store them away to age for a couple of years. If you are settled into your reed strength, go ahead and buy in bulk.
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Author: Brandon
Date: 2000-07-25 12:28
I have heard(or possibly read) that you should be buying reeds to resupply your stock, not to start playing on right away.
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2000-07-27 03:43
Some professionals use 20 years aged reeds.
Aging makes reeds durability quite longer. It is also called climatization. The French reeds are climatized to French climate. By aging, they climatize themselves to the playing places.Drying up is its purpose. Wetting is not desirable since micro organism may enter into reed structure. Put the reeds boxes in a mesh bag and store it cupboard near ceiling(driest part of living room). This is what I learned a Reed freek pro's book(Japanese).
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-07-27 17:23
I think it depends on what you mean by "bulk," how long you intend to store them and what the storage conditions are like. A lot of money could go down the drain if those reeds are stored in a damp area, such as a basement with high humidity, where the reeds could rot. Best to store them in the living areas that are climate controlled, IMHO. I've played on some bass sax reeds that were about 20 years old and had been sitting in an open cardboard box in a store all that time. Those reeds were so brittle and fragile that they literally disintegrated on me, after only a few hours of playing time each. I've also played on some "new old stock" clarinet reeds that played poorly and seemed brittle. OTOH, I'm using up some reeds I bought several years ago that seem perfectly fine. Not sure they improved with age -- I think not -- but they didn't deteriorate and I wouldn't hesitate to "buy ahead" again, within reason. I like to keep some reeds on hand that are half a size harder and half a size softer than I normally use, so those reeds do sit around for a few years before I use them up. I also don't like to open up my last new reed, go to the store for more and find out that the ones I like are out of stock, so I buy a couple of boxes ahead of my needs. However, I've always had the impression that fresh (even somewhat greenish) reeds play best for me. Considering that the whole Y2K scare turned out to be a big fat nothing, I ought to be embarrassed to report that I stocked up on half a dozen boxes each of clarinet and sax reeds, just in case of transportation foul-ups. I figured if the power was off, I could always practice. Guess I'll find out whether I'm storing those reeds in a good place.... ;-)
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