 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: nata
Date: 2015-02-06 04:14
Hello everyone!
I thought I would try to build my own ReedJuvinate system from scratch.
Has anyone done something of their own, building off of the basic concepts off of ReedJuvinate?
If so, would you mind sharing some hints &/or ideas?
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2015-02-06 19:48
Hi again Nathan.
Before I say anything, I would ask that you pass my thoughts by your folks for review and approval before you act upon them.
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I can appreciate the desire to "home grow" a product we see as worthy, usually in the effort of either saving money and/or our belief that said item is overpriced. It's funny, upon my intially investigating the ReedJuvinate system a while back, I too had such thoughts about the ability to create it myself--independent of whether or not that would in fact be a worthy endeavor. I thought this because its container was one that is identical to that I've seen sold in Water Amusement Parks and Sporting Goods Stores, for containing valuables like keys, around one's neck, where "water is more abundant than pockets/bags to hold things in."
Compound that (no pun intended) with the fact that one of its active ingredients is the (Evaporated) Ethanol found in readily available Listerine, and compelling arguments exist for recreating the technology at home, again, apart from whether it "works," and is the best solution to a problem or not, or even if the problem exists in the first place.
That said we need to explore whether ReedJuvinate's approach is either necessary or ideal, and what if any alternatives exist, and at what cost.
If I were to, I hope, fairly encapsulate the product maker's claims, I think they market ReedJuvinate as a product to maintain reed life by preventing (hereafter cane) reeds from breaking down from (even if they don't say this directly) the effects of water and microbes, removal of the latter also having the secondary benefit of hygiene. The makers of ReedJuvinate, IMHO, seem to focus on the affect that varying the levels of moisture in a reed, as a result playing and resting it, have on its life, not that moisture exposure itself during play is destructive (which, sigh, I believe it is.)
Are these claims true? Well, many of us would say yes. Does water, the very thing that makes reeds playable in fact break them down? Yes....quite the paradox. And switching to synthetic reeds or playing dry cane ones I don't think is the answer.
When water is introduced to cane, the molecules that make up the polymers that keep cane fibers intact are attracted to the hydrogen in water more so than the their adjacent polymer chains. http://www.doitpoms.ac.uk/tlplib/wood/water_effect.php
This breaks down the reed; in the short run enough for us to play, and in the long run, enough for us to throw out. This is not to say that water is the sole or necessarily leading factor in a reed's demise. I would guess, like all things that are subject to wear and tear, your reed, vibrating at very fast speeds as you play it, eventually suffers from enough stress that it becomes unplayable. Such facts of mechanical (if not water based) breakdown are of course just as apparent in synthetic reeds, even if their lifespan is greater.
And yes, as the people at ReedJuvinate claim, many of us do believe this wet dry cycle of playing reeds and putting them away does further exacerbate their premature unplayable state, if not also aid in their warpage. Reeds with flat tables and non-wavy tips are essential to good play. As reeds neither uniformly dry nor absorb water in all places at the same speed, the repetition of this process of playing and resting reeds can take its toll, especially without proper reed care.
Before I talk about what we can do to mitigate the side effects of these facts, lets look at microbes, Reedjuvinate's second area of exploration.
Our mouths are full of biologic matter. Saliva contains mostly water, whose reed destructive nature we've discussed, in addition of course to microbes, plus small amounts of other materials, including digestive enzymes, which can further break down a reed.
I don't take issue with addressing the effects of saliva, even using protocols in- or outside of ReedJuvinate proper. I do though take issue with the degree of alarm and harm that, IMHO, the makers of Reedjuvinate have suggested arises to our reeds' lives or our own.
Sure, culture a reed that's been in somebody's mouth in the same growth medium containing petri dish (as the ReedJuvinate people did) that Labs use to test for the presence of, say, Strep Throat, and you're bound to grow stuff. But none of us (or at least shouldn't) keep our reeds in such an environment.
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If we take a step back, and ask ourselves, what about ReedJuvinate attracts our attention, it all boils back to preserving our lives, and the lives of our reeds.
I appreciate that ReedJuivate sites sources that attribute higher incidences of respiratory and upper respiratory ailments to wind players than non-wind players,. But again, I question whether ReedJuvinate is the best or only way to address such concerns. I'd like to also point out that this bboard has no shortage of legitmate discussions on the stresses and strains our beloved clarinet places on us. I find infection from playing to be pretty low on this list of ailments, which run the gammut from dental, to musculoskeletal, to (perhaps a subcategory of musculoskeletal) repetitive motion issues, to even mental health, and our cerebral approaches to play.
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Okay, so what can we do? First off Nathan, if you haven't, search the Bboard for Reedjuvinate, reed storage, and disinfectant. Many posts exist where smart people have much to say on the subject matter. Second, consider my approach, one shared by lots of clarinetists, but by no means the only or best way to do things.
First off, I try to wet weeds, and especially clean them off afterwards in tap water. I even carry a used pill container with water in it to gigs. Second, I store them in a humidity controlled environment. I do this because I think it preserves their life, makes them ready to play faster, and spares them from the stress of the wet/dry cycle. You do not need to buy expensive gear to effect this. A zip lock bag is perfect.
I also tend to mouthwash before play when I can.
To keep this humidity stable, depending on the number of reeds in the bag, I insert 1 or 2 Boveda Humdity Packs in the bag. I use the ones at 72% humidity. Many people I respect use these packs with lower rated humidity levels.
Such packs are stock items at any cigar shop. You can order them online, or get them at a music store which carries Rico's product line. I think it's the 8 gram size packet. Rico rebrands these packs under their own name: expect them to be no better or worse than the underlying Boveda product they are.
Yes, these packs will eventually require replacement, but by only opening the zip lock bag long enough to take out and put back reeds, themselves secured to reed holders, the packs can last many months.
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2015-02-07 00:05
I bought a ReedJuvinate a while back, tried it, and chucked it in the trash.
If you're looking for a quality home build, I'd take a plastic container that seals tightly, and get a humidipack (Boveda) on Amazon.
$3 and you're done.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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