 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: diz
Date: 2002-08-26 01:15
Oboe playing friends of mine make their own reeds, mainly because "off-the-shelf" oboe reeds are not very good in their experience.
Do any of you clarinetists make your own reeds?
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Author: John
Date: 2002-08-26 02:01
Well, I buy Vandoren V12s and then carve them so they're balanced. and I can usually get the whole box to work, so it's definitely a money saver. Hope this helps.
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2002-08-26 02:32
diz, David Pino's book (*The Clarinet and Clarinet Playing*) has a pretty comprehensive section on reedmaking. Pino, who studied under Keith Stein, has been a Clarinetist and Teacher (Professor) for many years. He claims that a self-made reed has a life expectancy much greater than a "ready-made" product, and that he only used sixty reeds total over the eleven years prior to writing the book.
This book is published by Dover (Mineola, New York) and has ISBN number 0-486-40270-3. It sells here for US$9.95 and is surely well worth the money.. If you'd like a copy and can't find it in Oz, email me and we can work something out.
BTW, I don't make my own reeds for whatever reason. Pino suggests that doing so is a time-saver, as most agonize over commercial reeds to such an extent (testing, modifying, testing again, becoming disgusted and feeding a few into the shredder, whatever...) that making your own saves time and money in the long run.
Regards,
John
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Author: diz
Date: 2002-08-26 02:42
John - thanks for your input - I'll try and get hold of this. Yes, we can (believe it or not) purchase Dover books in Australia. My library brimeth over with them (scores mainly but I've also got a couple of medieval costume books to as I was once "sucked into" dressing up like a jester for a medieval party). No comment required on THAT topic, let me tell you.
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Author: joevacc
Date: 2002-08-26 02:59
Yes I do. I don't make all of my reeds but every month or so I make one. I started making reeds to teach myself how to adjust commercial reeds and have learned a great deal.
I don't make reeds from tubes, only from blanks. I was sent some wild tube cane from our own ron b that he picked near where he lives - but had a hard time finding one that had the proper circumference.
I made one just this week that is not fully broken in yet but sounds very promising. The difference with this one is I wet and rewet (I use saliva at the first stage only) a small batch quite awhile ago and never got to making them until now. (I tried one but nicked the tip after it was almost finished! AGGGH!) One other difference was I didn't use a knife and sandpaper this time to shape the vamp, I used rush instead. This is the the method I am going to go with for the next several reeds.
I am glad you brought this up, diz. I have been wondering where people on the BB think a good place to purchase quality cane is. I have bought a bunch from the WW&BW and it works. I don't have anything to compare it to, though. I have gotten some blanks from Jeanné but have not yet started to prepare them. I am hopeful.
I empathize with everyone's sentiment of Vandoren's nefarious behavior but have not found anything better for me as of yet. I plan to try the Gonzalez FOF again because of the kudos they have gotten on the BB lately.
Looking forward to replies from others!
Best,
-=[Joe Vacc]=-
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Author: GBK
Date: 2002-08-26 05:02
joevacc...Davie Cane (distributor of Gonzalez reeds) does sell cane in tubes and blanks for clarinet reed making.
http://www.daviecane.com/Pages/Clarinet.html
I haven't made my own reeds in years, but making them definitely does teach you about the finer points of what makes a reed work...GBK
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Author: ron b
Date: 2002-08-26 05:31
Hi, Joe
I may have located some larger cane this year. I'm gonna go check it out in a week or so, hoping for a better experience : You still at the same address as last time?
- ron b -
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2002-08-26 06:09
diz: Heilige Moo, they actually sell *BOOKS* in Australia?!? How do you read 'em with all the print upside-down? Stand on y'r head?
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Author: nzdonald
Date: 2002-08-26 06:25
i make a reed every couple of weeks using the reedual profiler, and find that i can now easily make a "good reed" in about the same amount of time i'd spend messing around with a box of vandoren sorting them out.... to make an "excellent" reed, that's a bit harder....
i do a lot of wetting and drying to the blank before making the reed, this seems to help stabilise the cane and there seems to be fewer problems with warping etc..... at least some of the time..... but it's impossible to say really. My favourite home made reed in my case NEARLY got used in a concert yesterday, but then i used a mozart that i'd spent quite a lot of time on- probably the same amount of time i'd spend making one!
if you can, learn about reeds from a person not a book, it's much quicker and you're much more likely to have success as a teacher/friend can quickly see what you're doing wrong and set you straight.
donald
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Author: joevacc
Date: 2002-08-26 07:22
Hi Ron, ;~)
Yes my address is the same. Quoting from my copy of "Handbook for making and Adjusting Single Reeds" by Kalmen Opperman page 13, "Making The Shaped Blank from Tube Cane"
"The circumference being 360 degrees, a tube which has an OD of 25 mm. to 27 mm. may be split into quarters, each split being made at a 90 degree division. Tubes measuring less than 19 mm. (3/4") OD are not useful for B-flat clarinet reeds, but maybe utilized for E-flat or German B-flat clarinet requirements. ..."
Maybe drying it out in the California sun for awhile would help. Trying to dry it here was not easy; some of it got moldy. For reasons unknown to me some of the small ones are among my kids favorite toys! ;~) Let us know what you find.
Hope you and yours are well!
Referring to JMcAulay comments:
I have read numerous books on the subject and have gleaned good info from all of them. The two books that I think I have gotten the most out of are the Opperman and the Pino Books. Both have lengthy explanations on breaking in and adjusting commercial reeds. They are also very good references for general measurements. Both clarinetists have like ideas on curing the cane before the cutting begins.
That said... I read a quote somewhere that in effect said - "When you have made a laundry basket full of reeds then you will know about reeds!" ;~)
GBK, I have never, in all my years on the Internet, (logged on to my first BB in the early '80's!) have seen such a deep well of useful URL's. Thanks
Best,
-=[Joe Vacc]=-
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2002-08-26 11:13
Hi Dave
You can buy unfinished blanks or near enough to. VanDoren 5 or LaVoz Very Hard are essentially unfinished reeds. Alexander or Reeds Australia will sell 5 or harder.
Any sort of Bassoon or Contra tube cane like Glotin or Vandoren can be cut to size and finished by hand. I make my own reeds for Vintage clarinets out of a variety of blanks. Zonda 5 will cut back into a German or Austrian cut easily and their Bb reeds fit on to just about any Eb mouthpiece. A good set of files, a good knife some sandpaper and hours of patience should produce at least a box worth.
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Author: Pat
Date: 2002-08-26 13:27
I use the reedual as well. I think my handmade reeds for me play better than most of the commercial stuff out there. I did learn alot about reeds by making them but I also learned new methods when breaking in my handmade reeds. It is totally optional to make your own reeds. I am glad I made the choice to start making my own reeds.
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Author: Thomas Piercy
Date: 2002-08-26 15:41
I make my own reeds from tube cane as well as blanks.
I constantly look out for cane from good sources and good years. I find that cane from different sources, and even cane from the same source but from different years, will give me different sounds from the finished product - a performance quality reed. I enjoy and find fascinating the possibilities this enables me in my sound.
I make reeds using a Reedual as well as from "scratch" with knife and other tools. I found that my handmade reeds were better than the commercial reeds and I like having more control over the playing characteristics and well as more options in tonal palette at my disposal.
The Kalmen Opperman and Pino books, as well as other books and previous posts here in the Phoruum, can be very helpful.
Getting in some lessons with someone that actually makes their own reeds is also very helpful and highly encouraged.
Tom Piercy
thomaspiercy.com
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Author: ron b
Date: 2002-08-26 17:40
Hahaha! My neighbor's kids like to play with cane pieces too. But any ol' pot or pan is pretty good too. Don't even try to explain - it's their world Thanks for those dimensions, it'll help a lot, knowing what size to look for. I think what I sent you was less than 3/4". I don't know that it will dry out any better here than anywhere else as long as it doesn't stay moist for extended periods. Anyway, some friends have a few acres up in the eastern foothills with lots of cane growing along a stream and a pond. I'll e-mail you after we check it out.
Thanks again for the 'specs'. Hopefully it'll bring some success this season. I'm interested in results of 'home grown' reeds - not store bought cane - just in case it becomes a necessity, as it pretty much was once upon a time and again in our lifetime a few years ago.
Best to you and yours too, Joe.
- ron b -
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Author: diz
Date: 2002-08-28 00:10
GBK and McAulay:
"An unemployed jester is nobody's fool" indeed!!
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