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Author: Benni
Date: 2003-06-11 20:38
Sometimes . . . If they are not dried properly BEFORE being put away, or just tend to retain a lot of moisture, they'll warp more when placed against a flat surface vs. being placed in a breathable reed guard.
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2003-06-11 22:05
(Disclaimer - I sell Thisty Reed Pads) It depends on the reed structure - each reed is different, the relative humidity in the surrounding environment and whether even pressure is placed on the top of the reed forcing it flat against the glass. In my experiments when the reed has been played (greater than 15 minutes and therefore presumably fully hydrated) N=30, just dried quickly between a paper towel (or more usually my pants leg), and then placed on glass with pressure (about that exerted by a small rubber band), in a room with <65% RH, dried for 18 hours, it can develop (about 2 out of 5) slight warping and rippling of the tip (as viewed under a 10-20 magnification dissecting microscope). The same reed played again and just air dried gives about the same number with warping or rippling. If the RH is higher the number drops slightly. My conjecture is that although the reed is flat on the glass that water escapes more rapidly from the top than the bottom (because the glass is impermeable) and so in drying (like a two by four drying with one side on a piece of plastic sheeting) the tendency is for the top to bow up and the sides to bow also. These are not statistically powerful experiments so just raw data with a lot of variables.
The Doctor
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