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Re: Is breaking in reeds actually more about hydration than playing?

Author: nellsonic
Date: 2024-01-11 06:21

Hi Paul,

Thanks for your response. To answer your questions: yes AND yes. Very long (lazy) break in seems to equal very long playing life, for me.

Robert Marcellus apparently played reeds for years after a very long break in process as well - the difference is that he played them many many times in the process and that wetting and drying them many times was part of the formula.

My real question is whether the frequent drying and playing is crucial to getting the benefits of a long break in - if you store your reeds wet. Perhaps just letting them sit wet with very little play for a long time allows them an extraordinarily long life as well without all the extra attention.

One other factor that probably works to my advantage is that I live in a Mediterranean climate.

Here is my source on Marcellus's process. It's an interesting recent video that you may not have seen yet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmTL_AOEOiQ

I should note after just having watched it again (at double speed - the pacing is leisurely), that it seems to imply that Marcellus rotated between MANY reeds, but it is also mentioned that some of the reeds he played on were many years old.

I do think this is a very interesting video for players who still use cane.

Anders

Post Edited (2024-01-11 10:22)

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