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Does reeds feel harder or softer with increased ambient humidity?

Author: Micke Isotalo ★2017
Date: 2026-09-19 14:38

This was recently touched upon in another thread, and for my part, I am one of those who experience seasonal variations in the strength of the reed, as between humid summer and dry winter.

Interestingly, however, different sources disagree on whether the reed feels harder or softer.

In this Selmer reed promotion video the bass clarinetist of the French Radio Orchestra tells: "I play a 3.5, but maybe in the summer when reeds harden, I will play a 3.25". See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0RG2sqEBkc

The opposite is said in this Marcellus reed break in method video (also referred to in that other recent thread), at about 34:30: "When the weather changes, on a rainy day the harder reeds will be the ones I probably like, and on a dry cold day it will be the softer ones." See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmTL_AOEOiQ&t=1343s

To be fair, I think it should be pointed out that none of these sources express themselves categorically (but instead with words like "maybe" and "probably") - but still contradictory.

For my part I've mostly experienced the same thing as in that Selmer video, where the reed feels stronger with increased humidity - but sometimes also the opposite. Thus, my own conclusion has been that reeds never behaves completely predictably - but having at least an idea of the most likely direction can be helpful.

What are your experiences?

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