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Re: Does flattening a reed really make it "totally toast"?

Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2017-12-30 06:03

I'm by far more concerned about the actual clarinets than the reeds in low humidity. The horns warp and shrink.

I do not sand the front of the reeds because they warp when you play on them. So let them form to your mouthpiece. If the back of the reeds are warped well sand the back and avoid the HEART of the reed. I like to use 400 wet/dry sandpaper. I do not sand the reeds back and forth, but in a slight angle to the right and left, slightly in a 10 to 2 clockwise move. The the back of the reed will be flat to the table on the mouthpiece. So I sand about 1/2 of the reed or no more than 2/3rds of the reed, completely avoiding the front 1/3 of the reed.

Finer sandpaper, such as 1000 to 2000 grit makes the the bottom of the reeds too smooth taking away the vibrations of the reeds. You can try 600 grit. But 400 works best for me.

What is missing from the video is if you decide to remove some of the wood near the HEART of the reed you can use a reed clipper and take a tiny bit off of the tip of the reed and you now have added more wood back into the HEART of the reed.

I don't mind a slightly thicker tip. In fact some of the German reeds made measure in at .015". The French reeds are about .006". So some of the German reeds are about at least twice as thick as the French tips and often close to triple.

If you clip too much off of the tip of the reed and the reed is stuffy, you can try thinning the rails; the sides of the reeds just a shade. This often springs the reeds back to life, keeping the heart in place.

The key here is you don't have to take off very much wood. Maybe just 6 to 10 swipes back and forth. That's all that's needed in most cases and no adjustments are needed to the balance of the reed, or clipping of the reed.

Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces

Yamaha Artist 2015

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