 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: MSK
Date: 2013-05-11 22:27
For some reason I decided to read my Rovner ligature instruction manual before tossing it into the recycling. I had actually thought the lig was self explanatory until I read the section on reed performance which says "after playing scrub the entire flat surface and vamp of the reed with a mild detergent or shampoo-with-conditioner and warm water, using a toothbrush". Does anyone shampoo their reed after every use? Does the shampoo-with-conditioner cure split ends and make the reed silky and glossy?
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Author: Taras12
Date: 2013-05-11 23:16
I stopped using shampoo on my reeds when they stopped making "Body on Tap," beer enriched shampoo.
Tristan
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2013-05-12 13:48
I use a small amount of toothpaste, which tastes good instead of awful like sham-poo.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2013-05-12 17:52
Shampoo? Yuck! I don't want the taste of shampoo in my mouth. I think that for someone with a normal immune system, earnestly soap-washing a reed after every use is silly anyway.
(Unless, of course, the reed has been screeching insults and obscenities. Then I'd give the little devil a good scrub and a lecture, too.)
After practice, I rinse my reed under the tap with plain water, then blot the reed mostly-dry with a towel, then let it finish drying in the reed holder. If I want something stronger I pour mouthwash on the reed.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Wes
Date: 2013-05-12 21:15
Even Mitchell Lurie told me that, it a reed played very well, he he might leave it in that same spot on the mouthpiece when it put it away. I just dry the reed when I take it off the mouthpiece.
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2013-05-17 00:45
I've taken to washing reeds after each play with my fingers in bearably hot water. Each time I proceed until I feel the slime disappear - less than a minute. I believe this prevents gradual build-up of crud on the reed and so extends the life of good reeds.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2013-05-17 01:19
What slime is on the reed after you've played it, particularly enough to take a full minute to rinse off (or dissolve?)? If you do this and have found that the hot water doesn't damage the reeds, then it must not do any harm, but then why not add a little germicidal soap and sanitize the reed at the same time?
How much longer do you get your reeds to last by doing this?
Karl
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2013-05-17 01:48
I think the slime is basically spit. It tends to adhere and eventually become the stuff that dental hygienists pry out of teeth with pointy metal tools. Sometimes you can see it as a whitish deposit in the fibers of the reeds. When that hardens, the reed can't vibrate right. (I supposedly have good oral hygiene, so hopefully this situation isn't unique to me!)
Hot water will not damage reeds. But boiling water seems to ruin them. Never boil a reed, unless you're mad at it. Otherwise, hot to touch seems good enough.
I guess soap or toothpaste etc. as described above could work - I've only been doing the hot water thing. I'd make sure any residue is rinsed off before putting the reed away.
I honestly don't know what the typical life of reeds is. I usually play 2-3 hours a day. If I recall, before I started washing, I might have gotten 3-6 months out of a good reed. Now I *think* I'm getting 8-9 months. One of my best ones went at least 9 months, then it fell apart one day during a staccato piece - a chip just fell out of the tip. Old age, I think. Broke my heart.
Um, one other thing (risking ridicule). It seems a good reed can't be played every day indefinitely. It starts to sound bad, maybe after months, even with nothing apparently amiss. You have to rest them occasionally. Sounds crazy. A couple days, or a week. Then they'll be as good as new again, and can play well for another stretch of weeks or even months. If anyone thinks I'm not crazy and has any explanation for this, I'd love to hear it. Maybe they just need to be thoroughly dried sometimes?
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2013-05-17 02:15
No, they won't be as good as new - the reed will continue to deteriorate, and get softer over time. Your Embouchure will soften to compensate, and your tone won't remain as high quality with an old reed. Of course it might feel really, really comfortable for a while.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2013-05-17 15:08
Ah, Body On Tap shampoo...I recall their old tagline "Made with real beer, but don't drink it!"
FWIW, I wipe my reeds with a facial tissue before putting them in the reed case. That seems to keep discolouration and nasty flavours at bay.
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Author: scotch
Date: 2013-05-18 07:37
I wipe my reed with my thumb and first finger until it feels reasonably dry, and I do this because my teacher told me it would make it last longer. I'm going by the assumption that breaking in a reed means getting it a bit softer than it is at first (and a bit more moist) and that wearing out a reed means letting it become too soft. I've never had a reed chip or bend except when I've bumped it.
There is no way I'd ever shampoo a reed--I'm much more afraid of ingesting shampoo than I am of ingesting the germs in my saliva and fingers. I'd be very reluctant to wash a reed because I'm afraid that much moisture would hasten its demise.
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Author: Wes
Date: 2013-05-18 07:56
One can scrape the reed lightly with a single edge razor blade to remove skin cells and soil instead of washing it. No cane fibers need to be removed but this scraping will rejuvenate the reed by removing the crud off. I often do this.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2013-05-19 13:42
I know Rovner, used to help help get the word out about his "new" ligature when he first began manufaturing it. I've been a professional clarinet player for over 50 years, I've never shampood a single reed. Never, never, ever. I don't let "crud" accumulate of my reeds in the first place.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Wes
Date: 2013-05-20 00:05
After a week or two of daily playing, there is always an accumulation of non cane stuff on my reeds which can be scraped off, restoring the reed somewhat, helping the high register to high C. But there is never any soap residue on them.
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