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Re: REED GUNK

Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2017-03-29 00:11

I'm not sure what the real message is.

The reeds that were so disgusting had been sealed up in a plastic bag, I suppose damp, for a long time. They had visible growth on them - we don't know whether mold, mildew, bacteria or even virus. It doesn't really matter what it was, if something visible is growing on your reed, you're best off not playing on it. No argument there probably from anyone (especially after his ending story). That's a little like demonstrating that water is wet.

It also might be an argument against storing a set of working reeds in perpetually humidified storage. I *would* have been interested to know how that would come out.

But the reed and the mouthpiece he plays on both registered relatively low in "RLU." So, what can we make of that except that playing on a reed regularly doesn't in itself necessarily infect it enough to be a health risk. Reeds and mouthpieces are not petri dishes and they don't have a coating of agar on them to encourage bacterial growth.

One thing Michael doesn't tell us is how the reeds play after he soaks them in hydrogen peroxide. The last time (many years ago) that I tried it, the cane lost so much of its vibrancy that I had to discard the reeds I had cleaned.

Karl

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