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Re: Bass clarinet reeds

Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2004-06-10 14:43

Generally I've found the Marcas to be somewhat unresponsive and "dead" right out of the box. I use that to advantage by gradually thinning them down by scraping the bottom-sides flat a bit at a time -- this gets rid of the gradual warpage that's almost inevitable with the bigger reeds, and makes the whole reed livelier. Also, I scrape along the sides from the thicker part of the vamp, completing around the front edge of the heart in a "U" shape if the sounds needs mellowing/darkening, or more of a "V" shape if the reed needs more edge (this is all out of the Kalmen Opperman book "Handbook for Making and Adjusting Single Reeds", by the way). It may take a week or two of daily test-playing and scraping, but the end result is a reliable, long-lasting non-warping reed that sounds really good.

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