 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Charlie Coleman
Date: 2002-01-01 19:45
Hello all - I'm not professional by any means, just a retired basement tooter. I have a box of reeds that could start a good sized blaze. Some of them are quite old. Do they still make the Vibrator with the grooves? Most of what I have are Rico's. I soak them periodically and rotate them on my horns (Sop, Alto, Ten, Cmel as well as Clarinet). They seem to play OK but wonder if I would be better off to just scrap the lot and go to WW&BW for a new supply. I have started using Rico plasticovers for my sunday morning gig and I like the fact that they are ready to blow without a lot of prep. So, a queston...what is the longest time you have kept a reed??? BTW here's a funny. How many clarinet players does it take to change a light bulb. Answer: one - did you think we were brass players? Happy New Year to All Charlie C.
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Author: madvax
Date: 2002-01-01 19:53
Charlie,
Your old reeds should play fine. In fact, vintage reeds are considered desirable by many players.
However, if you are looking for an inexpensive reed, that is ready to blow without much prep, I would recommend Mitchel Lurie reeds as an alternative to Rico plasticovers. I think you will find the Mitchell Lurie reeds give you a better tone and better response. The trade-off is that they will probably not last as long as the Rico plasticovers.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2002-01-01 21:03
Charlie...The reeds with the grooves in them (4 grooves actually) were made in the 60's and 70's by the Chiron Company. They used to be located at 1650 Broadway in New York City.
They marketed the "Vibrator" clarinet and saxophone reeds heavily in the 60's and 70's, and even advertised in Downbeat magazine. Their endorsee was Julian "Cannonball" Adderley.
Their ad usually touted the "patented tone grooves - to improve tonal brilliance".
The reeds were very inexpensive, and were sold in bulk to many schools for their clarinet and saxophone students. If I remember correctly, they were .25 each and came in colored individual cardboard holders (blue was #2, green was 2 1/2) which would fit in the reed machines in the band room. Students could insert a quarter and purchase a reed.
I actually still have some on the shelf in my studio, but keep them strictly for sentimental reasons. (yes...I know it sounds strange...) ...GBK
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Author: Peter
Date: 2002-01-01 23:36
Aside from that I wouldn't use a Rico reed if it was the last reed on earth (well, maybe then) if they have been properly kept, even acidentally, they should be good for long periods of time.
Reeds usually last me about six months, give or take a few weeks, if I take care of them, but there are reeds I've had for over a year which are still excellent and I know a big-time professional who has had 12 really excellent reeds for well over a year.
He plays them regularly, for a very short time, then puts them away again. As far as using them, he only uses these 12 reeds for very important playing.
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2002-01-02 02:33
Charlie, regarding "How many clarinet players does it take to change a light bulb?" The answer is certainly one, but it requires searching through an entire case of bulbs to find the *right* bulb.
I regularly use reeds that are a number of years old. I've posted this before: decades ago, I preferred "Roy J. Maier Signature" reeds, which I understand were distributed by Selmer. They haven't been available for many years, but not long ago I bought a few boxes from a defunct music store's closing stock. They work fine.
When a reed goes "dead" on me, as they somehow do from time to time, I don't toss it out. Rather, I keep it for a few months and try it again. Many, for whatever reason, have their old playability restored. I've never quite figured this out, but so what... it seems to work.
I played a few Vibrators in the '50s, and they weren't intrinsically bad. I never quite noticed very much "improved tonal brilliance," but then, maybe I just wasn't looking for that. 
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Author: Charlie Coleman
Date: 2002-01-02 03:40
Thanks all for your comments. At least I'm not completely off base holding onto my stash of reeds. I do remember paying 25 cents for a reed, but then I was making 75 cents an hour. Then they went up to 35 cents or 3 for a buck. Bummer. That's when I started trimming, burning and shaving reeds in order to get more mileage. I will take advice and buy a few of the reeds mentioned. At this point, my challenge is to get a good tone and try to hit most of the right notes ; - )
Best wishes for 2002 - Charlie C.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2002-01-02 17:42
Vibrator also got the jazz player Tony Scott to endorse them. All the music magazines carried an ad saying "I play only Vibrator reeds - they're the best."
Actually, they were the worst reeds ever made. You sounded like a kazoo. Tasted awful, too, like they'd been scorched in a toaster.
Somebody put a box put on eBay a year or so back, asking a high price as a "vintage collector's item."
Ken Shaw
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Author: GBK
Date: 2002-01-02 18:16
Ken said: .... "Actually, they were the worst reeds ever made. You sounded like a kazoo..."
That's why the clarinet players in the elementary band I conducted back in 1975 sounded so horrible.
The Vibrator reeds that sit on the shelf in my studio (unfortunately) remind me of those days...GBK
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Author: Charlie Coleman
Date: 2002-01-02 21:49
RE: The Vibrators. My FAVORITE group - The Hoosier Hot-Shots. Let's not bad-mouth the kazoo ; -)
Actually these guys were perilously close to being a decent jazz group. I guess at the
time I bought those things (Vibrators) I wasn't aware of the vast differences in reeds, so I
was able to play reasonably well with them. Who knows where I might be today if I had found
some decent reeds.
Still experimenting. Regards to all, Charlie C.
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Author: Charlie Coleman
Date: 2002-01-02 21:51
Sorry, I missed on the last post. Not the Hoosier Hot-shots, but the Mound City Blue Blowers.
Charlie C.
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Author: diz
Date: 2002-01-08 22:44
GBK - as always - your comments make me chuckle. I'm rather partial to kazoos - they really good if you throw them at possums in your backyard trees (pardon my aussie vernacular) - only kidding.
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Author: Alaric
Date: 2002-03-24 11:25
I had 10 old Vibrator reeds with my new clarinet, a High Pitched Penzel-Mueller Eb from the 20s. They were hard to use #3 1/2s but I struggled with them as a beginner, and found some quality in some of them after working on them for awhile. It would take 45 minutes of warm up for one of these reeds it seemed, but once I got it going there was nothing to compare. I tried every type of reed I could find, and got opinions from many people while playing various reeds for comparison. I used to practice 10 hours a day, so anyone around me had to put up with reed tests and such. These Chiron Vibrators seemed to be unquestionably superior. I was willing to pay $10 a reed at one time, but couldn't find any. It took me six years, diligently searching to find any more Vibrator reeds for Eb clarinet. (Now I'll pay $50 for a box for soprano sax maybe).
One thing interesting about the Vibrator, is that though it takes more to get them started, they last longer. I left a vibrator reed on my clarinet for more than a month without changing it when I was practicing 10 - 15 hours a day. After about 4 months of using it off an on it seemed to quit on me altogether, but I couldn't throw it away, at least I could show someone what it looked like to find more. I put it in a box, and to my surprise when I tried it again a few months later, it worked well again. I ended up using the same reed off and on for six years. I still have that reed.
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