 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2012-04-25 14:41
Every now and then I get sore on the roof of my mouth at the front. It feels as if I've burnt myself or something, and lasts several days. It's only just occurred to me that this last time coincided with me breaking in a new batch of reeds. So then I started to wonder if it was perhaps some reaction to something that the reeds are treated with. Has anybody else had this kind of experience?
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2012-04-25 14:52
I can't say I've ever had a reaction on the roof of my mouth but I have on occassion had reactions on the front of my lower lip where it contact the reed. The last time resulted in what seems like a severely chapped lip that took several days to heal after playing on a new reed for about an hour. I'm not sure what the deal was with that reed as I didn't have a reaction to any of the other ones in the box that I had used previously.
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2012-04-25 16:27
What reeds to you use?
There is a recent discussion saying that Rico reeds are treated with pesticides...
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2012-04-25 16:55
Sylvain wrote:
> What reeds to you use?
> There is a recent discussion saying that Rico reeds are treated
> with pesticides...
>
Pretty much all reeds are treated with pesticides at some point. For what it's worth the last reed I had a bad reaction to was a Vandoren blue box.
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2012-04-25 21:16
Not true, Vandoren and Gonzalez both explicitly claim their cane is pesticide free.
FWIW I use mostly Rico...
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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Author: Buster
Date: 2012-04-25 22:17
Liquorice,
I am not sure what your break-in procedure consists of, nor if there are pesticides on the cane/finished reeds we purchase. Neither have I experienced exactly what you have, beyond chapped lips that may just be the result of many hours of playing....
But for my "break-in" procedure. About 2 weeks before I plan to start a new batch of reeds (which unfortunately seems to be every 2 or 3 weeks in frequency), I will begin to wet and dry the reeds without actually playing on them. Simply soaking them for a few seconds the first day and working up to about 15 seconds by the end of 2 weeks; I simply strip the excess water off with my fingers afterwards, perhaps rubbing the vamp a tad. (Then let them dry bottom side up under an over-turned Tupperware container, with a Rico 58% humidity "pouch" at times-- but this thread really isn't about those specifics...)
I don't actually know if this wetting and finger striping business removes any possibly irritating substances (post hoc ergo propter hoc), simply that I have not had the same experience as you. I actually am never playing reeds straight out of the box.
(I have my current "performance" reeds for public consumption, post "soaking process" reeds that I am breaking in at home, and reeds laying on my table that are going through the soaking process. But I am a bit anal about the whole thing.) ....Perhaps something to consider trying to distill all my rambling down.
Wish I could be of more assistance, but alas.....
(for the record, I normally use Vandoren, but at times Rico Reserve Classics and Gonzalez)
Good luck,
Jason
Post Edited (2012-04-25 22:19)
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Author: clarinetguy ★2017
Date: 2012-04-26 00:32
About pesticides--Bob Bernardo is our resident expert. Last summer, he wrote:
Here's another interesting topic. Vandoren and Rico sometimes buy cane from each other, because of cane shortages. Rico and Bernard Vandoren have a decent relationship. I wouldn't call it a love affair, but they do try to help each other.
http://test.woodwind.org/oboe/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=353940&t=353940
So, are Vandorens really pesticide free? I honestly don't know. Perhaps Jason's suggestion is worth trying.
For annoying mouth sores, I recently discovered Rincinol, and it works very well.
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Author: Buster
Date: 2012-04-26 01:01
Biotene mouth wash also works well hastening the healing of oral irritations.
Though I don't know if it is available worldwide....
-Jason
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2012-04-26 05:52
Thanks for your thoughts. This recent mouth pain did coincide with me trying reeds from a brand that I don't normally use. But I'm not sure enough of the correlation to name the reed here, thereby implying that such-and-such reeds cause mouth sores.
I've never used water on my reeds, so perhaps Jason's soaking procedure might help me. Jason- what is your main reason for soaking reeds in this way, and how do find it affects them?
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Author: Buster
Date: 2012-04-26 20:08
The main reason is to slowly re-introduce moisture to the reed; and have it go through the wetting/drying process many times before I begin playing it. Also, the removal of water (possibly briefly rubbing the vamp) with my fingers begins to seal the pores so when I actually start to break it in, that sealing process is hastened.
If I begin playing reeds straight out of the box, I find that I cannot use them for more than a few moments without water-logging/killing them. Also, until the reed begins to stabilize, I don't want to start balancing/voicing it. Accurately diagnosing where an imbalance truly is, or where I will eventually want to remove cane to adjust response/tonal quality, is trickier for me until the reed is a bit past those tenuous first few days. (In the past I would make adjustments straight off, and find myself regretful a few days later.....)
When I start playing a batch of reeds that have been through the "soaking treatment", I find they are far less susceptible to becoming water-logged, and simply are far more stable. I can begin accurately balancing and voicing (with less fear) earlier in the process.
All in all, I don't think what I do inherently makes the reed better or worse, I simply can diagnose the quality quickly.
One key ingredient I left out earlier (just for brevity's sake): When going through the soaking process, I let the up-turned reeds air dry for a minute or 2 before covering them with the Tupperware container. I truly don't want them to be entombed in an exceptionally moist environment. Recently, I have begun placing one of the Rico packs (Vitalizer I believe it is called- 58%) as a security measure to maintain a constant environment. I don't really notice any change in doing this so I cannot claim that it actually helps matters..........
As for wetting the reed(s) before playing, I just toss it in water while I'm assembling my clarinet(s); 15-20 seconds or so. All in all, the adjustment process is much quicker and easier-- and I guess counter-intuitively I can be a bit more lazy about the reed business and concentrate on more important matters.
(For other readers that wish to cry out "you're letting you reeds potentially warp!!!": I have tried pretty much every process in the past. If a reed wants to warp for me then it is going to warp. What I do lets me weed those out before wasting my time.)
-Jason
Post Edited (2012-04-26 20:15)
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