 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: YCL-450
Date: 2006-06-17 19:13
What is the standard breakin procedure for VD #2 traditional reeds?
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Author: David Peacham
Date: 2006-06-17 19:28
"standard breakin procedure" is an oxymoron, I fear.
I suggest that, as a near-beginner, you use reeds that are more consistent than Vandoren. You have enough to worry about without worrying about reeds as well.
But loads of beginners use them and manage just fine.
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If there are so many people on this board unwilling or unable to have a civil and balanced discussion about important issues, then I shan't bother to post here any more.
To the great relief of many of you, no doubt.
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Author: SVSorna05
Date: 2006-06-17 19:39
'I suggest that, as a near-beginner, you use reeds that are more consistent than Vandoren."
Such as....
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2006-06-17 19:47
Such as....
Can only say what works for me and my mouthpiece - Mitchell Lurie regulars. (I consider myself a beginner too, if that counts).
And no, I don't get any compensation from them. Not even free reeds. <sigh>
--
Ben
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Author: Danny Boy
Date: 2006-06-17 19:47
I in turn would suggest that a beginner would not find another brand any more or less consistent than a Vandoren.
I do agree however that there is no 'standard' procedure. I play Vandorens because I always have, get good results from them and on the occasions I have tried other brands I haven't noticed any improvement.
For what it's worth...my own procedure...
Soak, both ends, for 30 or so seconds in tepid water.
Balance the reed (at the stage you're at YCL I suspect this will be a stage to miss out)
Play for 15-20 minutes, then return to either my reed case or glass block.
I don't recommend doing a recital on a reed after the above, a few practice sessions of an hour or so on each reed will 'break' them in acceptably.
I rarely alter a reed further by scraping, clipping or sanding after the initial balancing. I do however 'seal' the back of the reeds by rubbing my own saliva on it or rubbing it on waxy paper.
One teacher once said to me that the best reeds are the ones that play like a lark straight from the box with the least amount of work. I have to agree with this completely.
I almost feel like I've shared how I shave...very personal.
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Author: Carol Dutcher
Date: 2006-06-17 19:53
I have been using this procedure for years and it works for me on any brand of reed, I use #2 or #2-1/2. Try the reed out. If it works first time out of the box, it's a miracle. But, otherwise I put the reed on a piece of glass and scrape it lightly with a single edge razor blade. Very very lightly. Then I try the reed again. It will usually work after just one light scraping. I don't know why this works but my dad who was a band director, taught me this. He also sometimes burned the ends of reeds with a cigar, but I don't smoke cigars and wouldn't recommend it anyway.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2006-06-17 20:44
Phil Shapiro from Davie Cane (Gonzalez FOF/Mozart reeds) has a single reed break-in procedure on his web site. It is found on the FAQ page and would (IMO) be applicable to all brands of reeds:
http://www.daviecane.com/Pages/FAQ.html
The main reason for breaking in reeds is to have the newly cut, open tubes sealed so as not continually soak up moisture. This can be done manually with your finger, with various types of paper (eg: typing paper), or burnishing tools.
Sealing the back of the reed is, to some players, equally as important. This can be done similarly.
After breaking in the reed, you will then determine it's true potential and if further adjustments (balancing) by hand with sandpaper or a knife are deemed necessary.
Clarinetists all have their own personal methods of breaking in reeds. Some do it slowly and carefully over a 7 day period, while others feel 2-3 days are sufficient.
Some clarinetists I know play a good reed right out of the box and even leave it on the mouthpiece after playing so as not to lose the exact mounting position on the mouthpiece.
In short - you eventually find the method which is most convenient and efficient for your manner of playing.
There is no one correct way.
...GBK ( Disclaimer - I am listed on the Davie Cane web site as an artist/endorser of Gonzalez/Mozart reeds)
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Author: YCL-450
Date: 2006-06-17 21:45
I have been using this procedure for years and it works for me on any brand of reed, I use #2 or #2-1/2. Try the reed out. If it works first time out of the box, it's a miracle. But, otherwise I put the reed on a piece of glass and scrape it lightly with a single edge razor blade. Very very lightly. Then I try the reed again. It will usually work after just one light scraping. I don't know why this works but my dad who was a band director, taught me this. He also sometimes burned the ends of reeds with a cigar, but I don't smoke cigars and wouldn't recommend it anyway.
Do you actually remove wood?
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Author: hans
Date: 2006-06-17 21:50
ycl-450,
The brand name does not affect my "break in" procedure. To improve reed service life and performance, I find that burnishing is helpful:
Place the flat side on a flat surface and rub the vamp with a smooth rounded object (a fingernail works fine) from the thick end toward the tip to seal the pores.
If blowing into the heel end produces bubbles in the wet vamp, the pores have not been closed adequately and more burnishing is needed.
After the pores are sealed, I mark the reed (to keep track of which is my current favourite) and play them until they are retired to another function, such as glue spreading.
I have experimented with additional techniques; e.g., wetting and massaging, and playing a reed initially for only 10 minutes per day, etc. It didn't seem to make any difference for me. Your experience may differ.
Hans
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Author: David Peacham
Date: 2006-06-17 21:51
SVSorna and Danny Boy
I was a beginner in 2001 (some would say I still am) and my experience then was that Vandoren traditional were a good deal more variable than Mitchell Lurie, which was the brand I favoured then. I now use Gonzalez FoF or Rico Evolution, both of which are more consistent than Vandoren trads or V12s.
Of course, success can be had on any reed, but my impression, based on my own limited experience, is that the variability of Vandoren adds complications that are better avoided in the early stages of learning to play.
It is worth bearing in mind that reeds change from day to day, partly as the weather changes, partly from the effects of use and partly, I suspect, out of sheer bloodymindedness. You can waste a lot of time trying to select the perfect reed, and find it is unusable the next day. Maybe this is more of a issue where I live, where the weather varies a lot from day to day.
An expert or professional player may need to take the time to choose and adjust the perfect reed for every situation. The beginner doesn't want to do this, he just wants to pick up the clarinet and do his hour of practice. I found Mitchell Lurie the best for this. As I improved a bit, I found them restricting and I changed brands.
YCL - if you do try Mitchell Lurie, be aware that their grading system is quite different from Vandoren. You'll need at least a 3, maybe a 3.5.
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If there are so many people on this board unwilling or unable to have a civil and balanced discussion about important issues, then I shan't bother to post here any more.
To the great relief of many of you, no doubt.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2006-06-17 23:04
YCL - if you do try Mitchell Lurie, be aware that their grading system is quite different from Vandoren. You'll need at least a 3, maybe a 3.5.
FWIW I use #3's. Found them a bit on the soft side these damp days and wanted to buy 3.5's. Shop had them only "on request", so I successfully "upgraded" one with a nail clipper and a nail buffer. Improvisation starts on the hardware level... 
--
Ben
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Author: YCL-450
Date: 2006-06-17 23:43
YCL - if you do try Mitchell Lurie, be aware that their grading system is quite different from Vandoren. You'll need at least a 3, maybe a 3.5.
I tried ML but I found them stuffy and unresponsive. Maybe I didn't give them time to break in.
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Author: 2E
Date: 2006-06-18 04:48
I think that Vandoren boxes come with varying reeds as a sort of compromise to whatever you're playing. I will often be sitting in a rehearsal playing a song on a "rehearsal reed" then someone will say "oi 2E play this solo/high note/tongued passage" etc etc. What do you do? Open ur vandoren box - you can choose from soft reeds, hard reeds, rehearsal reeds, concert reeds and the list goes on. YES! This is inconsistant and wouldnt be recommended for new students however, having different choices within one box certainly can be handy in musical emergencies.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2006-06-18 05:00
It is a well known fact that Vandoren intentionally places reeds of slightly different strengths all in the same box.
Since they can measure reeds up to one tenth of a difference, a single box can have reeds which can vary +/- up to .4 from the indicated strength.
Thus, a box marked 3, can have reeds anywhere from 2.6 to 3.4...GBK
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2006-06-18 05:13
My break in procedure is like this: Take a reed out of box, good? Play it. Bad? take another one and try it, etc.
About the consistantcy of reeds - For me the inconsistancy of Vandoren reeds work very good. The weather here makes it that if all reeds in a box were exactly the same it would be horrible! It sometimes happen that some reeds work very good, then a few days later they don't work much at all, and then later they get back to working just fine.
I did notice Gonzalez reeds, which I personally don't like, are the most consistant of any reeds I've ever tried (and I've tried almost all known brands).
Good luck.
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Author: D
Date: 2006-06-18 16:04
All my 'bad' reeds are kept in a box together, must be about a hundred in there now. I keep my good reeds in rotation with the nearly good ones (about 14) in the clainet case. Every so often I find a gem in the bad reed box as the weather changes or the wind blows in a different direction...........
Burnishing, never found a good reed without it. But take care not to rip the tip off the reed! practice on a couple of rubbish ones first to make sure you know what sort of pressure to use. A blunt metal surface works quite well, you could try things like the wrong end of a pair of tweezers, or the handle of a tea spoon.
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Author: pewd
Date: 2006-06-18 16:22
>Take a reed out of box, good? Play it. Bad? take another one and try it, etc.
thats my method. open a box, put a reed on. play.
sounds good? keep playing. sounds bad? throw it away, grab another one.
i occassionally spend 2 minutes with a vandoren reed resurfacer, but most of the time, i just play them right out of the box.
too many people spend too much time fooling around with equipment, and not enough time playing.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Old Geezer
Date: 2006-06-18 16:31
Maybe you could get a copy of Larry Guy's
neat little book, "Selection, Adjustment, and
Care of Single Reeds." It's all about breaking
in reeds Van Doren or....
Ben Armato's little book "Perfect a Reed and
Beyond" is interesting and useful too.
Adjusting, breaking in reeds is tedious and
never ending....
Clarinet Redux
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Author: sherman
Date: 2006-06-18 19:42
I like reading all of the many suggestions for the breaking period for VD reeds, (I have called them VD for years and years). however without any attempt at humor, I would have to say that the breakin procedure is the same for any read, vd or any other and you must never try more than three or four at a time. Trying more than this amount leads to dimentia. There are just too many variables in these and in fact all reeds, but back to vd, they are worse, truly.
Rosario Mazzeo used to tell all of us that "one must learn to play on a bad reed", which not only avoided the problem completely but was good sense in the end.
The only vd reeds I ever played that had reasonable consistency were White Masters and they were quite good though precarious in placement on a french mouthpiece.
Nowadays however there are really much better, much more consistent reeds, mostly coming from South America and Australia, reeds which play right out of the box, and play well, but of course, one must allow all reeds to dry out etc several times prior to playing for someone else, or in an orchestra.
Back to my initial suggestion, try only three or four reeds at once, no more. Especially Van Doren.
The Morre reed with its thicker blank was really the right idea, and the Gonzalez reed from south america is supposedly the Morre cut.
Post Edited (2006-06-18 19:46)
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Author: xxColorMeJoshxx
Date: 2006-07-01 03:40
I'd have to wonder if Vandoren does indeed do what GBK mentioned (intentionally place differnet sized reeds in one box), how do we (those who play only on Vandoren reeds, truly know which size of reed best suits us?
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Author: mnhnhyouh
Date: 2006-07-02 01:39
I dont think they deliberatly place a variety of reeds in a box for the sake of variety.
Of course reeds dont come with exact differences in strength of 1/2, but vary in the smallest units that can be measured.
So if Vandoren can measure in 1/10 then having a spread is going to happen, unless then only put reeds of 3.0 in the 3 box, and throw out all those that are 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 etc.
h
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Author: Ed
Date: 2006-07-02 12:37
I would follow a break in procedure playing a few minutes each time and increasing it a few minutes each day. Rub the vamp and also rub the back on some paper on a flat surface, letting it dry in between. What I often do is break in a few at a time so that my practice session will use a few reeds at a time. After a few days the reeds should settle in just fine.
I have always found Vandorens to be the best reeds available (for me). I have tried numerous brands and always come back to Vandoren. I like the ring, the tone and quality of their cane. I always hear complaints about their consistency. A little work on making sure the reeds are flat and some balancing goes a long way to that end. I generally get most of the reeds in a box to work.
Good luck!
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Author: Cuisleannach
Date: 2006-07-03 17:15
If you want a better consistency give vandoren hand-selects a try...they're more expensive but you generally get twice as many good reeds out of the box. Now if only they'd make hand-select V-12's....maybe they do and I don't know it yet..............
-Randy
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