Author: Brad Behn
Date: 2018-03-04 02:58
I never flatten the back of my reeds.
If the reed warps, I put it away in a humidity controlled environment. The cheapest and a rather good way of storing a reed is to simply place it in the little plastic clips that D'Addario use for their reeds, and then I place in a Zip-bag. The humidity inside the bag allows the reed to slowly and steadily dry to a medium-state, and over the course of several days of on and off use, the reed's warp typically goes away, and the reed stabilizes as well.
If that type of break-in process doesn't massage the warp away, then the reed may not be a great reed, and I think twice about it's stage-worthiness.
So to flatten reeds - for me - it is ALL about how I store them.
Furthermore, I NEVER let the reed sit on my mouthpiece without it either being played, or covered with a good quality mouthpiece cap.
If a new reed becomes waterlogged, I put it away.
How wet should a reed be? As dry as possible while still in a moist state. Think about a dish sponge which has been removed from the sink. It is dripping wet, now squeeze the sponge, ring it out as much as possible. You will note that the sponge is moist, it is fully expanded from that moisture, it isn't hard and warped as in a dry state, yet it doesn't drip any water, it can't be rung out any more. That level of wetness is the state I want my reed to be in. (note, don't ring out your reeds, hah!)
Brad Behn
http://www.clarinetmouthpiece.com
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