 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: johng ★2017
Date: 2009-12-16 13:06
Given the same embouchure and mouthpiece, some reeds play sharper or flater than others. What is it in the reed shape that can cause that? I have a Perfect-a-reed measuring tool and have not found a particular reason myself.
In a similar vein, when I use a Reed Wizard to it fullest extent where it will no longer take cane off, it seems to me that reeds will play a bit flatter. Anyone with a similar experience?
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Author: crnichols
Date: 2009-12-16 14:47
I've found that the length of the vamp effects the pitch. Shorter vamp = sharper.
Christopher Nichols, D.M.A.
Assistant Professor of Clarinet
University of Delaware
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-12-16 15:02
If you take too much wood off of the back of the vamp or in the heart the reed will tend to play flatter because it won't hold the pitch as well. You should not have that problem with the Reed Wizard if you use it with the tip of the reed on the line and not go above that too much, if at all. That's why I do "cuts" in the back of the reed instead of taking wood off. "You have to read my reed page on by website to understand my thinking, I don't want to have to post all the pages on this post."
As far as playing sharp, sometimes if a reed is too hard or the vamp is too short, it could play sharp for you if you don't adjust to it properly. In any case, if the reeds sound and feel good you should be able to play them in tune, it may just take a bit more work on your part. For sure, if a reed is too soft for you, it makes it more difficult to play the high register in tune. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: kdk
Date: 2009-12-16 22:21
It's always seemed to me that reeds that are too resistant - whether because they're too stiff or they're just unbalanced - tend to be sharper and reeds that are too soft tend to blow uncontrollably flat. The reason you may not be able to measure a difference with Perfect-a-Reed is that resistance is as much a function of the cane's density as it is of its thickness. In fact, Vandoren (and I assume most other reed mass-producers) claims that all of their reeds are cut to the same profile dimensions. Ranking for stiffness (strength) is done after the reeds are cut. You could probably check this by measuring different strengths of a single brand with the Perfect-a-reed and see what you find.
Karl
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