 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2014-05-20 00:32
I use the regular Forestone reeds but purchased one premium 4 1/2. It sat in my reed case and then finally I tried to use it in a casual performance. I think there is a reason they use the term "G Tuned". It plays way higher in pitch than the usual Forestone reed. I had to pull a couple of mm's to get the G down to pitch. It could also be the extreme upper register is better with this cut. The tone is different as well.
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: Ed
Date: 2014-05-20 01:48
What mouthpiece are you using it on? Have you tried it on any others to see if this is consistent across the board?
Post Edited (2014-05-20 01:49)
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2014-05-20 07:24
No. My pronouncement may be premature. It could just be a harder reed but anyway I'm going with it's sharper. I play a Kaspar.
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2014-05-20 18:34
I am getting water on the table of the mouthpiece during playing. This doesn't make it play better. I wipe it off and have tried different ligature pressures but to no avail. Any suggestions?
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: AJN
Date: 2014-05-21 08:33
My solution to the problem of water on the mouthpiece table is to make sure that the reed on there is made of cane, which absorbs the water really well. :-)
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Author: Barry Vincent
Date: 2014-05-21 15:21
AJN "My solution to the problem of water on the mouthpiece table is to make sure that the reed on there is made of cane, which absorbs the water really well. :-)"
Which is why cane reeds warp and swell with the absorbed water making them unpredictable.
BJV
"The Kazoo is not a horn"
Skyfacer
Post Edited (2014-05-21 15:23)
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Author: William
Date: 2014-05-21 18:29
I play Forestone reeds on my Chicago Kaspar mouthpiece and never have a problem with water on the table. Perhaps your mpc has a concave profile, like most Charles Bay mouthpieces. Charlie was an apprentice of Franks and he may have picked up this technique from there, although I think most Kaspars were made with flat tables. Just a thought....
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2014-05-21 18:43
Well I checked the reed flatness and it wasn't! I sanded the bottom and got it closer and the reed plays much better. It still wasn't flat. The edges of the reed are higher than the center. I do find the Forestone reeds absorb water. Any chance that they do warp?
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: Barry Vincent
Date: 2014-05-21 23:16
Arnoldstang. " I do find the Forestone reeds absorb water. Any chance that they do warp?
Hi Arnoldstang. It's impossible for the Forestone synthetics to absorb water as they are a combination of bamboo pulp & plastic. You could leave this type of reed in water for days and it would not take up a trace of water within it.
I"ve been using Forestone reeds now for several years and the only problem I"ve had is a thin film of water getting between the reed and table. (I use a Rovner ligature). It does take a little time for this to happen. Easily fixed. Just take the reed off and wipe dry the reed & table of the MP. With the convenience of a Rovner ligature this can be done quite quickly.
BJV
"The Clarinet is not a horn"
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2014-05-22 00:49
You are not answering the question why water getting where you say it is? With the premium reed I have, it was due to not being flat. If this came from the manufacturer like this that is one thing but perhaps it did change over time. As I sanded to make it flat, the surface lost its sheen. Perhaps then it is more porous. At this point the water tended not to form droplets but actually went into the reed. Maybe it is the filings that were taking up the water. I'm not sure. I am not finding this with the rest of the Forestone reeds. It is only the Premium.
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: Barry Vincent
Date: 2014-05-22 01:39
Hi Arnoldstang. Just bear with me on this. I find in practice that it is not necessary at all to 'touch' up the Forestone synthetic reeds as they are as near to 'perfect' a reed as you can get.
Trouble can be had as soon as one tries to 'alter and improve' these reeds. It seems to be a compulsive habit of Clarinet players that they must tinker even with the synthetics. Or rather, they carry over this habit from cane reeds to synthetics. These reeds should be used as they are. However, Forestone reeds can have their resistance altered a bit by placing the reed very slightly higher of lower on the MP. (as suggested by Forestone) I only have experience with the standard Forestone. I don't have any Premiums as yet. If you have problems with the Forestone Premium reed 'warping' , then you should communicate with Forestone and try and get a replacement for the defective reeds.
To answer your question as to why a thin film of moisture gets between the reed and MP table when I use these synthetics it's because I use Rovner ligatures. These don't bind up the reeds as tightly as say the standard metal ligatures so moisture between the reed & MP table can be a problem sometimes.
BJV
"The Clarinet is not a horn"
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Author: kdk
Date: 2014-05-22 02:37
Barry Vincent wrote:
> Trouble can be had as soon as one tries to 'alter and improve'
> these reeds. It seems to be a compulsive habit of Clarinet
> players that they must tinker even with the synthetics. Or
> rather, they carry over this habit from cane reeds to
> synthetics.
That's because the mouthpiece for which each strength of a synthetic's range is designed is not necessarily (or likely) the mouthpiece a given user plays on.
It would be interesting to know what mouthpiece designs - internal and facing - the current synthetics were tested on during the design process.
Karl
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Author: Barry Vincent
Date: 2014-05-22 05:00
Kdk. "That's because the mouthpiece for which each strength of a synthetic's range is designed is not necessarily (or likely) the mouthpiece a given user plays on".
*The player will therefore have to adapt to the ideal mouthpiece that suits each resistant grade of Forestone reed.
I can only speak for myself but here are the results of my own 'trying out' of the various grades of this synthetic. All my mouthpieces are Vandorans except for one of Tom Ridenour's. (Eroica)
M13 F4.5 / 5
M13 Lyra F4.5 / 5 * as well as the above MP, if the 5 resistant grade is used I must lower the tip of the reed slightly to lessen the resistance.
B40 Lyra F3 / F3.5 / (F4)
B45 dot F3,5 / (F4)
B45 F3.5 / F4 / (F4.5)
Eroica F4 / F4.5
If you have some type of pet mouthpiece that you have spent a fortune on
I'd imagine the procedure would be the same. Match the reed to the MP. Or just do like I have done , and use a common MP and try out the various resistance grades.
Other than vary the resistance slightly by lower or raising the reed tip a smidgin (as suggested by Forestone) I have also clipped off a very small amount off the tip of a Forestone that has gone 'tired'. We're talking a fraction of a mm here. And you apparently can only do this once. "Tired' as in the reed tip has gone weak with extensive use.
However these synthetics take a long time to get 'tired'. So I have contradicted myself here in saying that one should not try and alter a Forestone reed so I"ll have to rephrase my comment.
Don't try and alter or modify a NEW Forestone reed. They work just fine as is.
BJV
"The Kazoo is not a horn"
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2014-05-22 06:04
As I have been working on getting this Forestone reed flat I see more than pulp in this reed. I see the outline of a cane reed inside the plastic. I still maintain that any reed that allows moisture to get to the table of the mouthpiece indicates that the reed is probably not flat. In my particular case I have definitely improved the Forestone reed that I purchased.
Freelance woodwind performer
Post Edited (2014-05-22 06:14)
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