 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: arcmessenger
Date: 2002-11-03 02:14
hi, i have been having trouble with my reeds drying out, making them not playable. i've tried soaking them but once they dry it just makes matters worse. any suggestions? thanks in advance
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Author: William
Date: 2002-11-03 02:22
Read Reed Life (posting below)
Department of Redundency Department
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Author: Andrew E.
Date: 2002-11-03 05:45
Brenda,
I believe William used his "Department of Redendency Department" pun to point out (1.) the homophones "Reed Read" (2.) and the fact that this question has been asked many times (including "Reed Life" and a good way to find info on it would be to do a search for threads on this topic.
William, please correct me if I assumed wrong.
BTW, my clarinet prof. has me keeping my reeds damp when I'm not using them by storing them in a small glass jar. It seems to work pretty good. The only drawback is that the reeds get mildew quicker because of the damp environment, thus reducing the legth of time I can play them. If anyone has any opinions about this, good or bad, please let me know.
Just my two cents.
Good Clarineting.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2002-11-03 06:53
"...The only drawback is that the reeds get mildew quicker because of the damp environment, thus reducing the legth of time I can play them. If anyone has any opinions about this, good or bad, please let me know..."
If you keep the RH below 50% you will not have any mold or mildrew growth. Once the RH reaches 70 -80% mildrew growth is almost guaranteed...GBK
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Author: Morrigan
Date: 2002-11-03 09:05
Moist reeds? This is a new concept to me - my breaking-in method includes closing off the reed's pores so they do not get any moisture, thus allowing them to vibrate more freely and considtently, AND extending life.
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Author: Dez
Date: 2002-11-03 09:42
Well if have ever doubled you know how important moist reeds are. I do as I am doing West Side Story at the moment on Eb, Bb and Bass.
Dezza
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2002-11-03 10:44
Disclaimer - I sell the product ReedLife. From my own personal experience, and the number and types of individuals (doublers) and groups (symphonies) that buy lots of the product Reedlife, the added humectants in the product appear to make reeds hydrate more easilye and keeps them moist longer. I use it myself - not because I get it for free (I am on a lot of peoples beta test panels for new products) - because it works for me. The combination of the cleaning action and the humectants seems to help my good reeds last longer. There are no magic bullets for a lot of playing problems but only improvements in matters of degree.
The Doctor
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-11-03 15:49
Morrigan wrote:
>
> Moist reeds? This is a new concept to me - my breaking-in
> method includes closing off the reed's pores so they do not get
> any moisture, thus allowing them to vibrate more freely and
> considtently, AND extending life.
Actuall, Morrigan, a reed <b>must</b> have water in it to work correctly. A reed with the correct amount of moisture in it is stiffer than one that is dry - conter-intuitive since most materials we commonly come in contact with get softer as they draw water in. Reeds will start getting softer as they go past a critical level of moisture in the xylem - hence the "waterlogged reed". What you're doing is trying to <b>control</b> the amount of moisture in the reed.
There have been a number of peer-reviewed experiments on reed stiffness/water content (PhD theses) so it's not up for argument unless you can't reproduce the results of these experiments.
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Author: William
Date: 2002-11-03 16:15
To Andrew E: I have never used a humidifier to keedp my reeds moist all the time, but my good friend, Chuck Hedges, who is an international jazz clarinetist and regularily commutes between Milwaukee and Chicago for jazz gigs, keeps his reeds on a section of plate glass in a tupperware container with a moist sponge full of a saltwater solution. He says the salt prevents the mold from occuring and his reeds are always "ready to play." However, he tends to go through a lot of reeds which may not concur favorably with the original intent of this thread.
Again, my secret to "long reed life" is simply using only saliva for moistening and rubbing the vamp to prevent over saturation during performance. I also rub the vamp before putting the reed away in my Harrison reed case. It only takes a few moments to remoisten a reed for use--about the time it takes me to assemble my clarinet.
Again, this was discussed a few threads earlier in the thread, "Reed Life"
So, again, read "Reed Life"--this posting is (again) brought to you by the Dpartment of Redundency Department.
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2002-11-03 20:39
Just put them on the instrument and play them for 5 minutes that should get hem wet. Remember they have a finite life if they are useless throw them away and buy some new ones. Dont soak reeds in tap water more than once and then only for a couple of minutes.
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Author: julia
Date: 2002-11-03 20:48
Andrew--
keeping the reeds wet all the time is fine, and is a good practice--except for the mildew. To keep this from happening use some kind of a relatively mild antiseptic in the same container (put it on a sponge, for ex).
good luck
Julia
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Author: arcmessenger
Date: 2002-11-03 21:53
thanks for the suggestions, but is there anything i can do once the reeds dry out? or am i too late? when keeping them in moist environments they sometimes seem to wet and won't play correctly. i'm familiar with the topic of reed life below. i guess my man concern is getting the reeds playable.
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Author: Wes
Date: 2002-11-04 07:06
To each his own as there are different environments that people live in. I generally try to dry my reeds as much as possible as the RH here is about 80% in the summer and no less than 65 % in the winter. It's even more critical on the oboe where a water logged reed is so stiff that it can't be used. Good luck!
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Author: George
Date: 2002-11-04 19:16
Two comments:
1) "Chuck Hedges ... keeps his reeds on a section of plate glass in a
tupperware container with a moist sponge full of a saltwater solution. He says the salt
prevents the mold from occuring and his reeds are always 'ready to play.'" The relative humidity in the air over pure water in a sponge (100%) would be reduced by using salt water. This is an old laboratory trick when a humidity level less than 100% is desired.
2) An appripriate disinfectant which works for me is drugstore hydrogen peroxide. Dip the reed in it before putting it away. I don't deliberately store reeds humidified, but in the summer, it cannot be helped, and the peroxide does the trick. Don't worry - the peroxide is completely gone by the time you use the reed again, and even if it werent, it won't hurt you.
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