 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: alanporter
Date: 2008-01-23 04:27
I am finding that only about two reeds from a pack of ten are satisfactory. Can anyone advise me of a website that gives competent advice on trimming reeds ? Many thanks.
Alan
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2008-01-23 06:09
http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=261347&t=261301
There was a post in the past about several websites on how to adjust reeds. can someone help find that link? it had everything from diagrams to all sorts of reed adjusting methods.
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: Tobin
Date: 2008-01-23 12:35
Hello Alan,
You can do a search into what is essentially two facets of reed preparation:
Curing
Adjustment
The link above was covering both extensively, as I recall. For adjustment purposes I use Ridenour's ATG system.
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: BobD
Date: 2008-01-23 12:44
Tom Ridenour's book and his reed system
Bob Draznik
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Author: alanporter
Date: 2008-01-23 15:01
I have just looked at the articles on Ridenour's website and I am most impressed. Just what I was looking for. Many thanks for the tip.
Alan
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Author: BFlatorelse
Date: 2008-01-23 16:42
I'll second Tom ridenour's method. I used to make my own reeds from blanks and still have a full "cultary" set of knives and machines, measuring devices, etc. I don't need any of them any more!
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Author: EuGeneSee
Date: 2008-01-23 18:04
BFlatorelse: Quick, send the surplus reed tools to me before you are approached by the Jack Kissinger Clarinet Recycling & Ecologically Safe Disposition Center, Inc. Eu
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Author: vjoet
Date: 2008-01-23 18:16
I find Ben Amato's Reed Wizard one the best investment's I've ever made.
I tried my teacher's for a week first, and was so impressed, I got my own.
Out of a box of 10, I now get 6 that are excellent for practice, and 2 or 3 that are fit for performance / rehearsal. (Yeah, I use my best reeds in community band / orchestra rehearsal. I know many save the best for only performance)
I have noted that even honed reeds need rehoning. I thought they would be pretty static once broken in, but that is not what I've found. They often profit from putting through the Reed Wizard again, and I use it on them a couple times a week.
vJoe
(amateur)
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2008-01-23 20:59
I don't need any reed wizard to get good reeds only Vandoren reed resurfacer and stick and I get 10 playable reeds from each box and about 6-7 are concert quality. And I now use Glotin GIII.
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Author: Bubalooy
Date: 2008-01-23 22:00
I use both the Ridenour system and the Vandoren resurfacer. I don't get quite as good a percentage as Iceland but still very good. I recommend reading "Handbook for Making and Adjusting Single Reeds" by Kalmen Opperman. I've had mine for many years but the price in the 1970s was 1.50 dollars. It is probably still not expensive.
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Author: William
Date: 2008-01-24 14:48
Ben Armatos Reed Wizard--simple, easy to use and works reed adjusting "miracles" every time. Mine has actually paid for itself in reed expense savings since I purchased it 11 yrs ago.
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2008-01-24 15:57
(Disclaimer - I sell the ATG and Reed Wizard)
From my own experience - there are few reeds out of a box that cannot be made very playable with these two systems and a bastard file used for the back of the reed. The Reed Wizard has been around for many years, recently improved with the carbide blade, and these products just do not remain and thrive in the marketplace if they do not work and aid a player. The ATG system, in my hands, took a little practice to learn to use effectively but once experienced, using it will bring almost any reed into balance and make it a much better playing reed. Saving only a few reeds per box will more than pay for these items in savings in a short period of time if you play even a moderate amount.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
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Author: Ronish
Date: 2008-01-24 17:36
William, basically what is the set up for the Wizard. How does it in principle work? Regards, Russ
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Author: rtmyth
Date: 2008-01-24 18:07
Not much to add. I second the advice above. Adjusting and slow curing over 5 days or so. Playing a few minutes each day, gradually increasing and covering more of the range and volume will give you a longer lasting reed. See "Romancing the Reed" , in The Clarinet of some years ago, for details on adjusting, and Ridenour's book for the techniques. .
richard smith
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2008-01-25 00:34
(Disclaimer - I sell the Reed Wizard and ATG System)
The Reed Wizard has a flat metal table with alignment metal pins and lines for reed placement in a precise orientation. There is a movable metal carbide knife blade in a metal holder on a sliding groove that is attached to the table. The table also has a bevel such that the blade removes small amounts of the reed as the knife is slid across it. The material is removed about 1/3 in from the edge to the central axis of the reed with the normal alignment. Moving the reed to either side of the table removes material from the other side of the reed. Material can be removed from the heart by positioning the reed further forward of the alignment line. Basically, factory made reeds are often asymmetrical from side to side and the Reed Wizard balances the symmetry of the reed. You should find a friend that has one and see it in operation - unless you have one in front of you it is hard to explain the function but it does a good job of balancing the material aspects of the reed. The ATG system further fine tunes the playing characteristics after you have gone through the play testing procedure outlined on the DVD that comes with the system.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2008-01-25 00:58
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYi0DK9r7y0
i should have explained the reed wizard in the video, but I just wanted to put a video up to show how the process works. it basically scrapes the bottom right and left (when you move the reed to the other side) without taking too much wood off. the blades aren't like sandpaper and leave little "cut" marks or grooves to take some, not all the wood off, which is basically why the reed wizard is that awesome. sandpaper takes too much and either hits the heart of the wood, or isn't an even sand. thus mini grooves = better.
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: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2008-01-25 02:59
That video looks (pretty sure!) like it's done with the old model reed wizard. The new ones are a LOT better as no more file, and the cutting design is much improved. Old one worked pretty well, new one works really, really well. He changed it about 3-4 years ago.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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