Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2020-10-26 05:58
This is a topic I know a lot about! Rico uses diamonds to cut reeds. So the diamonds will last months and even up to a year per machine. Diamonds are the hardest material there is. On a scale from 1 to 10, diamonds are a 10. Water is of course 0! Then you have sandstone, about a 3, quartz is around a 7.
The machines are not adjusted very often and once the machines are set correctly each machine can cut a reeds in less than 6 seconds for the bari sax reeds, to an E flat clarinet reeds or sop sax reed often 4 seconds. There are around 32 machines or more at Rico. This is why they can pop out around 15 to 25 million reeds a year.
Once the machines are set to make 2 1/2 strength reeds some reeds which are harder will end up around 3 1/2 to 5 strength reeds and softer reeds fall around 1/ 1/2 to 2. Yes the reeds all measure the exact same! This is Usually related to fibers and much more.
As for the strengths, the fibers are often key to how a reed plays, also the geographic locations. Such as France, Spain, and actually near my house here in California I can find local wild cane. Wild cane is pretty much a weed found everywhere. Cane is classified as a weed. I like wild cane because it is usaully older and the poles are harder in strength. Fields, not wild cane, is also grown by the major reed companies. At one point Rico and Vandoren shared the sames cane fields next to each other, in Argentina and in France. The usually cut the poles after 2 growing seasons. I prefer to find cane which might be 5 years old. The height of the cane poles is around 13 feet or so. Then the cane gets a bit fatter and much more dense. This produces harder reeds with longer playing per reed. By the way, the cane should cure for a few years once it is cut.
What makes better cane? I strongly believe it has to do with weather, the amount of water, temperature, age, and wind. So if everything is perfect the fibers are stronger, thicker, and more fibers is in the reeds. With poor quality cane, not enough rain, too much wind, lack of fibers, no fertilizers added, will result.
The Steuer reeds I imported for a few years, this cane was and remains excellent. The minor problem was related to poor measurements and no musicians checking the reeds every few hours. So if a machine was out of adjustment 1000's of reeds were unplayable.
With Rico the cane was tested by me and a 2 other musicians and the machines were checked and measured every 30 minutes. The problem with Rico it is hard to find quality cane year after year to support as many as 25 million reeds a year. If the measurements were off by a couple of thousandths of an inch, about the thickness of a human hair, the machines were adjusted accordingly. Most of the time adjustments were not needed for several months.
A player can sand the butt end of the each reed and count the amount of fibers and the thickness of the fibers, giving the player a good idea of how the cane will play in seconds. I need a magnifier to see the tiny fiber circles at the back end of the reed.
I now make my own reeds and I have all of the measuring tools needed to enhance my success of great reeds. I also buy French cane. Cane from Argentina can be very good sometimes. A selected area near my house has very good cane.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
|
|
The Clarinet BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
