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Author: Victor
Date: 2001-11-29 21:22
What are people's experiences with reed trimmers? Any recommendations (Rigotti, Cordier, etc.)?
Also, is it ok to use plexiglass in place of a flat glass surface? Does plexiglass fluctuate with climate?
Finally, do people use 400 or 600 sandpaper? Or perhaps both?
Any other important accessories for reed care? How about the Vandoren reed case? What are people's experiences with that product?
Sorry for the barrage of questions. Thanks in advance for the answers.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2001-11-29 21:59
Victor -
I've used Courdier reed trimmers forever. They're expensive, and they wear out in a year or two, but for me they do the best job. The tip shape varies on them. You need to check several to make sure the shape is a good match for your mouthpiece tip.
Plexiglas (note the spelling - it's a trademark) is OK to put a sheet of sandpaper over. However, I often put the reed on the glass and work on the vamp with a small piece of worn-out sandpaper wrapped around my fingertip. For this, I sand only toward the tip, and often off the end of the tip. For that, you need glass, as Plexiglas is too soft. I got a 9" x 12" sheet of 3/4" thick plate glass many years ago and have never regretted it. I also have a 1-1/2" x 5" x 1/4" piece of glass I keep in my case, with strips of 400 and 600 sandpaper trimmed to match, for emergency work. It's worth it to go to a glass shop to get these. They can make the edges straight and take off the sharp corners. You only do it once, so it doesn't pay to go cheap.
I never use anything coarser than 400 grit wet-or-dry (black coat) sandpaper. It's more than aggressive enough, particularly when you use a new sheet. After I get the bottom of the reed flat, I use mostly 600 grit. The grades go up to 1500, but I've never been able to tell much difference once I got above 600. As the paper gets worn and fills up with dust, the effective grit gets higher anyway, and as I said above, I do my final polishing with a strip of nearly worn out paper.
You'll need the largest flat file you can find, with a fine (mill bastard) cut. I found one almost 2' long and 2" wide. I'm using this more and more, since it's the equivalent of perhaps 1000 grit sandpaper, yet will keep the edges of the reed straight when I need to narrow one slightly. While you're at the hardware store, get a file-cleaning brush, which is like a tiny "bed of nails" and cleans the dust out of the file easily.
Go to a beauty supply store and get a Revlon permanent nail file. They used to be called "Diamond Dust" but I think they dropped that name. I use that for evening the thickness of the tip and also, after I use the reed trimmer, I use it to adjust the shape of the tip to fit the mouthpiece exactly.
I don't use rush. Instead, I use a knife. I use a Vitry reed knife I got many years ago, which happened to have a handle that fit my individual hand perfectly. Most reed knives are made of decent steel, so the important thing is comfort.
The Vitry I have is hollow-ground on one side and flat on the other, so it's easy to sharpen -- I just lay it flat on the stone on both sides. I use a Carborundum dual-grit stone I've had forever. You can get an excellent edge by using honing oil (even though the instructions with the stone say you don't have to) and not pressing too hard. I finish up with a Swaty Razor Hone, which is a very smooth artificial stone that puts a razor edge on the blade, and then follow up with a few strokes on an razor strop I got at a barber's supply shop.
I think special reed cases are a waste of money. The important thing is to get the reed dry before you put it away. Hold the reed between your left thumb and the middle joint of your index finger and sqeeze/slide your right thumb and index finger down along the vamp and off the tip, maybe 20 times, until the reed feels dry. Then put it in one of the plastic holders that Vandoren reeds come in.
Good luck.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Victor
Date: 2001-11-30 03:50
Why have both the permanent nail file AND the flat file (presumably from a hardware store)? Can't one do the work of the other?
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Author: William
Date: 2001-11-30 15:21
I haven't used a reed trimmer since I learned to work harder reeds down to playing condition via my Reed Wizard and balancing with a reed knife. Also, in the face of popular opinion here on this public forum, I never sand the backs of my VanDorens as it just removes too much cane from the "heart" and tip area of the reed which I prefer to have available when balancing with my reed knife on the face rails and tip. So what if a reed is not perfectly flat on the table as long as it is held firmly in place by the ligiture. I do rub the back of the reed to seal it as I do the front--but sandpaper, NEVER!!!! And (not to brag) everyone compliments me for my sound--so I must be doing something ok. I'll be looking foward to opposing opinions from the "sandpaper people"--until then, Good Clarineting!!!
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Author: GBK
Date: 2001-11-30 15:58
William...I'm also in the no sandpaper to the back of the reed camp.
When I spoke at length to Ricardo Morales this summer he said his reed prep is basically very simple (and surprisingly just like mine). A few days of wetting and drying, white paper (not sand paper) to seal, smooth and polish the butt, back and top, done on two or three different days, and final adjustments done with a reed knife and/or 400/600 sandpaper.
This procedure works well for me, and obviously VERY WELL for him...GBK
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2001-11-30 16:06
Victor -
I was unclear about files.
A flat file is what you get at a hardware store, used mostly for smoothing metal.
A nail file is what you get at a beauty supply store. I should have said "fingernail file." It's like an emery board, except made of flexible metal with a sandpaper-like surface.
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William -
I get a dramatic improvement when I flatten and polish the bottom of the reed. For me, even a really tight ligature isn't enough to make an airtight seal if the reed bottom isn't level. As I said in my earlier post, I usually use a very large file, which is less abrasive than sandpaper. I put pressure only on the bark, to protect the vamp and tip. On the area beginning about 1/3 of the way down the vamp, I then polish very lightly, just to get things smooth.
I use a small strip of very worn sandpaper to smooth and polish the vamp and the tip after I'm through working with my knife, which I use for all balancing and fine adjustments.
I usually get reeds at about the same strength as they'll end up and work them back and forth with sanding and clipping as necessary. For large reeds (e.g., contrabass), where there are no clippers available, I buy reeds stiffer than they will end up and then work them down to play right.
In the end, you do what seems to make a difference and what works for you.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Bill
Date: 2001-11-30 19:42
I use a trimmer only as a second resort. First choice for strengthing a reed is <b>very</> slightly sanding the laterial edges of the reed on #400 wet/dry paper.
--Bill.
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Author: Jim
Date: 2001-12-01 16:32
Can anyone go into a little more detail on how to decide when and where to balance the tip?
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Author: Bob
Date: 2001-12-01 18:31
Re the VD reed cases which I recently purchased..I couldn't see how the dessicant tubes could work so I took them out. But I found that some reeds developed black "mold" or mildew(which is it?) in an area about a half inch below the tip. So I drilled 1/8 inch diameter holes in the two case halves but this still hasn't stopped the black stuff. In the old days I never had problems with the cheap paper holders the reeds came in. So my current theory is that wither these plastic cases trap too much humidity or there's some agent in the plastic that helps cause mold. Still don't know how dessicant in a plastic tube is supposed to trap moisture. Oh,also,the two halves of the case are not identical and the flat insert has little dots on one end ., .., ..., .... to designate reed numbers.
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Author: Eugene
Date: 2001-12-01 23:34
once mould gets on the reeds even if you soak them in a diluted water with bleach it still comes back .Try dipping thecase in pure bleach and remove the desicant first.After wipe it out and let dry when you store your reeds in the case leave it split open a quarter of an inch.Put the desicant back in.
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