 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: michal
Date: 2005-06-06 09:33
Hi all!
Ive been looking for this special reed box that has a humidifier in it, I think it is a wooden boz with a special humidity gadget. Does anyone know wat Im talking about? My friend showed it to me and said it is great. I want to get one but not sure where.
Just to clarify what I mean: It is NOT the regular Blue box witht he humidifier stick in it. Thuis one is more fancy, my freidn told me it costs something like 100$.
Thanks for the info in advance!
michal.
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2005-06-06 11:57
Michal - there are various reed cases that have desiccant in them - e.g Vandoren blue reed case, and several others. The desiccant is to remove moisture from reeds (but remember to change it as many do not and it actually puts moisture into the case if they are not replaced and mold can grow). Another famous reed maker makes a plastic bag with various chemical salt mixtures which will keep reeds at designated moisture levels for storage and at moistureized levels on the theory that they will be more ready to play at 60 & 70+ percent RH. The tricky thing is to know when the salt packets need replaced so you should really buy some sort of humidity indicator - either chemical strips or a hygrometer - as an addition to the bag system.
In my opinion (disclaimer - I make a reed storage device that controls moisture below 50% RH) for storage, reeds should be kept at around 50% RH for storage and to inhibit mold growth (mold and mildew will not grow at less than 50% RH. Vandoren now touts that their Rue Lepic 56 reeds come in sealed packages at around 50 % RH - the "optimum" RH. Actually there are some good scientific reasons for storing them at reduced RH which include inhibition of enymes in the reed cane which break down the structure of the cane over time as well as the inhibition of mold and mildew spores which are ubiquitous in our environment.
I store my own reeds in a huge commercial cigar humidor with a salt (not common table salt but various chemical salts) container which keeps RH just below 50%. For daily use I dry the reeds first and then just keep them in a reed holder. During the hot humid months here in GA they are dried and then put in a ziploc bag with desiccant so that they do not grow mold within 24 hours (our mean mold growth factor of 95 + degrees and 90% RH).
L. Omar Henderson
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Author: Olorin
Date: 2005-06-06 15:19
There's a great reed/humidifying case that includes a groove in between two pieces of plexiglass (for reeds), which you put a damp sponge in for humidification. The case also contains drilled holes in the top for ventilation, as well as adjustable screws in the side for dryer and damper days. Made by Precision Music in Toronto.
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Author: crnichols
Date: 2005-06-06 16:58
There are a couple of these on the market. Two in particular come to mind. Robert Dilutis makes one that I have. It's available in Mahogany and Ebony, it has the gauges that you mentioned. Vandoren also recently released something "better" than the little 4 reed blue boxes, I saw it at the Music Messe in Frankfurt Germany. It's a big box has a digital humidity gauge and control. It's quite fancy. I haven't seen it on the retail market yet though, but I expect it to be quite expensive. I'm not nuts about it, as it requires you store them in those little vandoren plastic sleeves that their reeds come in, and I think they pinch the heart of the reed, especially my reeds, as I make them myself from tube cane, and use thicker blanks than vandoren does.
Christopher Nichols
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Author: agranta
Date: 2010-09-15 13:56
Hi - hoping you will still get this reply to an old message. Do you have a number for the Precision reed box maker. The only one I found was in Bracebridge. I called - they are not the supplier.
thanks
agranta
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