Author: shmuelyosef
Date: 2017-11-21 07:25
Fascinating topic! I found this old thread because I was curious about the Fobes 2M* facing (advertised as 'asymmetrical') and I was wondering if he is selling intentional side-to-side asymmetry as discussed here, or a curve that that has a different curvature rate near the contact point than near the tip, which is not all that unusual in boutique facings.
Cane reeds, even from the most revered suppliers, have asymmetry that is easily measured in well over half the reeds in any box, particularly in the heart region and the centering of the vamp. I have always assumed (but would like to hear other opinions) that this was why "good reeds" are often associated with specific mouthpieces; i.e. the asymmetries are more or less aligned. For example, if a reed has a faster thickness ramp on one side, and that side of the mouthpiece has a longer lay, then it will perhaps work better than a perfect reed. Assuming that the left/right bias in the reeds is random, this would imply that half the reeds in a box should play noticeably better than the other half, and a perfect mouthpiece would be sensitive to the 'width' of the distribution in asymmetry.
In the context of 'perfect' reeds (e.g. the newest Legeres and perhaps the computer machined d-Addarios if you believe their hype), this would suggest that a symmetrical mouthpiece that matches a particular strength Legere would play them all perfectly, but another mouthpiece with the same nominal tip opening and lay might not play well at all on any of them if it was asymmetrical.
Comments???
|
|