 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ThatPerfectReed
Date: 2011-09-18 00:27
..couldn't find this searching the archives...
Does anyone have (working) tips for reinvigorating the life of an old but trusted reed: hydrogen peroxide emersion, scraping the flat side, etc., to maybe get a little more life out of it than one might get without such intervention.
...question applies to synthetics too...
Thanks...
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2011-09-18 04:13
After years of studying cane once the fibers break down it's petty hard to get those great reeds playing well again. The fibers that seem to break down, depending all sorts of technical studies, would be related to your body in general, jaw pressure, hard articualting, and even the type of your mouthpiece. For example reeds can die faster depending if the rails on the mouthpiece are on the thin or thick side, also the distance between the rails of your mouthpiece. Same thing with the tip of the MP. For example Mitchell Lurie somehow could play a reed for 5 or 6 months. As a very good reed maker I can only get about a month to 6 weeks, but I do play a reed a lot, often 5 or 6 hours a day, but I'm not really hard on reeds. Jaw pressure is very light, I articulate lightly, I let the reeds rest a lot and I try to always seal the reeds after I feel they are stable; when theywon't change much in future weeks. I'm sure you all know that a reed changes a lot the first day or 2. It is really dry.
You can try clipping the tip of the reed a bit, because the tip fibers are the first to go, because the fibers are so thin at the tip. Then sand the bottom of the reed flat, with very fine sandpaper and try to get the reed playing again. Don't expect any miracles, but you may be able to get some added life out of the reed, perhaps a few minutes to a day to a week. You will have to keep clipping the reed down as the fibers keep breaking down. Also you will need to reshape the reed using a reed knife or sandpapaer. When doing this try to avoid doing anything to the rails, because the fibers on the rails also break down way before the spine of the reed does.
Don't use any cleaners such as hydrogen peroxide. That actually may help kill the reed fibers from flexing, because it's a bubbly type of cleaner that would soften and break down the fibers.
Hope this helps, it's a good question. Anyway this works well for me to prolong the life of a very good reed.
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Author: salzo
Date: 2011-09-18 10:12
I can often extend the life of a reed by shortening it. I sand the tip with 400 sandpaper, maybe five strokes at a time across the tip. THis gets me a few more days, a week at most.
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Author: clarinetguy ★2017
Date: 2011-09-18 12:07
I've tried hydrogen peroxide with mixed results. In my experience, it's successful about 50% of the time, but when it works, it provides at most a few more playing sessions from the reed.
I first read about it in Larry Teal's Art of Saxophone Playing. Teal advocates soaking the reed overnight. Another source (which I don't remember) cuts the soaking time to perhaps 5 or 10 minutes.
Hydrogen peroxide is inexpensive, so I think it's worth a try for those reeds that you're not quite ready to part with. Still, I think it might be worth trying Bob's suggestions before using hydrogen peroxide.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2011-09-18 12:27
IME, worn reads aren't as porous as new ones, ie you can take a fresh reed into your mouth and suck air through it, while all you get with a worn reed is a red face. The clogged pores make the reed unresponsive as they lose their flexibility.
Apparently, the remedy would be to unclog those pores without destroying the fibre mesh. After some soaking experiments I gave up and faced the bitter truth that most objects around us have a limited life span.
--
Ben
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2011-09-18 14:56
I've used peroxide, which removes some of the grease and makes a slight, temporary improvement.
Scrubbing the vamp with a toothbrush and a tiny amount of toothpaste can have a similar effect.
Reeds often get an imprint of the window on the bottom. If you can see or feel it, put the reed on 400 grit wet-or-dry (black coat) sandpaper, press down firmly on the bark and sand the bottom flat and shiny. Then put your fingers very lightly on the vamp and sand the bottom just enough to remove any imprint of the rails. You'll probably have to clip the tip a bit.
Then put the reed on, tighten up the ligature very snug and back off the screw(s) 1/4 turn.
You can revive an old reed for one more day, or maybe two, by using a reed knife to take off a thick shaving about 1/4" long from the bottom at the butt end. Other people take a coping saw and cut 1/4" off the butt end, or cut the corners off, which has the same effect.
As Ben says, it does no good to cut off the tip and re-cut the vamp. Once the tip has gotten worn out by vibration, the rest of the cane is also dead. I've tried cutting off the entire vamp and re-profiling what's left, leaving just barely enough bark to let the ligature hold. No joy.
I've switched to a Legere for practicing.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2011-09-18 16:29
Scotch, Burbon or Rye Whisky. It doesn't actually make the reed play better but if you drink enough of it you won't notice. :-) ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: John Peacock
Date: 2011-09-18 19:06
tictactux says:
"worn reads aren't as porous as new ones, ie you can take a fresh reed into your mouth and suck air through it, while all you get with a worn reed is a red face. The clogged pores make the reed unresponsive as they lose their flexibility."
This is all personal preference, of course, but I find the exact opposite: a reed isn't broken in enough for public use until it reaches this point of pores getting blocked. It needs to get a coating from oil off your fingers etc. to seal it up and promote stability. While the pores are open, it gets waterlogged too easily and you can't play for very long. Once a good one reaches that state of sealed stability, it can go on for months. Playing lifetime seems to be prolonged by alternating and resting good reeds. But eventually this ceases to help, and I've never found a way of rejuvenating those that have passed on. I knew a player who swore that boiling them worked for him: I tried it, but without success.
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Author: alanporter
Date: 2011-09-18 19:19
...and while you are doing that, Ed, listen to a little Mozart.
tiaroa@shaw.ca
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2011-09-18 20:14
John,
maybe we should put them into the dishwasher every so often. :-)
Per the new reed good enough for public performance - I swear I can slap a fresh out-of-the box ML reed on my mouthpiece and continue in mid-measure (if I were fast enough to do a timely swap, but you get the idea).
I do agree that new reeds are waterlogged rather easily. Then again, my embouchure tires at roughly the same rate as a reed gets waterlogged, so I can't say which one's at fault for dull results after a 90 minute set.
I'm not a pro, tho'.
--
Ben
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Author: Ed
Date: 2011-09-18 20:29
Quote:
Scotch, Burbon or Rye Whisky. It doesn't actually make the reed play better but if you drink enough of it you won't notice. :-)
or care!
For me, I have never had any luck trying to do anything with older reeds. Once they are dead, they are dead.
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Author: William
Date: 2011-09-21 14:41
"Mitchell Lurie somehow could play a reed for 5 or 6 months".
I am experiencing similar success success since I switched to Forestone reeds, except one of my original models is now nearly two years old and still playing. As for the cane reeds I used to play, having tried most of the tricks for reed revitalization and initial preservation, most of my reeds could not be brought back to life after their demise. With Forestone, I've now put all of the reed hassels aside and am now able to play the music without worrying about playing the reed. It just makes my musical life so much nicer.
wo
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2011-09-21 21:53
I actually agree with those that say when a reed is dead it's dead. Some times a little clip can bring it back to life for a while, making it a little harder and a new tip. I've known people that make their own reeds that will clip their reed and "remake" it if it's a good piece of cane. I think for most of us, just a little clip or put it in your practice collection or give it the wall test. I actually don't like the taste of hard liquor, as I suggested above, but I do like many "mixed" drinks but I don't really soak them in anything but water. :-) ESP
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Author: The Doctor ★2017
Date: 2011-09-22 00:05
If I knew this answer I would shout it out but alas I can not. However - the peroxide trick is better if you add a little humectant to help buffer the harsh effects of peroxide - which mainly removes dead skin detritus and other junk to improve the vibration. A lot has been mentioned about reed hydration and I think that using a bufferd phosphate solution in the beginning improves total hydration and the ultimate length of the reed life. Later on it is time to go back to the Ridenour ATG system for a touch up which often adds a little new life to the reed.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
www.chedevillemp.com
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2011-09-22 01:10
Eddie -
"Scotch, Burbon or Rye Whisky. It doesn't actually make the reed play better but if you drink enough of it you won't notice. :-) "
Wonder if I should soak the reeds overnight? Recording sessions may be really fun. I'll take a few dozen reeds on my next gig!
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
Post Edited (2011-09-22 01:14)
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Author: The Doctor ★2017
Date: 2011-09-22 03:14
Blummy - it will take only about 12 years at an accredited university chemistry department to find out !! A good humectant is glycerin plus others at about 5% v/v with peroxide. The phosphate buffer is 0.1 molar pH 7.4 made from mono and disodium phosphate PH adjusted. These are available commercially as ReedLife and Dr. O's Reed Juice.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
www.chedevillemp.com
Post Edited (2011-09-22 03:15)
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