 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bob Gardner
Date: 2000-05-04 20:21
After reading a comment by Mark i checked into John Cipolla web page. it is great!!!!!!! Check it out. There was an article by Roger Garrett. It sounds like he works or does reed preparation on every reed he buys.
my question is how many of you play with reeds right out of the box. Question two is ---where does one buy a double hollow ground reed knife?
Bob
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Author: Meri
Date: 2000-05-04 21:16
I *never* play my reeds straight out of the box--after aging them for about two years, at minimum (generally only the very best reeds) I close off the pores on both sides of the reed with very fine sandpaper or typing paper, and soak them for 30 seconds to 1 minute in a film canister with water that reaches about 3/4 of the cut portion of the reeds.
My last group of four reeds lasted me almost 3 months, with rotation, given moderate playing. (about 4-5 times a week, an hour a day)
But sometimes I wonder if we should test empirically whether the things we do to reeds really have an effect--like soaking them in water before playing. :-) (Any volunteers?)
Meri
Meri
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-05-04 23:06
I *always* play them straight out of the box and barely work on them. If a little sanding & scraping doesn't fix them up, I toss 'em. They're about a buck and a half each - not worth spending much over 15 or 20 minutes on - to me, anyway.
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Author: Bob Gardner
Date: 2000-05-05 01:00
i feel the same way. However I'm just beginning on this quest. i found it of interest the amount of effort he put into every one of his reeds.
Enjoy
Mark Charette wrote:
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I *always* play them straight out of the box and barely work on them. If a little sanding & scraping doesn't fix them up, I toss 'em. They're about a buck and a half each - not worth spending much over 15 or 20 minutes on - to me, anyway.
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Author: Roger Harvey
Date: 2000-05-05 08:30
Bob/Mark,
Could you please give the address of John Cipolla's web site so we can check it out!
Thanks, Roger Harvey
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-05-05 12:04
I play reeds straight out of the box, except when I'm using an antique mouthpiece and a modern reed doesn't quite fit it. As long as the reed fits on the mouthpiece reasonably well, I'd rather adjust my embouchure to the playing characteristics of the reed than spend time tinkering with the cane. I double on a bunch of different reed instruments anyway, so I'm used to modifying the way I play to suit the equipment. I suspect a lot of "bad" reeds that get thrown out are really *different* reeds, because I don't find too many that seem truly defective (the ones with a few big, thick wavy grains up the middle, for instance). When I do get one of those, I sometimes try to salvage it by cutting it down to fit an old mpc, but almost always end up throwing the bad reed out anyway, after wasting a lot of time on it. If there's something basic the matter with the grain of the cane, cutting it down doesn't make it any better -- it just makes it smaller. My 2 cents.
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Author: Graham Elliott
Date: 2000-05-05 12:44
Lelia makes a good point. Sometimes a reed does not sound or feel good straight out of the box because it is different to the one you have just been using. What you need is a reed that's a litle bit closer, although it may not be better. No point scraping and treating that reed, but it's better to put it back in the box and come back to it later. This is particularly true of a reed that seems too hard or stuffy. Perhaps you have allowed the softer "brighter" reeds to take over, but you can only readjust gradually. It would be a waste to scrape the hard reed down to the too soft level you are currently employing.
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Author: Dave Spiegelthal
Date: 2000-05-05 14:25
I never play a reed right out of the box (except in a dire emergency). I soak new reeds standing upright in a cup of water (tip down, flat part against the inside wall of the cup) with the water level at the beginning of the bark, for about ten minutes, then I dry them thoroughly. I do this once a day for about a week before I even play a single note on them. Then I start to play on them, a few minutes at a time once per day, for about another week before I consider them "ready to play". I believe I learned this process from either Kal Opperman's classic book "Making and Adjusting Single Reeds" (I think that's the title), or from Keith Stein's book "The Art of Clarinet Playing".
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Author: larry
Date: 2000-05-05 15:46
I'm in the "out of the box" camp. I'm mostly afraid of spending too much time fiddling with reeds. I'd rather play on a less than optimal reed that use that time to try fixing it. I also find that reeds tend to improve with use, so I usually have about six reeds in rotation, two of which are always great playing. At least once a week I try to play a few minutes on each reed, and the two best get elevated to playing status.
I can, however, understand the temptation to want to adjust all reeds, especially if it works for those that do it.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-05-05 17:24
Dave Spiegelthal wrote:
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I never play a reed right out of the box (except in a dire emergency). I soak new reeds standing upright in a cup of water (tip down, flat part against the inside wall of the cup) with the water level at the beginning of the bark, for about ten minutes, then I dry them thoroughly.
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I call that (including a break-in period) "right out of the box" - few if any lengthy adjustments, scraping, etc. I do a very similar thing, sanding the bottoms flat a little every day for a week, a little balancing, etc. But nothing that takes more than 10 minutes over the length of a week. Life's too short for bad reeds.
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Author: Patty Smith
Date: 2000-05-05 19:14
I play them out of the box. If there are some worht saving that are not playable right away, I sand the bottom, adjust the sides carefully with my reed knife and the tip with ultrafine (600 or 800) sandpaper. I am fairly fortunate. i have found what is a good set-up for me in which I can play Oliveri, Queen or Zonda's and only have maybe one or two from a 10 - 12 reed box be unusable, three at most. This is what works for me. I avoid soaking them, as they become waterlogged. That, however is because I live in Virginia, where it is fairly humid. When I lived in San Diego, I did soak them.
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Author: Pam
Date: 2000-05-06 00:53
I use reeds right out of the box as well. I have not learned a lot yet about doing all that work to them! I do rotate 4 reeds though. I number them and always play #1 while in my church orchestra and lesson and mostly use #2,3,and 4 to practice on at home in rotation.
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Author: beejay
Date: 2000-05-06 21:37
I was hoping that someone was going to answer Bob's question -- where does one find hollow ground reed knives? I buy throw-away surgeon's scalpels when I can, but they are not always available and they blunt easily.
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Author: bill
Date: 2000-05-06 21:55
I fix just about every reed I play. I play somewhere between a Vandoren 3 and 3.5, but I buy 3.5. Then, I take some 400 grit sandpaper and then 600 grit sandpaper and sand the backs on the reeds with some hope. On worse reeds, I make some more minor adjustments. The reeds that are hopeless I just save for firewood. It does not take me long to do this - just about 10 or 15 minutes.
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Author: HTW
Date: 2000-05-06 23:36
I agree...Life's just too short for bad reeds. Honestly, what difference will one perfect reed make on one's life? There's another reed waiting for you in that box, after all. Not to say that I don't sand or scrape....I do, but I don't spend months aging or soaking. My reeds suit my purpose without having to do that.
I heard a story about a guy who was doing a masterclass, and scoffed at bad reeds. THen he proved it by taking every person's setup in the room and playing the exposition to Mozart's concerto on it, perfectly and beautiful everytime. Then he took a blank and made a reed out of it in 2 minutes, then played the same thing, just as beautifully. Call them bad reeds or bad excuses..same dif.
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Author: Karel Vahala
Date: 2000-05-07 13:25
Beejay,
All the bigger e-mail retailers like International Music, WW&BW, Weiner's, etc, have reed knives in their catalogues.
A cheap alternative I have seen recommended was a pruning knife. Knives come hollow-ground (symmetrical profile) or bevelled (one side flat). Look in the on-line catalogues, they have illustrations. Good luck, Karel.
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