 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: BGBG
Date: 2016-05-04 07:02
If rinse and place reed on glass flat side up after playing how long is long enough to let it dry before putting it away in a holder and in plastic bag?
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2016-05-04 07:16
For me, once a reed has gone through the obligatory 3 or 4 day break-in period there is no special treatment required for reeds besides balancing via scraping (if that sort of thing works for you). I just place my reeds flat on the glass and put them away until tomorrow. The only reed holder that may present a problem putting away a damp reed is the "clip type" such as the LaVoz plastic ones. There is very little open air quality to that design and I'd wait maybe 10 minutes before slipping a freshly used reed into one of those.
...................Paul Aviles
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2016-05-04 23:08
At home maybe 20-30 mins
On a gig it just stays out whilst I am putting my gear away then straight into holder.
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2016-05-04 23:28
..and I rinse, put into a vandoren plastic reed cover, and immediately thereafter a humidity controlled box--so I guess I never let it completely dry to even have a time to report to you as you've requested.
I'm not sure this works. I'm not sure this is a good way. I strongly suspect it's not the best way. I have no idea if the other poster's approaches are better or worse. I'm not sure there is a best way for all; I'm not sure there's even a best way for each player.
I do know that jamming the tip into a wall might negatively affect its performance next time ![[wink]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie3.gif) .
And I do know (as you probably do, and at the risk of sounding like a broken record) that almost all reeds are played better after they've been exposed to etude intensive and focused metronic practice .
BGBG: I'm afraid this is just one of those areas of clarinet play where YMMV.
Post Edited (2016-05-04 23:34)
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2016-05-05 00:30
If you can picture what the pros do after performing a symphony or chamber music concert. Ever if we've gone through several reeds to pick the one we decided to play, after the concerts over we put the reed back where it was in it's case and go home. What you're asking is what should be done in the break in period. then it's kept in what ever reed case you're comfortable using. Just wipe it off and place it in it's case.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: TomS
Date: 2016-05-05 06:35
I dry my Legere reeds by wiping between thumb and index finger and that's all.
Also dry cane reed, initially by wiping with thumb/index finger and let dry for a little while bark side down, before returning to reed holder.
Use plain water to wet your reeds, initially, rather than saliva, and only wet the "vibrating part", that is, not the part that lays on the MP table.
Tom
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2016-05-05 08:54
Why would you put a reed in a plastic bag? I wouldn't encourage this type of reed storage technique. If the reed is playing well, wipe it off and put it back on the mouthpiece, so it keeps its shape, the contour of the mouthpiece.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: BGBG
Date: 2016-05-08 05:09
Lots of players seem to use plastic ziplock bags as well as expensive cases etc. Even professional orchestra players. Not just throwing them loose into bag but in holders with humidistats and humidity bags or wet sponges in pill bottles. At 2 years experience and a hobbyist I am not qualified to tell others what to do and I am amazed at the variation in methods I read about. But right now I have my reeds in ziplock bags with humidistats and sponges and try not to wet them so much as I did for awhile. At first I just licked and played then wiped and put away dry. Then soaked 24/7 in water. Then went back to minimal wetting and not drying out completely. At first I think I was confusing break in with normal play after break-in. As a hobbyist I am not under pressure to be perfect and if my playing sounds good to me no one will complain, But I wish to be as good as I can and correct as I can for the time I put into it. And this is what I am doing right now. Now since most are old and some new I put them in Peroxide a minute or two then dip in water and rub the vamp and play. Then dip in peroxide then water and rub vamp and store in holder. And put back into bag in a short while.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2016-05-08 05:37
I wouldn't SEAL a plastic bag around a reed case but a loosely folded sandwich bag can serve two different purposes. If you are in a drier season (or part of the world), you can help the moisture stay around the reeds a little longer. In addition to that, when you happen to be in Florida or some other God forsaken sauna, the plastic bag can help keep too much moisture from your reeds.
But I don't seal and I don't use a hygrometer or anything like that, just kinda play it by ear.
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2016-05-08 08:21
I just squeeze it between my thumb and forefinger and sorta "squeegee" the extra saliva out of it, and put it back in the case.
I'm also an advocate of not doing an elaborate "break in" process, nor do I take a lot of time to work on reeds. I just balance them so they feel good in the side to side test, and play them, rotating through during rehearsals. For a performance, I go through my reeds till I find one that sounds and responds good that day, and use it. Maybe it's the first reed, maybe it's after five.
I also just very recently converted to being a ziplock bag guy. Just to try it out. I use a humidity pack meant for cigars in there that advertises two-way humidity control. If all my collective reeds are too moist, the pack sucks up the moisture. If all the reeds collectively are too dry, the pack releases moisture.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: TomS
Date: 2016-05-08 19:56
After break-in and adjustments, reeds have to play in and should also be stored in the same air space, IMHO ... I don't try to isolate reeds from the performance/practice space. And, don't leave them in a closed clarinet case, except for brief transportation, because the case has usually higher humidity.
Every time I tried to isolate reeds in a "plastic bubble" and later bring them out, they change, and usually not for the better.
Unless you can figure out some way to play your reeds while in a plastic zip-lock bag, just leave them out in the open space you make music in ... if you are having multiple rehearsals and always have the same stand (an no one will mess with your stuff), leave them on your stand or chair and let them get used to the hall or rehearsal room (in a reed holder, of course).
Tom
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Author: BGBG
Date: 2016-05-09 06:42
Doesn't make much sense , does it? I am about to stop seeking the ideal perfect procedure. Not even sure one exists. Spend more time playing and less time experimenting. Reed wont play....buy a new one.
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2016-05-09 07:29
I don't let my reeds dry out, as this causes warping. I rinse them well after use and semi dry them. Then into the plastic reed holder--nothing fancy. Every 6 hours or so (not during night) I keep them somewhat damp. They may or may not last as long as if dried out, but you almost always know how they will play until they konk out for good. Been doing that 45-50 years. I play professionally with a MM in perf.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2016-05-09 17:12
Tom H wrote:
> I don't let my reeds dry out, as this causes warping.
If everything people claim caused warping, someone long ago would have had to invent a concave-faced mouthpiece to accommodate them all.
Drying doesn't cause warping. Uneven drying may. I personally always let my reeds dry - flat side up (as BGBG does) so all surfaces are equally exposed to air. When they're dry to the touch, I put them into a holder that keeps them on their edges accessible to air all the way around (which makes me somewhat unique, AFAIK). My reeds don't warp. They play quite well for weeks - sometimes months.
BGBG wrote:
> Doesn't make much sense , does it? I am about to stop seeking
> the ideal perfect procedure. Not even sure one exists. Spend
> more time playing and less time experimenting. Reed wont
> play....buy a new one.
Now you have it! There are no inviolable rules about much of anything in music. When people make categorical statements that their way is the only right way, all they're saying is:
(1) the way they do things works, and
(2) they don't have any idea about other ways because they've found no reason to try them since what they already do (1) works.
Wood warps when it dries unevenly. All of the methods that people have described to you (here and in other threads as well) one way or another prevent this from happening. It isn't a question of time or routine, but one of either keeping the reeds from drying at all or making sure they dry evenly all around. The proof of any particular practice is whether or not it works.
I do want to point out once more, so we know we're talking about the same thing, that warping is different from the waviness you see across the tip of a reed that has just been wet and hasn't fully absorbed the water. A warped reed is rounded (convex) across what should be the flat back surface.
Karl
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Author: Slowoldman
Date: 2016-05-09 19:14
Not to belabor the point, but... I keep my reeds in the Rico case with the Boveda humidity packs. I am still troubled by frequent reed warping. I use the 72% pack, mainly because it's the one "in the middle".
Would it help to change the humidity percentage, or is this just splitting hairs? Is storage with more humidity, or with less humidity, more likely to decrease the warping problem?
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Author: BGBG
Date: 2016-05-09 19:34
I am starting to realize that since I am not young I am spending too much time trying to perfect maintenance and materials when I should be spending whatever time I have left with the enjoyment of playing. After all, the purpose of clarinet is not to perfect instrument maintenance and the modification of reeds. Went over the line somewhere in effort to achieve reasonable adequacy.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2016-05-09 21:07
I don't know why your reeds are warping in that humid an environment, but I wouldn't think more humidity would improve things. Maybe try the next lower level and see what happens.
Do you mean the individual plastic holders the reeds come in? What direction are the reeds warping? Have you tried something with a flat storage surface? I wonder if the holders may be molding the damp reeds into a non-straight shape? They look straight to me, but from all the posts from other players here who use humidity packs *because they prevent warping* I can't think of another explanation than the holders themselves.
Karl
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Author: Slowoldman
Date: 2016-05-09 23:00
Using the Rico "Vitalizer" case that holds 8 reeds. Yes, at a certain point you have to wonder whether the plastic is truly flat!
My reeds warp so that a higher center part runs in the direction of the length of the reed, mostly at the top of the table area, and it rocks from side to side when placed on glass.
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Author: BGBG
Date: 2016-05-10 07:28
Let me ask a question. How do you know your reeds are warping? Are you finding them to squeak, misplay notes, hard to blow, or do you simply routinely inspect them, or what. I am having trouble with notes in the second register with Rico 3 reeds and not sure if it is fingering, reed placement, moisture, or some other reason. Just cant get note to sound or it squeaks.
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Author: Slowoldman
Date: 2016-05-10 15:07
For me, they become less responsive and/or unbalanced while playing. They are more resistant and stuffy. When I feel this, I check the reed on glass or against the edge of my reed knife. (I also occasionally check reeds that are playing well, to confirm that they are flat and that I'm not just deluding myself into a self-fulfilling prophecy!)
Amateur musician, retired physician
Delaware Valley Wind Symphony, clarinet 1
Bucks County Symphony Orchestra, clarinet 2 (sub)
Post Edited (2016-05-10 16:46)
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Author: kdk
Date: 2016-05-10 17:23
The main symptom for me is that a warped reed feels too soft and too hard at the same time - it seems to close too easily but still has a lot of static and noise under the tone. Sometimes the problem is warping, sometimes it's something else in the reed's balance (or lack of it).
The easiest first test is to take the mouthpiece off (with the reed and ligature still in place) close the tenon end with your thumb and suck the air through the tip. The reed will close up against the rails of mouthpiece and be held there by suction. If it never actually stays or snaps back off very quickly, air is getting in around the sides, which indicates the reed is warped and not sealing evenly against the side rails. If the reed sticks for two or three seconds, held there by the suction you created, than the reed is probably not warped. If it holds too long, it *may* indicate that the reed is too soft and lacks the resilience to go back to its original shape (straight).
You can further check by laying the reed flat side down on a flat surface and gently pressing alternately on each side. The reed shouldn't rock back and forth. If it does, it's because the back isn't flat. A straight edge can also be used to sight across the back to see it the reed is flat from side to side.
Karl
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Author: BGBG
Date: 2016-05-12 02:27
Guess my error was in seeking the perfect method for reed care, playing, practicing and not realizing there was likely no single perfect set of procedures to suit all situations. Have to study many approaches and adapt ones to suit my situation. what works best for me. So I try many things. Mostly from forums like this, internet searches and clarinet videos from you tube.
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Author: BGBG
Date: 2016-05-14 02:26
One thing that has confused me is the 'working on' reeds. Even if all players dont do it the same, if you are going to do at all , is it a routine thing like wet the reed, dry the reed, sand the reed every play; or do you never touch a reed unless something is wrong and can find no other cause? Or is it periodic maintenance thing, like every period of time you inspect the reed then adjust it if seems a need or defect is found.
I know HOW to do lots of things but dont seem to know WHEN to do them. And when NOT to.
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