Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2018-03-03 21:44
Ken, while I'm liable to soak cane reeds in water for fairly long spells, and it seems to do them no harm, I had bad results with boiling them.
When I first tried to wash reeds I put them in boiling water. That did get them cleaner. However, they sounded different afterward, and not better. The sound was a little edgier, thinner, more "tinny". I still used them some for practice, but they didn't seem as good.
My half-a'd theory is the heat boiled the water that was held within and amongst the fibers of the reeds, and expansion of gas disrupted those fibers such that subsequent drying failed to restore them to normal. I switched to washing in water hot to the touch but well below boiling point. Still do that after each play if possible.
If something about fiber density was promoting warping, then it wouldn't surprise me if boiling would change something there.
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