Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2017-07-07 01:37
Unrelated to the O.P.'s desire to simply inquire about measuring reeds, I'll concede that researching such precise machinery, as simply a curiosity thing is perfectly fine. Personally, I'm curious to know how the contours of various reeds of, say, Vandoren (i.e. a single vendor) differ from one another and how (likely science and trial and error) they came to be.
I'd be curious to know just how subtle a difference two different products from the same vendor where, wondering if the differences in cut were not so superseded by the inherent variability in cane. (Read: whether I'm being taken for a ride from a marketing standpoint.)
Fair shoutout to Vandoren: V21's are made with larger diameter cane, right? I think its fair they market that as a premium thing.
But I cannot stress enough the waste of an argument that I think might go into seeking to buy home devices to measure and/or cut reeds within a .1mm tolerance: i.e. the width of a human hair--Vandoren's standard, given the equipment cost.
And that doesn't even involve the cost of replacing out/sharpening the industrial diamonds that are used to effect this process.
It's just not cost effective to recreate the wheel Vandoren, et. al., is producing in mass.
I'll even concede that maybe if you were making reeds out of a quality assured consistent substance, that doesn't absorb water, like say Legeres, that there may be some merit in such pursuits. But the inconsistency of cane, even intrareed, even great cane, not to mention the affects of water absorption on the reed, and how that varies in different parts of the reed, will always mean this:
Until we can manufacture consistent cane through genetic engineering in a quality controlled environment, adjustment will be necessary no matter how precise the cut. And as far as the quality controlled environment is concerned, it is the very uncontrolled environments in places like the right parts of France, where the wind blows just right, that are the very thing that helps to make great cane. Perhaps someday we'll find a way to mimic such winds in a greenhouse environment.
This isn't to knock cutting highly consistent product. Doing so serves to keep the product as consistent as possible (not to be confused with consistent) for the end consumer to adjust.
For those who think they have better access to the best cane than the large scale manufacturers, assuming this even true, I'd say that for all but the most virtuosic, their improvement as a player--which really is the goal here, is likely better served via the right practice on clarinet rather than clarinet reeds.
Although I respect their right to make their own reeds through some of the more affordable products out there.
Some will differ citing the amazing reeds they produce themselves. Fair enough. But they need to also talk about the time/cost it took to do and/or learn. The same time the late Kal Opperman described as a clarinet player's most precious asset. They'd need to ask themselves why so many of the greats are playing purchased reeds.
|
|
The Clarinet BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
