 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Jim Lee
Date: 2001-01-17 18:20
Assuming you are rotating several reeds, how long do you use a reed?
Any tips on selecting and adjusting reeds woud be helpful.
Thanks,
Jimmy
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Author: Anji
Date: 2001-01-17 18:25
I have some reeds in regular rotation nearing their third month.
That is (generally) the longest I can play them before the response begins to fail.
Larry Guy has a very good pamphlet on reed adjustment and break in that I use.
It's worth the money, and may well pay for itself in the number of reeds you find playable out of the box.
anji
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Author: The Big J
Date: 2001-01-17 19:28
Wow. I thought you had to get a new read like every 4 weeks! But then again I only rotate like 3-5 reeds at a time, but still. What brands does everyone prefer? and what qualities do they like about them? Input is appreciated.
-Jeanie
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Author: Anji
Date: 2001-01-18 00:20
I play no more than two hours, each day and keep 10 reeds in rotation.
You likely play more each day than me and this will definitely shorten the reed life.
I love the Vandoren V12, #3.5. It is expensive when you consider all the scraping and adjusting required. I look for heavier strengths on sale or at auction and sand them down.
I bought a large supply of the Rico Grand Concert reed which is VERY close in performance, when broken in and properly balanced. I bought #5s that were left over store stock at less than 50 cents a reed. These need lots of adjustment but I have been able to find more good players than in the Vandy stock.
The Vandies really shine when you find a good one, but it is prohibitively expensive to find those good ones.
I have been learning to make my own reeds with little success (I make them too thin at the tip) from Rigotti blanks. These are available at less than 40 cents a piece in bulk.
Lastly, I play the Legere when I can't get a good piece of cane. It is pretty good, and predictable. In a group setting, no one can tell. If you pay close attention at solos, you may notice some sluggish response compared to good cane.
Get Larry Guy's book. It will pay off when you start having more, better reeds available to play.
anji
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Author: lynn
Date: 2001-01-19 13:17
I have had reeds last a year or two. I have about 10 that I rotate. I have reeds for my A and reeds for my Bb, or I used to before I bought my new A. Partly it depends on how you store them. And partly how you prepare them.
I am Infamous for getting mold on my reeds, I put one away in the bottle when it's 5% damp and the whole bunch of 'em turns black. BUT I think that preserves them, LOL. Looks gross, but they work great. It would be great if someone would design a REALLY good way to keep them. I have tried all the cases, plexiglass, you name it. I now keep them in a vitamin bottle. It works better than
My husband has his own way of working on reeds which is basically the way I work mine, except his don't turn black LOL. He also makes his own. I stick with V-12s, altho he makes me a reed every so often.
I was soaking them in bancha (kukicha) tea for a while, that seems to help preserve them as well! I did that because I was in a school where the water supply had bacteria, and I had to soak them in something so I put them in my tea. Boy was that a fluke!
Then again, if the weather turns on ya....you can lose the whole bunch in a week. Which is what happened to me this winter. I hate when that happens.
Lynn
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Author: Dee
Date: 2001-01-19 21:00
lynn wrote:
>
> Then again, if the weather turns on ya....you can lose the
> whole bunch in a week. Which is what happened to me this
> winter. I hate when that happens.
>
What I do is just hold on to them until the weather turns back. It is for this reason that I generally have one box of my usual strength and another box of a 1/2 strength lower.
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