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Re: Reed Making:General Questions

Author: Simon Aldrich
Date: 2021-05-09 04:51

>was there any “eureka” moment where you figured out something that >brought your reeds to the next level? The missing piece, the secret sauce?

When I made my own reeds, the scales fell from my eyes when I realized the importance of cane *density*, and how it was often left out of the equation. When I was at Northwestern University, one of the classes I took was reed-making. The accent was on how to accurately copy a model reed. Cane density was not mentioned. However time and time again, an accurate copy with theoretically good measurements would barely produce a sound, while copies with theoretically absurd measurements would play well.
The propensity for the Reedual to produce a copy with wacky measurements lead me to realize that its all about cane density, not ideal measurement duplication.

One summer at National Repertory Orchestra in Colorado I was making my own reeds. This was before I had cottoned on to the importance and consequence of cane density.
One night I produced a reed that was, in theory hopelessly lopsided (8 on the left, 2 on the right). It shouldn't have worked, but it played great. Because the measurements were not kosher (and at that stage in life I was more absorbed by the process than the result) I clipped the tip off to remake the reed, hopefully with "good" measurements this time. The result was a reed with lopsided, "bad" measurements again. The reed's measurements were askew, this time in reverse. The reed was overly thin on the left. I clipped the tip and remade the reed about 5 more times, each time getting cockeyed measurements that should not have worked, all the while ignoring the fact that the reed played and responded well. The reed ended up quite short but I could ignore for only so long the fact that it played well. I played it for all the concerts for the rest of the summer (1st in Galanta, Scheherazade, Beethoven 6, Peter and the Wolf, etc).

I could do almost anything to a blank of good density and it would play. Conversely, you could make a perfect copy of an ideal model and you would have an aneurysm and give yourself a double hernia trying to produce a sound.

About 20 years ago, one of the Vandoren family members was in Montreal and gave a reed presentation. He explained that there is no difference in *thickness* between a 2 1/2 strength reed and a 5 strength reed (a fact one can confirm by measuring the reed on a micrometer like a Perfectareed). He explained that the phenomenon that determines a reed's strength is the cane's density. He described the density gauge Vandoren uses. If you look at the butt of a Vandoren or Rico reed you will see a horizontal band of "teeth marks". These are marks left by a spring gauge that presses into the butt of the reed, measuring the cane's density. The resulting density measurement determines the number strength the reed is assigned.

One of the implications of the cane's density being the most important determining factor in its playability is the questionableness of scraping down hard reeds to a point of playability. One can thin a reed but one can't change that cane's intrinsic density.

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