 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: GBK
Date: 2008-02-12 11:40
Do you mark your reeds to tell the best from the worst or just put them in a numbered reed holder? Are your reeds marked on the back, on the butt end, etc... or not at all?
I've seen many different personal systems and have observed players who mark their reeds from anything to a simple pencil dot, to colored dots, to long strings of numbers and letters relating (I guess) to date first started, relative strength (+ or -), ranking from best to worst in their rotation and a variety of other (secret) codes.
I once sat next to a player who literally had a string of 9 numbers and letters on each of his reeds.
Perhaps it was a secret telephone number to contact Vandoren?
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Author: EuGeneSee
Date: 2008-02-12 13:14
I am not much more than a beginner, relearning the clarinet after decades of inactivity, so my level of sophistication is in the basement. However, I put a small mark (no perticular shape) on the butt end edge of a reed that I like because it is nice sounding and easy to play. I put two marks on a reed that is useable, but not one of my favorites. Reeds that I don't consider worth two marks, I mark all the way across the butt end and put them in my toolbox for applying glue and other non-musical uses.
Of course, a one mark reed may later degenerate to a two mark reed, and any reed may later be marked all the way across the butt end and find its way into the toolbox.
It's a simple system that doesn't ruffle my bangs trying to remember what the markings mean.
Eu
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2008-02-12 15:02
I mark all new reeds on the flat bottom at the butt end with an abbreviation of the brand followed by a sequential number, without regard to how they play (as they haven't even been broken in yet). Then I break them in for a week or so, without grading or ranking them. Finally, once I start actually playing on them and have done initial adjustments, I'll lay them on the table in order of best to worst, and insert them in a reed wallet (my favorite reed storage device) in that order, from best on the left through worst on the right.
That order, of course, frequently changes as I play further on the reeds.
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2008-02-12 15:06
I have a 12 reed custom case that I put my reeds in. The one on the left is the concert reed followed by alternate reeds to the right. With my ATG, Reed Wizard and knife skills, I rarely have reed issues. The time I save with reed adjusting I use to post here......
;)
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2008-02-12 15:23
I say it once and again the only thing I need to get all the reeds to be playable and 7-8/10 to be concert quality is using the Vandoren stick and resurfacer and I usually only have to use the stick on less than half of the reeds and very few needs work on the the facing(down side) and I usually use the resurfacer to bring out more life out of old reeds.
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2008-02-12 15:26
I use the glass from that reed surfacer as the glass for holding the reed using the ATG.
Should give the stick another chance. Tried it way back and ended up shelving it.
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Author: hans
Date: 2008-02-12 15:51
It isn't necessary to mark the Legeres that I use on clarinet and alto sax; however, for tenor sax I use cane and put the date that I first use it on the butt end.
Hans
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Author: Ed
Date: 2008-02-12 16:10
I mark the butt end. That way I can look to see what the reed is even while on the mouthpiece. My system has always been to use Roman numerals, as I find them much easier to write and read in that small space. I don't use any system as such, other than just knowing which ones out of the batch seem to be the best players. Often before a gig or rehearsal, I go through them and know mentally what the playing characteristics are. I try to balance and adjust all so that all are at a good reasonable level of playability. If not they don't stay in the main reedcase.
I have know some players to have systems of +, -, s, h, or other indications and mark other places on the vamp to indicate strength, balance, tone, etc.
I recall a friend of mine told me that when he studied with Richard Waller of the Cincinnati Symphony, that Waller would keep a little notebook with notes on how the reeds played from day to day.
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2008-02-12 16:31
Sounds like the "little black book" system from every romantic comedy movie ever made.
A "10" plays Bolero (with Bo Derek )
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2008-02-12 16:58
My reeds are ordered from lightest to heaviest in reed cases. All the reeds within the case are from the same generation of curing/adjustment. With my current mouthpiece I ride a line between 3.5's-4's, and there are usually five or so of each.
It is fortuitous that you asked the question GBK, because I am about to implement a system of keeping greater track of quality reeds...
...so I'm curious what ever else does!
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2008-02-12 18:10
I mark the butt end with a pink marker if it's a concert quality reed. I use a black straight line if it's a pretty good reed that would work in a pinch. I toss the bad ones out so they don't get confused with good ones in the dark of a pit situation.
My pink marker is a glow inthe dark marker. The black dot is just a #2 pencil marking, so I guess it's really only dark gray.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2008-02-12 18:19
Glow in the dark? I know we are talking about SMALL amounts, but is there any concern about using a chemical that both glows in the dark and winds up in your mouth?
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2008-02-12 18:52
Butt end, ball-point pen.
I include the date I started breaking it in on one side.
The other side has a letter corresponding to which box of reeds it came from (I also label the box with this letter), and a number, 0-9, for which reed it was (the first I break in from the box gets 0, all the way up to 9).
If I'm playing regularly, I know my reeds by name (e.g. M3, K8) and I know which have what characteristics. If I'm playing less regularly (i.e. if I start wishing I'd also put the YEAR with the date) or if I forget which reed is which, I put other markings on: a "+" if a reed played particularly well, and an "X" or a "-" (I'm not terribly consistent) if it plays badly. No matter how many plusses it has, after 3 strikes I subject it to the wall test. I'll also occasionally put other notes on it.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: swkeess
Date: 2008-02-12 19:26
Like Hans, I mark the date I first played the reed on the flat side of the butt end. If I select two or more reeds the same day to put into rotation I'll also mark #1, #2, etc. to correspond with how well I liked them that day.
Susan Keess
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2008-02-12 19:47
I use separate reed holders for "works in progress" (flattened but not otherwise modified) and "concert ready" and then rank the concert-ready reeds from left to right in order of how they play. The reed at the furthest right is the one I save for a big concert and I usually practice with one of the ones towards the left in the box. Sometime those get elevated to a loftier position if I have a good rehearsal session with them.
With oboe, I have more marks on them, with a symbol for the cane source, date and my opinions on its playing characteristics (dark, great low notes, etc.). A friend of mine uses a numbering system and a book, but that seems a bit more extreme. Of course the oboe reeds are made from scratch, whereas the clarinet reeds come out of the Gonzalez or VanDoren box and are labeled (although less so after the flattening).
Hope that helps.
Eefer guy
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Author: MattBowmanSmith
Date: 2008-02-12 19:52
When I have adjusted a reed to my liking I like to mark the butt end of the reed with a vertical line. I think Larry Bocaner calls this a "tick". If you look in The Clarinet, issue July/August 1991, Henry Larsen does a good job of explaining his reasons for marking reeds, according to the reeds quality.
Very interesting to see what other people do to identify reeds.
-Matt
Post Edited (2008-02-12 19:53)
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Author: A Brady
Date: 2008-02-12 20:08
In the past, I would mark the date that the reed was first started on the back, but I have not been doing that lately. I store the reeds in Reedguards with tags on the various slots for reference purposes; I like to have different strengths available for changing atmospheric and day-to-day conditions. I will sometimes put a light pencil mark on the harder side of the vamp to help me adjust the reed properly on the mouthpiece if I feel that the imbalance is not severe enough to justify adjustment (actually removing wood), and simply placing the reed to the left or right/higher or lower is sufficient. I find that frequently I get an extended lifespan from a reed with less adjustment, and that finding the ideal position of the reed in relation to the facing can have a very positive impact on performance.
AB
AB
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Author: marzi
Date: 2008-02-12 22:44
I used to keep it simple, i would mark the reed case, 1 star for good, 2 for best/concerts, and move the reeds in as they warranted. now its all a hodgepodge.
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Author: Neil
Date: 2008-02-12 23:10
I keep my two best reeds in a Vandoren double case marked "Majors". My next two are in a similar case marked "Minors", which is subdivided into AA and AAA slots. Rookie League reeds are in un-boxed individual cases.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2008-02-13 00:04
I never mark them to determine playability. I found with the ATG system and some proper balancing, almost every single one of them is playable at any given time. And if a time comes up for performance and the next one in rotation isn't sounding so hot, I just skip it and go on to the next until I find a playable. Which is only one or two down the row in those rare cases.
The only time I mark my reeds at ALL is if I'm trying out a different type of reed and I see no other way to tell them easily apart. For example, right now I have 4 V12 3.5s and 6 Black Master V12 3.5s. But the black masters writing on the back of the reed is distinctly different than the V12s. But if I were to try out Blue Box vs V12s, I'd mark the back of one of the types of reeds.
The only reason I mark the back is so whenever I get a very good playing reed, I look at the back to see what it was. If I remember seeing more marks than those without marks, I know what to buy more of next time.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: butterflymusic
Date: 2008-02-13 06:08
I don't mark the reeds, I mark the reed holder and rotate the reeds accordingly. Slot #1 is my top reed, #2 is second-best, and so on. Pretty much what others are doing as well.
I used to mark the reeds but not to rank their playability; it was to indicate if the reed played better slightly off center and for whatever reason did not want to mess with adjusting it. If it played better off to the right I'd mark a right-facing arrow near the butt end, and a left arrow for the opposite.
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2008-02-13 08:42
I never even thought to write on them... I've always filed by location. (Actually for a brief spell before I had a reed holder for bass I wrote in pencil on the Vandoren reed cases... but you end up with dirty reed cases that way.)
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Author: clarinets1
Date: 2008-02-14 20:01
i go through a box at a time and when the better reeds start to show wear i start breaking in a new box. if i've done things right, i just trade off boxes, like handing off a baton in a relay race. (sometimes it really does work that way!)
my marking system is an odd mix of numbers, letters, x's and o's, and stars, written in pencil on the back or front of the reed. because they are all such different markings i have a good idea about which reed is which. i associate a specific symbol with the playability of the reed.
wow, i never thought about how weird that sounds.
:D
makes sense in my head though...
same process for alto sax reeds. tenor sax uses Fibracell, so the reed case gets the marks.
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Author: AS
Date: 2008-02-14 20:30
I stopped marking reeds as soon as I realized that the same reed can sound different at different times and conditions. So I ended up with 8-9 playable reeds in my 12 reed case. Other slots are for the ones to be broken in on occasion. I am not a single brand fan, so I have about 4 brands in the case, varying in stength +/-0.5. I know how each reed usually sounds, but if at a given time a reed seems to be "tired" or "capricious" I take another one expected to deliver the sound that I would like at that particular time. I realize that this is not an awfully scientific approach, but it suits me well enough.
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Author: BandieSF
Date: 2008-02-16 21:10
Seeing as I use Legere Quebecs most of the time, I don't ever really need to mark reeds. But I do still have a few Vandoren 12's in my 4-reed case. I have my best cane reed marked with a dot on the butt end, like those found on the butt ends of the Legere Quebecs, but other than that, I've not marked reeds for a while. I'm trying to make the transition to the strict use of the Legere Quebecs since I can get such a resonant sound on them in addition to a multitude of other up-sides (with their only downside being they play just the slightest bit flatter than cane reeds, or so says my lesson teacher; I've not tested that myself). I just hope my director doesn't find out I'm on the plastic things or catches me on a brand new un-broken-in plastic. Even if he begs me to switch back, I'm never going back.
But yeah, I don't mark my reeds that much. Before I switched I'd occasionally mark a bad one with an angry face, or the word "chirpy" if it tended to chirp too much, or a star if it was satisfactory, but I've dropped it because of the lack of need.
-----
Current set-up:
Classical:
Strength 4 1/4 Legere Signature Series
Vandoren M13 Lyre
Jazz:
Strength 3 3/4 Legere Quebec
Pomarico Jazz*
Clarinets:
Buffet E11 Student Model
Buffet R13 Greenline
<http://operationhighschool.blogspot.com
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2008-02-16 21:31
Well I must be a complete caveman - I have one of each +/0/- of the strength I'm gravitating around in my reed holder and just pick the one I'm most comfortable with. (Altitude has an effect).
If the "good 'un'" is shredded in the final fff, I just grab a new one of the same strength out of the box and be done with it. (the boxes I'm using usually yield 8 or 9 usable reeds).
I did think about balancing and filing and so, but when I inspected my current #1 reed I noticed it's totally asymmetrical and would have ended on most players' "dud heap", so I just clamp on and get goin'. (I don't check the tyre pressure before driving to work either - if it feels right it is right)
--
Ben
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Author: Bill
Date: 2008-02-17 17:03
I once bought sheets of those colored stars that primary school teachers (used to?) use on students' work. I still have those sheets. I assigned colors to strengths, with one color reserved for "bad." I tend not to throw away a "bad" reed until I've given it several chances.
Now my philosophy is much like the contributor "AS" (above).
There are "bad" reeds and then there are reeds that just haven't found the right mouthpiece curve yet. There are "good" reeds that sound crappy on a different mouthpiece curve.
But, yeah, there are a few reeds that sound stellar on (almost) everything. The look of these (bark coloring?) usually stays in my head.
Bill.
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
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Author: BandieSF
Date: 2008-02-17 18:05
Back in sixth grade I used to use the colorings on the reed to identify them, like Bill mentioned. I could remember what the good ones looked like and what the bad ones looked like.
-----
Current set-up:
Classical:
Strength 4 1/4 Legere Signature Series
Vandoren M13 Lyre
Jazz:
Strength 3 3/4 Legere Quebec
Pomarico Jazz*
Clarinets:
Buffet E11 Student Model
Buffet R13 Greenline
<http://operationhighschool.blogspot.com
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Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2008-02-17 22:13
When I get ready to perform, I write the #1 on my lower lip. Then I put the first reed I can find in my reed case on, and it plays great!
That #1 on the lip trick works every time. It's really a matter of fooling the reeds into thinking they're all #1...!
(JOKE!!!)
JJM
Légère Artist
Clark W. Fobes Artist
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Author: EuGeneSee
Date: 2008-02-18 00:32
Susie:
Is that a 10-note polyphonic reed? Is the wide reed-ette at the far left for playing a bass continuo?
Eu
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Author: Mary Jo
Date: 2008-02-18 01:43
My best reed is a V2 I found in the case after the clarinet was given me in about 1995, after my dad died. The reed was no doubt left from my brother's clarinet playing days in the late 1970's.
The reed can't have survived since my playing days in the 1960's, I don't think.
I always look for that V2 in my box of clean reeds. Others like Vandorens, Gonzales, and other exotic canes, I mark on the flat end with a star for goodness. The measure of goodness is, of course, that V2.
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