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Re: Reed Making:General Questions

Author: BobW
Date: 2021-05-10 06:43

I play clarinet for a hobby. I started making my own reeds about 10-12 years ago.
I started for several reasons
1) I wanted to have more control over reed performance
2) I had read, especially on this board, about how bad commercial reeds where
3) The whole process intrigued me
I purchased about 10 years ago, 1-2 pounds of cane each, from the following suppliers
Muncy Winds, Gonzalez Cane
RDG Woodwinds, RGO Cane
Jeanne, Rigotti Cane
Albert Alphin, unknown cane
I have made reeds from all and have done some comparisons, I really do not notice much difference
The technique I use is mostly from the book " A Book for the Clarinet Reed-Maker" by Ronald Vazquez
I spilt the cane with a chisel
I cut it to length with a plastic miter box and saw from Home Depot
I flatten the blank with the Robert Dilutis Reed Machine planer
I shape the sides of the blank with the Robert Dilutis Reed Machine profiler
I profile the reed using the Reedual
I form the tip with the Robert Dilutis Reed Machine clipper
I adjust the reed using the technique described in the excellent YouTube video
by Earspasm " How to work on Clarinet/Sax Reeds like a Pro"
Overall I am very happy with my results. I make maybe 10-20 blanks at a time
and store them, takes maybe 2-3 hours. Then when I make my final reed it only takes about 30 minutes to get an excellent reed. It really does not take much time. People discuss weather the time making reeds is better used practicing I would argue that most likely I have more time to practice, since I make my own reeds and don't have to waste time messing around with commercial reeds.
I think the more reeds you make the better you get at making reeds
Hope this helps
Bob

Post Edited (2021-05-10 06:48)

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