 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Frank O'Brien
Date: 2000-02-09 06:38
Does any one have experience that they would like to pass around with prolonging the life of a reed?
I periodically soak mine in peroxide when they look grungy.
I also wipe my reed after every use with a handy wipe, those little cleaner cloths that one gets on an air plane after a meal.
I have heard that there are some solutions of very light
vegetable oil, water glass, or glycerin [sp] some use to soak reeds to keep them from absorbing saliva.
Any comments on making reeds last?
Frank, in Coolea
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-02-09 11:42
Frank,
<br>One of Sneezy''s sponsors puts out a reed preservative - <b><a href=http://www.rxreed.com>http://www.rxreed.com</a></b>. I've not tried it, but I am intrigued by it. Maybe you could be the 1st on the BBoard to try it out and let us know how it works!
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Author: Margaret Copeland
Date: 2000-02-09 12:58
I don't use peroxide to clean my reeds - it has an overall drying effect. If you do use it, rinse the reed very well afterwards. I have an ultrasonic cleaner and a minute in that with clean water will clean almost anything. One "gadget" that double reed people use is to use a tupperware container with a perforated tray. Salted water is put in the bottom, the sides just above the water line are coated with vaseline to keep the salt crystals from rising above the the tray. Your reeds rest on the tray above the water - not in it. The whole thing is kept in the refrigerator. Have not tried this myself but supposedly it'll keep your favorite reeds happy for a long time.
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Author: Pam
Date: 2000-02-09 13:25
I met an older gentleman who plays the clarinet in a music store a while back and he said that he uses mink oil (like you use to waterproof leather) on his reeds to prolong the life of them. I've not tried it yet myself, but it sounds reasonable to me.
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Author: George Kidder
Date: 2000-02-09 14:19
Unlike Margaret Copeland, I rinse my reeds in peroxide (drug-store strength) after every use (at least when I am at home.) It stops the growth of mold, and seems to have had no adverse effect on reed life. I use 4 reeds in rotation, and the peroxide will be completely gone after that much time.
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Author: brian
Date: 2000-02-09 14:49
Somewhere on this site there is what I found to be a very helpful article about working with reeds. The writer discussed using a humidifier of some sort in which he uses mouthwash instead of water so as to prevent mold from growing. Does anyone have any information about this humidifier? Is it commercially available or something that a technically inept guy like me could put together in my garage? Thanks.
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-02-09 15:06
How bizarre that so far, four out of five people responding to this question suggest reed preservation methods they haven't tried yet! The first thing I'd suggest is, whatever you decide to do, please don't wait to do it until the reeds "look grungy". They're probably already deteriorating at that point, depending on what's in the grunge. I think the most important thing I do to extend the life of my reeds is a little bit of minor maintenance without fail, every time I finish practicing: I remove the reed from the mouthpiece and rinse both the reed and the mouthpiece off under the tap. Then I dry off the mouthpiece with a towel and dry the inside of the mouthpiece with a "mouthpiece saver" that I do not leave in the mouthpiece for storage. I blot the reed reasonably dry with the towel. IMHO, it's important to just blot or move the towel only from the base of the reed toward the tip, never the other direction and never crosswise (because that could mess up the grain). Once a week, I wash all my mouthpieces and reeds (no scrubbing, just swishing them around) in a mild solution of warm water and dish detergent, rinse with plain water, then rinse everything in a bowl with about half tap water and half mouthwash with alcohol in it. (I buy what's on sale -- Listerine or the store's generic brand.) The alcohol kills whatever cooties lurk in there, I hope. Then I rinse with plain water again and dry everythin goff as usual.
That's all I do. Grunge never builds up in the first place.
I think preventive maintenance saves a lot of hassle in the long run and I'm sure I'm spending only about 2 minutes a day on the rinsing plus maybe 10 minutes on the weekend to clean up all my clarinet and sax mouthpieces.
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Author: KevinS
Date: 2000-02-09 17:58
Frank,
I will concur with Margaret. My first clarinet teacher, who was principal clarinetist in the Tucson Symphony for 15 years, taught us to use the tupperware container with salt water. I started playing again about 6 months ago, and rebuilt my Tupperware box arrangement. My reeds have lasted most still play well today. Be sure you use LOTS of salt to prevent bacterial growth.
Kevin
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Author: Meri
Date: 2000-02-09 18:46
Odd how noone has yet mentioned reducing the saliva penetration n in the first place. Removing the warpage in new reeds helps, but also, wetting your reeds in water for about a minute or so before playing seems to minimize the breakdown of reeds.
I find that a good set of four to five reeds with this treatment lasts four to five weeks, given a moderate amount of playing.
But then there's always Légères... :-)
Meri
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Author: paul
Date: 2000-02-09 19:01
Reed rotation. Carefully dabbing up excess moisture from heel to toe after each session. An occasional brief soak in diluted peroxide for cleaning. Careful storage in a good reed container after each use. Constant visual and playing inspection prior to each session. Use of plastic reeds instead of cane reeds in rough conditions. Putting "tired" reeds aside in a different box and returning to them to see if there is any life left a month or so later. Keeping brand new reeds inside a sealed up reed box until needed. Taking a reed rush to a cane reed to slightly tailor it as needed.
That's all I can think of for reed care for now. I have to admit, I'm gotten a bit lazy lately. I started using Legere artificial reeds a lot instead of cane reeds. They take a long time and a lot of hard use before they get weak (nearly imperceptible wear compared to cane), can't be adjusted (don't need it in the first place), can be soaked for cleaning purposes in a light peroxide/water solution with apparently no adverse effect (helped to get rid of the bad smell from an artificial reed), can take a real beating (compared to cane reeds, of course), and don't require warm-up. These reeds aren't cheap (cost about the same as an entire box of good cane reeds), but they apparently last a long time and they help extend the life of my existing fleet of cane reeds. I rotate through 3 Legere reeds of the same strength. When I get bored with the Legere reeds, I play a small set of same strength Vandoren V-12 reeds for a while. When I get bored with the Vandorens, I go back to the Legeres. I guess you could call this an extended rotation pattern.
At least I've tried all of these reed preservation tricks. Some of the ones above seem a bit esoteric for me. Since clarinet reeds are commonly available, reasonable in price (especially the cane reeds), and live a long and predictable life (especially the Legere reeds), I don't think I'll venture too far afield just yet.
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