 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: David Pegel
Date: 2002-01-01 22:10
My Vandoren reeds have started to become VERY VERY short-lived. I can put on one "good" reed in the morning and have to change it out by night. Plus, my reeds seemed to have gone really soft suddenly, like I need stronger ones now.
I play on really soft reeds to begin with (2 1/2 Vandorens, not V12s), so I'm thinking it's time to move up a half-grade or so. But this change happened overnight almost. Was it the weather, the reeds, or just quick embouchure development? I'd hate to think that Vandoren reeds have gotten softer as a whole.
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Author: Peter
Date: 2002-01-01 23:03
David,
What do you mean by, "I can put on one "good" reed in the morning and have to change it out by night." Unless I am in a destructive mood, I usually change out my reeds several times in a day's playing and practicing, even more, if the reeds are really good.
Aside from that this could be why they are not lasting you very much.
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Author: Peter
Date: 2002-01-01 23:16
Sorry, small mess-up previously.
David,
What do you mean by, "I can put on one "good" reed in the morning and have to change it out by night." Unless I am in a destructive mood, I usually change out my reeds several times in a day's playing and practicing, even more, if the reeds are really good.
Aside from that you just may be ready for a stronger reed, this could be one reason why they are not lasting you very much.
The mouthpieces I use work best with different strengths of reeds, and won't work well at all if I go above or below what works well with each one. In fact, after all this time, I still use a #2 reed with a B-40 mouthpiece and a #3.5 with an old 5-RV.
There are others, but I think you get the jist.
I'd look at changing out my reeds more often and taking more care in their breaking in period and maintenance, etc. You may be promoting the breaking down of the fibers by having developed certain bad reed-care habits, however inadvertently.
It's happened to me.
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Author: David Pegel
Date: 2002-01-02 01:12
Could be. I'm not much into "reed rituals", but I do take care to break reeds in.
I don't know how I'd compare to others, however. That may be a problem.
Still, when I rotate reeds, I still have the same problem. All my reeds are short -lived. I'm going to move up a grade and see what happens.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2002-01-02 11:32
Be sure you are rotating reeds. Don't play the same reed two days in a row. Also rotate reeds during the day. Once you have 1 to 2 hours on a reed, change it. I generally rotate an entire box of 10 reeds. Thus each reed gets a good chance to dry out and "rest" before it gets played again.
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