 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Lisa
Date: 2007-12-30 19:06
Realizing there are a ton of threads on the general care of reeds, I've done a search for the answer to my specific question and came up empty. How do you remove the inevitable buildup from the front and back of your reeds?
I've always used my fingernail to scrape only the back of unresponsive, dead reeds, but someone recently told me NEVER to touch the back of a reed except when sanding a squeaker down flat. The same person taught me to gently scrape the front of old reeds with reed rush to resurrect them, and I discovered out how well that works. But I still stand by my fingernail carefully scraping the middle of the back of old reeds where the saliva builds up the most.
How do YOU get the gunk off?
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Author: pewd
Date: 2007-12-30 20:12
i soak them in water for a few seconds, then scrape with a dull pocket knife
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Katelyn
Date: 2007-12-30 20:19
Fingernail.  But usually I don't bother...I just find another reed.
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Author: glin
Date: 2007-12-30 21:33
1)Reed rush with water
2) toothpaste w/toothbrush
3) hydrogen peroxide w/toothbrush
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2007-12-30 21:55
Rinse off the reed everytime you get done playing. It won't build up at all. You can use soap on a toothbrush also- just rinse well.
There are products on the market, but they contain Hydrogen Peroxide which I'm not convinced is good for the reed except for a day or 2.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: Lann
Date: 2007-12-30 22:35
Oh, the Lann Reed Regiment:
First of all, I don't suck on my reeds. While they are quite tasty and all, I let them soak in fresh tap water while I put my clarinet together.
After I have my way with the instrument (or vice versa, depending on the day) I soak my reed in water again while I take it apart, and then give it a little pat dry with paper towel and I put it in whatever sort of reed keeper I have (depends strongly on which clarinet I'm using).
I clean my mouthpiece with soap and water every week or so, and while I'm doing that, my reeds soak in a mixture of 1 part mouthwash to 5 parts water.
I also sort my reeds to see which ones may need work so that I can do that after I'm done with the whole mouthpiece ordeal, which usually takes place before a practice session, so that the reeds are completely dry before they are put away. This way, the not-as-good reeds can have some time away from me, and decide if they are going to play...and I can decide if I'm going to keep it instead of making a rash decision about a perfectly good reed that just needs a little TLC.
If you do all of that, you'll find that you don't need to use your fingernail. But, I think if you're careful, it's not a really big deal. You aren't cleaning the reed as much as you are getting the major gunk off, but hey, you're not supposed to stick q-tips into your ear canal, and I don't know many people who don't. So, whatever. Just be careful not to get over zealous and crack your reed.
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2007-12-30 23:06
(Disclaimer - I sell ReedLife)
I think that rinsing the reeds off after use goes a long way to keeping them clean but also think that skin cells are imbedded into the nooks and crannies of the reed while playing as well as the chap stick that many of us use (actually an addiction of mine) on lips. I feel that these imbedded flotsam and jetsam tend to deaden the vibration of the reed over time.
I also believe that hydrogen peroxide alone after several treatments is not good for reeds but the ReedLife formula has humectants which replenish those lost from the cane in treatment with hydrogen peroxide. I have also modified the formula (a friend of mine is the chemist who invented it so I help him make it) adding a little ethanol to dissolve my lip balm clogging the reed and a couple other additatives of my own design but ReedLife itself IMO makes a good reed last longer by cleaning it - YMMV.
Your own regime may also work for you !!
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2007-12-31 00:45
Omar, the hydrogen peroxide in reedlife doesn't hurt the reeds longevity?
What chemically does the peroxide do to a reed? The typical feeling is that peroxide regenerates a reed for a day or 2, but then the reed dies quickly. How does peroxide do that, and the humectant prevent that from occuring?
btw - I use reedlife and like it. If a students reed gets dirty, it works really well in giving it life again.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
Post Edited (2007-12-31 00:46)
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2007-12-31 01:02
(Same disclaimer)
The hydrogen peroxide oxidizes the dead skin cells and carries the debris away - the bubbles that you see coming from a dirty reed when placed into ReedLife - the bubbling action is also a physical effect to remove debris. It does not harm the cellulose fibers per sey but will remove some of the carbohydrate (sugars) bonding the fibers together. The humectants reduce this reaction with carbohydrate and actually form some new bonds between the cellulose fibers and improve wetting qualities. I usually clean reeds that I have played for 8 hours or more and a good-great reed gets treated maybe 3-4 times before other factors ?? cause it to go downhill in playing chacteristics. As mentioned, rinsing a reed with tap water with a relatively strong stream of water after a playing session will lengthen the time before needed cleaning in my experience. The hydrogen peroxide in ReedLife will also kill mold and mold spores.
Lipstick is also a reed killer in my observational experience with the opposite gender so female students are advised not to apply it before playing, and remove as much as possible before putting lips to reeds. Even hydrogen peroxide will not remove the new good lipsticks.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
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Author: susieray
Date: 2007-12-31 03:55
My reeds are never "gunky". I wipe both sides of the reed on my pant leg when I'm done playing and I've never really noticed any gunk buildup at all. I don't use lipstick (never have and never will, it's gross) or chapstick
so maybe that's part of it.
Some of my really old reeds look a little gray/dirty, but by then they are usually very well used and don't have much life left in them anyway.
I have used peroxide and a toothbrush occasionally on these really old ones, and it does make them look newer again. But they really don't seem to play any differently than they did with the dirt still on them.
I also have some ReedLife™ I bought from Omar and I've soaked old reeds in that a few times, but for me, once my reeds are to the point that they have been used to death already there's really not much point in trying to revive them.
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Author: Gregory Smith ★2017
Date: 2007-12-31 05:05
I have used ReedLife for many years now...even long before The Doctor made the improvements he mentioned.
Being skeptical at first, I tried it with a few old clunks that I though couldn't be revived - even by using the old pit orchestra trick of lightly sanding the vamp from where the lower lip touches the reed all the way up and over the tip of the reed.
Every time I use it I am re-convinced of it's ability to restore life in the reed almost all the way back to where it once was at it's zenith. The concept sounds like hocus pocus at first but is truly based on sound scientific principles. That's why the results are repeatable.
The results are also far superior to the drying action of soaps and other cleaning agents or techniques since The Doctor's formulation contains a moisturizer to counteract the hydrogen peroxide.
All and all it's the one and only solution to extend the life of reeds - both for clarinet and double reeds, as my double reed colleagues would attest. There isn't even another formula on the market that has been designed to even remotely accomplish the same thing.
It's just one in an array of a hugely successful line of products that all clarinetists benefit from everyday.
Gregory Smith
http://www.gregory-smith.com
PS. I receive no compensation for any of my recommendations.
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2007-12-31 12:00
(Disclaimer - I sell ReedLife)
The modifications that I have made to the original formulation of ReedLife are for my own use only (that chap stick addiction) and are not part of the retail version of the product. I have no desire to offer a competing product with tiny changes. As Gregory mentions ReedLife is used more extensively by the double reed players because it will clean debris from between the reeds which no other commercial product will do but they must also try to preserve the longevity of their more expensive reeds (both in money and time spent making them). Much of the cost of the product is shipping expense of the 1/2 kilo bottle to retail outlets.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2008-01-02 08:01
> My reeds are never "gunky". I wipe both sides of the reed on my pant leg when I'm done playing and I've never really noticed any gunk buildup at all.
Works for me too! Just make sure you're wearing lint-free trousers ;-D - fluff caught in a bristly reed is a nightmare.
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