 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: andrewsong
Date: 2010-09-30 03:14
Currently Im using Gonzalez FOF 3.75's. However, I find that they are a bit too hard for me. Sometimes, they become just the right strength after a while, but about 75% of the time, they are too hard.
However, I find 3.5's always to be too soft for me. When I play a "soft" reed, I feel like I hear a slightly thin/rattly tone (it's not a sweet full sound a good reed would produce). I've tried sanding and adjusting my .75's but I'm just not getting a comfortable reed strength.
What do you recommend?
Post Edited (2010-09-30 03:25)
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2010-09-30 14:50
I know it's not always easy to understand but if you look at my website and read the reed adjusting page I have something about tapering the tip of the reed and clipping it when the reed is good but a bit soft. It's one of those adjustments that I learned from Joe Allard, my bass clarinet teacher, that I've been incredibly successful doing. I used to prefer beginning with reeds a bit too hard and adjusting them as I broke them in to make them a little softer. Since mastering this technique I prefer to use reeds that are just about right and once broken in if they become a bit soft using this technique to make them just right for me. The basic principal is the make the tip the same thickness after it's clipped as it was before but closer to the heart of the reed so it has more resistance but does not have that "clipped" tone or response. It does take a little practice to nail the technique down but it's well worth it. I probably save up to half a box of reeds on average by doing this over time. I learned to do it when I used Vandorens but it works great on the Rico Thick blanks and Reserves I now use. I've never tried it on Gonzales though the principal should be the same. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2010-09-30 15:14
Work on long tones. With a well developed embouchure, you should be able to play reeds 0.25 apart in strength without trouble.
Adjusting reeds is more than just sanding. You need to balance the left and right sides to be identical. I've found that scraping with a reed knife is the best way to do this, but there are tools, such as the Armato Reed Wizard http://www.reedwizard.com/ReedWizard.html to do this. However, it costs $275. The Ridenour ATG system at $69.95 http://www.ridenourclarinetproducts.com/ATG1.html also balances reeds. However, a good knife is available for less and lasts a lifetime. I got a Vitry 50 years ago for $19.95 and I still use it. It's gone up to $42.45 today http://webreeds.com/wrstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=84_86&products_id=589. The Vitry is made of medium-soft steel, which is easy to sharpen yet takes an excellent edge.
Get a reed trimmer. (Courdier is the best.) Taking a tiny snip off the tip of a 3.5 will bring the strength up.
You should also flatten the bottom of a reed with sandpaper over a piece of plate glass. If you start with a 3.75, by the time you got the bottom shiny all over, the strength will be reduced noticeably. On contrabass, I start with #5 reeds, and by the time I get them flat and stable, they're down to the way I like them, at maybe 2.5.
Ken Shaw
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2010-09-30 17:28
There are two general answers to your question: (a) experiment with different brands (and different models of the same brand) at different strengths until you find one that you're comfortable with as the reeds (or most of them) come out of the box; or (b) learn to adjust the ones whose sound you generally like to get the resistance to where you want it.
Ken's and Ed's ideas about adjusting the reeds you've already mentioned (b) are excellent - whether you want to try to increase the resistance of the 3.5s or lighten up the 3.75s is up to you. Jack's suggestion to try other brands (a) is also reasonable. Both can be expensive up front as you either (a) go through a lot of reeds you don't like before you find the ones that feel best to you or (b) ruin a lot of reeds while you learn how to make the adjustments successfully. I've gone in both directions at various times of my playing life. I do find that adjustments are a lot easier and the result more satisfying when I start with a reed that's close to what I'm looking for to begin with.
There is a third alternative, if you like the sound of synthetics - either Legere or Forestone have their strong proponents and, if you like one of them, you don't have to deal with the kinds of problems you ask about.
One suggestion I'd add about learning to choose and adjust reeds is that you take a lesson or two with a player of recognized quality who is accomplished at reed adjustment - sometimes learning to do it is easier by seeing it done first-hand than by reading verbal descriptions and looking at static diagrams.
One other thing that strikes me about both your and Ed's posts: I've read countless times that players find their reeds feel softer after a few sessions. I've always found that my reeds feel progressively *stiffer* as I use them so that I nearly always need to re-adjust the tip after a few days, sometimes more than once. I don't know if we're all interpreting the same sensations in different ways or if I just have a high level of some kind of glue in my saliva that makes my reeds act differently from everyone else's. ??
Karl
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