 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bill
Date: 2009-11-08 16:17
I haven't posted on here for well over a year. I am an amateur player and sometimes get away from playing (also because my available time must be split between clarinet and piano). But I always come back to my clarinets.
I wanted to ask how many routinely adjust their reeds using reed rush. I have gotten back to this wonderful practice, which not only perfects the union between mouthpiece and reed but also allows you to find that perfect middle ground between a rather "dead" resistance and a flabby "wobble" that is only useful for fooling around or trying to sound like, I dunno, Pee Wee Russell.
These minute and careful adjustments to the tip and area just below the tip of the reed give the color to your playing and allow you to stop playing the reed and begin playing the clarinet. Adjusting the reed "opens up" the entire pipe ... all the equipment being used.
I think the key is the reed rush, however. I've experimented with a sharp blade and with sandpaper and neither produces the same results.
It's a rather outdated piece of equipment, the rush. But I think it merits its place in clarinet history. It works!
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2009-11-08 16:30
The vandoren glass reed stick performs the same function as reed rush. The beauty of this this that it can be cleaned and never wears out, unlike reed rush
Peter Cigleris
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2009-11-08 23:47
I've not used my Vandoren glass and reed stick since I got the ATG. With the ATG system I finish reeds in 1-2 minutes but often in less than a minute.If you need only to work on the sides of the reed the reed stick can be good and the glass surface is fine for warped reeds(that barely happen to me any more) but to work on the reed in one smooth context nothing comes close to the ATG or is as fast and easy to use.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2009-11-09 23:32
Well, we may turn out to be in a minority, you and I. I do most of my adjusting with rush, although I occasionally choose ATG instead. One thing I finally found necessary is to grow my own rush. The stuff that comes (I think from Leblanc) in boxes is not only wildly over-priced, but it's also really poor quality most of the time. mostly, I guess the commercial rush is priced to cover the packaging and shipping costs, since the plant grows wild in many places.
I haven't used the Vandoren glass stick. It may be infinitely longer lasting than rush - I suspect until you drop it on the floor one day. But even a small supply of rush can last years, so I've never felt much concern when an individual piece wears out.
Karl
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-11-10 02:22
Well I've used a variety of reed adjusting tools including rush and the ATG system but I must say that I still prefer a knife most of the time. With a knife I can take off exactly where and how little or how much I want. I can balance just a tiny part of the tip or a tiny part below the tip or where ever I want. I can see exactly where the blade begins and ends. With rush, sand paper or the ATG my vision is blocked by the thickness of the material though they are good for taking wood off of a large area like the entire vamp or the entire tip, but I rarely, if ever, have wanted or needed to do that. The exception is when I "taper" the tip which I do very well with a knife. I make an adjustment in seconds with a reed knife. Each to their own, it's what ever works best for you. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: TianL
Date: 2009-11-10 03:47
I guess it will depend also on how long one has been working on reeds. I know some professionals that do not have a clue about how the reed works. They simply find the better ones from a box and throw away the rest. For people who don't know much about the reeds, it's a lot easier for them to start with something like the ATG system, then as they experiment they eventually figure out other things and may want to use a knife and so on. But if someone wants to start with a reed knife while not knowing much, oh man.. that will really be quite miserable.
Ed, By the way I got some floral tape and it helped a lot. Thanks for the advice.
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Author: pewd
Date: 2009-11-10 05:14
I go back and forth between rush, sandpaper, and a knife.
My choice is mostly determined by which happens to be closest to my hand when I decide to mess with a reed - I open up an adjacent cabinet drawer, reach in, root around, and if I happen to find the rush first, thats what I use. It I blindly reach into the drawer and find the knife, then thats the tool-de-jour. If my favorite student is there, she usually tells me (orders me, jeeze, seniors!) 'fix my reed with sandpaper', so I reach for the 400 grit.
It matters little which tool you use, I usualy I prefer the knife, much as Ed says in his post, but a quick swipe with reed rush also works well. That was the common practice in my high school (looooong time ago), and still works well. If you're comfortable using the rush, why change?
Why don't you post more often Bill? Your posts always provoke thought.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Bill
Date: 2009-11-10 15:25
Thank you, Paul!
I have no concept of the reed adjusting mechanisms (systems). I just recall some discussion to the effect that a knife removes too selective a type of material, specifically the soft "stuff" between the harder, tougher veins of the cane. Also, a knife gouges.
I own a reed knife that looks like a short barber's blade. I cannot imagine how it would be used for fine adjustments to a reed. I have used the tip of an exacto knife, which worked wonderfully, except for the objection above regarding what was being removed.
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
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