 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Exiawolf
Date: 2015-07-15 04:18
Greetings!
I've really been having trouble sanding the backside of my reeds. The process I've been going through has been to place a piece of 600 Grit wet-dry sandpaper on a flat piece of glass, take the reed and put one finger on each corner and the middle of the reed, and swipe with very little pressure. That sounds like it should work, except it makes every reed fail the rocking test even more! Can anyone advise me on what I'm doing wrong?
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-07-15 06:04
The only part of the reed that needs to be addressed is that which sits flat on the mouthpiece. When I had addressed the flattening issue, I used a sharpening stone and only work from the area that would be the last few millimeters of the window to the butt of the reed.
Honestly though I don't find it necessary to make the reeds perfectly flat and have long since not even bothered with this.
Most importantly, unless you are trying to make the reed softer, avoid doing any sanding of the very tip.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: kdk
Date: 2015-07-15 06:21
I agree with Paul. I rarely work on the back of my reeds at all. When I have, I make a point of not allowing the last quarter inch or so of the tip to go over the wet-or-dry. If the tip needs to be thinned, I prefer these days to do it from the front surface with ATG.
But passing the tip over the paper would only explain making the reeds too soft. I don't know why it would make the backs of your reeds rock more. Are you sure the glass is flat? Obviously, the three fingers you're using need to press, however lightly, in the center, not the sides.
Are these reeds that are already warped? What are you trying to do when you sand them this way?
Karl
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Author: Exiawolf
Date: 2015-07-15 06:25
The reeds that I try this with are reeds that have been warped very slightly from their original condition and should be repairable. Being in Tucson, the worst place in existence for anything wooden, causes alot of my great reeds to warp at the least slightly.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2015-07-15 06:46
I've been in Tucson, but not enough to know the climate well. Our daughter lives in Phoenix and it's as dry as a desert there . You're at a higher elevation, but I thought still in desert. Is it more humid in Tucson? If it's dry, why does it cause warping? If you don't already, try drying your reeds with the flat side up, not flat side against a glass plate in a reed holder. Put the reeds away after they're dry. Or use a humidity pack and don't let them completely dry out at all.
If warped reeds are a persistent problem, it may be more important to figure out how to stop the warping in the first place than to figure out how best to flatten them after they've warped.
In any case, maybe you'd do better using a little more abrasive power, maybe 400 instead of the 600. You may be mostly polishing the reed with the 600 grit and not taking enough off to flatten it, but that's only a thought. I've never used anything finer than 400 on reeds - I've only used 600 on mouthpiece facings.
Karl
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Author: Ed
Date: 2015-07-15 07:14
I have found that using a file works better for me. I have used either a bastard file or http://www.reedfile.com
I find that having the back of the reed flat makes a big difference in the performance of the reed. I only press on the bark portion of the reed.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2015-07-15 08:32
Could it be that the table of your mouthpiece is not perfectly flat? I never do anything to the back of my reeds, any changes are made on the face. I would think that unless I was experiencing large numbers of warped reeds then expending time on them is not effective use of my time. Have you tried reeds from other suppliers, could be a problem with reeds from a specific manufacturer. Perhaps scraping would be more effective than sanding.
Tony F.
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2015-07-15 09:10
I find that many reeds warp slightly even when well cared for, and I live in a generally favorable climate. I wasn't fully aware of this until I started regularly checking the backs for flatness as a first step anytime a reed didn't play well. The ReedGeek was a good investment for me.
I must admit that I don't generally seal the backs or break them in, but to me it's just not worth the time. I'd rather be playing reeds than futzing with them. Perhaps they wouldn't warp, or would warp less often if I took those extra steps?
I'd still rather use the ReedGeek for a few seconds as needed than go through all that extra rigamarole. My reeds seem to hold up well doing what I do, which is just keeping them in the Rico case with a humidifier pack, rotating them regularly, and using the ReedGeek and ATG System sparingly as needed.
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Author: Exiawolf
Date: 2015-07-16 08:59
I have a quick question regarding flat tables. What are the chances of one random Vandoren mouthpiece having a warp bad enough for it to effect playing quality? To be honest, I didn't have the chance to try multiple Vandorens at once, so what are the odds that the one I own is a mediocre mouthpiece comparatively?
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Author: Matt74
Date: 2015-07-16 10:10
I use a razor blade to flatten the back. If it plays stiff and unresponsive, that's the first thing I check. I drag it across the back at about a 90o angle. You can see where the reed is swollen by where it takes off wood, and you can see when you are done, when it removes across the whole width). I only scrape the part that sits on the mouthpiece table (blending carefully a couple strokes into the part that moves. Be careful!
- Matthew Simington
Post Edited (2015-07-16 10:13)
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Author: kdk
Date: 2015-07-16 16:53
Exiawolf wrote:
> What are the
> chances of one random Vandoren mouthpiece having a warp bad
> enough for it to effect playing quality? To be honest, I didn't
> have the chance to try multiple Vandorens at once, so what are
> the odds that the one I own is a mediocre mouthpiece
> comparatively?
There's no way to answer this quantitatively. But even if you play-test a good sample of mouthpieces by any mass-producer, even if there's nothing structurally wrong with any of them, they will play differently from each other and you will prefer (with the reed you're using to test with) some and not others.
But, referring back to your original question, I assumed the "rocking test" meant laying the reed on the glass and rocking it with your fingers to test its flatness. In this case, your mouthpiece table isn't involved. Are you testing the reeds for warping on the mouthpiece? That would open a whole other set of possibilities.
Karl
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Author: bbillings
Date: 2015-07-17 02:02
Hello,
I live in Phoenix and play clarinet as well. I've had to flatten the back of my reeds occasionally to extend their life. I've been successfully using the Vandoren Reed Resurfacer kit. Very easy to use, a rough piece of glass that is durable, washable and not terribly abrasive. It has worked well for me.
Further, there are multiple excellent musical instrument retailers in Tucson and a good selection of mouthpieces should easily be available. I've even driven to Tucson as they have a better set of independent retailers than Phoenix. Try Instrumental Music Center, they have excellent knowledge and service and are a "top 100" music shop in the country.
Brian
PS - I've had success preventing reeds from warping by using the humidifier packs from Rico at 58% and keeping my reeds in some tupperware with the pack until I wet them and use them.
Post Edited (2015-07-17 02:04)
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Author: TomS
Date: 2015-07-17 23:09
I only sand the flat side as a last resort, when something other than normal balancing is not working ... I do often polish the flat side with a piece of Xerographic paper ...
With the advent of Legere reeds, I don't worry about this too much, anymore.
Tom
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2015-07-18 00:39
If you are sanding the flat side of the reed don't sand the tip area. Let the initial 15 mm of reed hang over the edge of the sanding surface. To check your sanding technique practice on a reed with pencil marks marked on the flat side so you can better see what you are removing. I would suggest putting more pressure on the reed. If you want to be aggressive to start you can do an X pattern and then switch to straight back to finish. Where you apply pressure is where cane will come off eventually.
Freelance woodwind performer
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