 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: dzirkle2
Date: 2006-12-04 15:23
My daughter received a Cordier Reed Trimmer for her birthday along with a Reed Wizard. She has been using the Reed Wizard with some success. However, she is not sure how or when to use the Cordier Reed Trimmer. Is there any documentation (books, DVDs, etc) out there available? Is this a tool to be used if you make your own reeds? Does anyone have any suggestions on how she should use the trimmer? Thanks!
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2006-12-04 21:09
A reed trimmer is an essential tool, and Cordier is the best quality. To use it:
Adjust the screw at the rear so that the shiny reed carrier is in the middle of its travel and can go either way.
Open the spring clip and slide the reed down until its tip is even with the end of the tongue-shaped area. Center the reed on the roughened area below the spring clip and close the clip.
Turn the clipper over and move the reed tip horizontally until it's exactly centered on the tongue.
Then turn the screw behind the spring clip so that a tiny amount of the reed overlaps the tongue -- the width of a fine pencil line.
Clip the tip with a smooth, crisp but not too hard motion of the clipping lever near the tip on the side.
Beginners use a clipper mostly when they get a tiny chip in the reed tip, to trim off enough to let the tip seal. This of course increases the reed strength, so you can only take off a little without scraping the reed to restore a comfortable feel.
You also use it when a reed is too soft, removing a tiny bit at a time.
Of course when you make reeds from blanks, you use it to round off the tip of the reed to fit the mouthpiece.
Test the trimmer on an old, worn-out reed. I find that the cutting edge lasts a year or so, and it's easy to put chips in it so that it cuts unevenly. If it cuts raggedly, throw it away. (Most beginning band directors have a read trimmer to get rid of chipped reed tips.)
Reed adjustment is an essential art, which you should start to learn when you've been playing for about a year.
Ken Shaw
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Author: bill28099
Date: 2006-12-04 21:20
"Test the trimmer on an old, worn-out reed. I find that the cutting edge lasts a year or so"
Mmm interesting, I have a 50+ year old Cordier and it cuts today as well as it did when it was new. Guess they just don't make them like they used to.
A great teacher gives you answers to questions
you don't even know you should ask.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2006-12-04 21:55
What a nice, useful, Birthday present. I have 3, Sop. Bb, Alto [works for both alto cl and sax], bass [works for both B Cl and tenor sax reeds !]. Ken describes its use very well. Be "fussy" with reed-orientation on it to get well-cut reeds. With these, I feel safe to buy reeds which may be too soft [out of the box], and make successive clips to achieve the hardnss I wish. Before clipping, I polish the reed's back on very fine SiC paper for smoothness, which may also soften to a small degree. WORKS, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Cuisleannach
Date: 2006-12-06 05:19
Speaking from personal experience from a failed concerto competition audition a long time ago,
NEVER USE A REED TRIMMER JUST PRIOR TO AN AUDITION UNLESS YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING!!!
My teacher was mad at me for weeks!
-Randy
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Author: LarryBocaner ★2017
Date: 2006-12-06 13:03
My own Cordier reed trimmer was purchased from my teacher, Daniel Bonade, way back in c.1951. It still cuts perfectly, with occasional use on my own reeds, but weekly use on my students' reeds -- especially when they bring in those *&%#!*! Mitchell Lurie reeds!
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Author: William
Date: 2006-12-06 15:09
"those *&%#!*!" (MLs)
Hmmm, I thought that pretty much described all clarinet reeds...........
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Author: ChrisArcand
Date: 2006-12-07 22:55
My instructor has also said that his 30+ year old Cordier is still razor sharp. I doubt you can really ruin it, unless you abuse it. He had told me that Cordier is the ONLY reed trimmer worth buying - I didn't want to spend the extra money. I bought a cheaper Rigotti trimmer. Bad idea. I might as well have tried to bite the tips into shape. I bought a Cordier the next day, and I think I still have that stupid Rigotti lying around...
Chris Arcand
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2006-12-08 02:29
I purchased my Cordier in 79 and it still works great today!!!
David Dow
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2006-12-08 05:33
"I bought a cheaper Rigotti trimmer. Bad idea. I might as well have tried to bite the tips into shape."
Can you elaborate on that?
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2006-12-08 21:59
Larry,
I think Bonade said "take off just a hair's breadth" when clipping a reed. Do you recall that advice?
HRL
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Author: crnichols
Date: 2006-12-08 22:15
I don't know about Chris Arcand's experience, but I tried a Rigotti before I bought a Cordier. The Rigotti had a mostly plastic body, and the plastic broke after about ten uses, making it garbage. I returned it as defective, and paid the difference for a Cordier, which I've had ever since.
Christopher Nichols, D.M.A.
Assistant Professor of Clarinet
University of Delaware
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Author: ChrisArcand
Date: 2006-12-09 18:00
Alright alright alright I'll elaborate a little more, maybe my comment wasn't quite clear.
When I used the Rigotti, the edge of the cut would always be jagged, although the trimmer didn't look that way. It just wasn't sharp enough, or just didn't cut right. My comment was saying that if you bit the tip of your reed off, the jagged, nasty edge would be pretty much what I had (exaggerating, of course).
In any case, the Cordier cuts cleanly and for a long time. And Chris Nichols is right, the Cordier is built and sturdy, unlike the Rigotti.
But I don't mean to sit here all day ranting about reed trimmers! My apologies. The reeds themselves are enough to handle.
Chris Arcand
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Author: FDF
Date: 2006-12-25 19:11
Received a Cordier as a Christmas gift and doubt that I'd have used it correctly the first time if it wasn't for Ken Shaw's very clear instructions. Thanks.
As a note of interest, when my son (age 26) went to purchase this gift, the clerk asked him who it was for, because they didn't want to sell something with such sharp blades to just anybody.
Hope you all are having a Merry Christmas!
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2006-12-25 19:43
> As a note of interest, when my son (age 26) went to purchase this gift, the
> clerk asked him who it was for, because they didn't want to sell something
> with such sharp blades to just anybody.
When I read what men can do with vacuum cleaners I understand that bit of caution...
PS: with a bit of dexterity, a manicure set (nail clippers, nail scissors, nail file) can do as well. (I did it twice, works like a charm).
--
Ben
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2006-12-26 02:34
Reed trimmers (even within the same brand) seem to vary with respect to the shape of the tip they cut. Some trimmers make the tip (as seen from above) too rounded, while some are not wide enough to handle reeds that are relatively wide at the tip. The Cordier is certainly among the best; I happen to have a Vandoren trimmer that works well on bass clarinet, although the same trimmer in Bb clarinet size makes a tip shape that is too rounded for my taste. Chacun à son goût.......
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Author: kev182
Date: 2006-12-26 04:40
Cordier trimmers are higher quality then the rigotti but the cut is totally different. The cordier has amuch more curved cut than V12s and the rigotti....rigotti is closer to what V12's originally are
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Author: shmuelyosef
Date: 2006-12-27 05:55
If you want less rounding, you can just go to the next larger reed trimmer...e.g. use an alto sax trimmer on a clarinet reed for a flatter tip.
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Author: William
Date: 2006-12-29 15:55
Don't like them nor do I ever trim any clarinet or sax reed. If a reed doesn't work after balancing, it gets "wall tested" and I move on to the next.
Reed Trimmers--HUMBUG!!! Nevertheless, Happy New Year, all..........
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2006-12-29 16:45
All humbuggery aside, you're wasting a lot of potentially good reeds, William! A good clipper should be part of every clarinetist's toolkit of reed-adjusting equipment.
HNY to you also.
![[toast]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smiley15.gif)
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Author: EuGeneSee
Date: 2006-12-29 20:50
William, a "Humbug!" without the prerequisite "Bah!" is without any dismissive value, so I will continue to enjoy the full use of my Cordiers for alto, Bb, and Eb clarinets . . . don't know if they still make the cute little eefer model any more (?) Now one for the bass clarinet . . .? Eu
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2006-12-30 00:12
<ashamedly hides toenail clipper behind back>
And I thought I was a geek. Bah, humbug!
--
Ben
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Author: Escsrc
Date: 2006-12-30 21:42
I was once stuck in between plane flights at someone's house without my adjustement equipment and I was practicing...and I needed to adjust a reed (an Eb, granted). Well, one of those pink nail files, a #11 Xacto and some nail clippers later and it was working fine. I still wouldn't give up my Cordier or Fox any day much more exact.
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2006-12-31 00:15
"Don't like them nor do I ever trim any clarinet or sax reed. If a reed doesn't work after balancing, it gets "wall tested" and I move on to the next."
Although i agree somewhat to discarding a reed, a trimmer gives it a few more minutes of air before it becomes too hard to play.
In regards to the quality of the reed trimmers, the cordier is more expensive because it will LAST several lifetimes before it cruds out on you.
The rigotti trimmer is terribly built and won't last more then 5 years of continual use. in addition, the circular knob used to move the reed to the tip of the trimmer, is insensitive and does not allow fine tune adjustments as the cordier does. if you overturn, the reed lurches forward as opposed to the cordier trimmer which nudges the reed forward by the screw. pictures coming.
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: TheButler
Date: 2006-12-31 10:12
I have two Cordier clippers (both for Bb reeds), but they both don't trim symmetrical (the ears of the reed end up having a slightly different shape).. which is very annoying. I thought it was a common problem (I always hear people going through a lot of trimmers before finding the right one), but there's no-one mentioning it in this thread. Any thoughts?
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Author: raddatcj
Date: 2006-12-31 10:52
My cordier works great. I spent years throwing out reeds for various reasons. I am learning to adjust reeds and my cordier reed trimmer is an essential part of my tool box. It took a couple of cuts to get the feel of it, but it definatly has saved me money. Sometimes a reed just needs a tiny cut to adjust the strength and make it playable. I have a reed right now that is almost my "perfect" reed. It was o.k. but a little soft until I gave it just a hairline clip. Now, I can pop out a double high C without to much worries, play with a dark sound, have just the right resistance,..and focus on the music a little more. The cordier reed trimmer didn't make this reed,... but I probably wouldn't have used it for long without that hairline clip.
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Author: ChrisArcand
Date: 2006-12-31 17:56
I have also noticed a tiny amount of edge differences, but not enough to worry about. It seems silly to waste so much time going through many trimmers to find the "perfect" one - that just takes away from what's important, which is playing the music in the first place. Especially when (as mentioned throughout this thread) a reed trimmer is more of a "get just a little bit more out of your reed" sort of tool (not always, mind you).
Unless having it perfect to the nearest 1/10000" helps greatly? Some other peoples' thoughts.
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2007-01-02 02:28
Link of the reed wizard in action!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYi0DK9r7y0
Alrighty then. Featuring, the reed wizard, rigotti trimmer, and lastly the cordier trimmer. Short explanation
rigotti- knob moves the reed in "lurches" not sensitive. Pain in the butt to adjust as you'd have to move it back then scoot it forward again. Average usage life = 5 years
*note where i'm pointing my finger is the stress point of the rigotti trimmer. this is where the plastic WILL crack as you can see in the picture. give it a few more months and it will probably completely break off.
Cordier- best shiny toenail clipper ahem* reed trimmer that i've stumbled on. durable, and consistent in cuts (both do what they are built to do which is to cut with precision) however, the cordier is easier to use. Only downside is that it rusts over time, so definitely keep that in mind. aesthetic purposes only.
reed wizard!- a very sophisticated and well manufactured product, i'm not quite sure it makes a world of difference in my point of view. The subtleness can best be described as switching ligatures if that analogy works. In my opinion, the best way to learn how to adjust your reeds is to ask your private teacher. My teacher taught me to hold the reed up to the light and balance the reed by evening out the wood density. At 69 cents a day for its use, in my situation, it doesn't go with me. I will admit that it is a great design and that a lot of thought was put into it.
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
Post Edited (2007-01-02 02:44)
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