Author: cjwright
Date: 2006-11-06 11:08
Yeah, it would be nice. But then again, DARN! They're expensive! I make a reed and here's the math:
1 piece of Cane - about .25 cents American (I buy in tube, sort, gouge, shape)
1 piece of thread with beeswax - less than 1 cent
1 staple - 10 cents (assuming I use the staple 30-40 times, and pay $4.00/staple)
Depreciation of knives, gouging blade, etc, - 5 cents?
That's like 40 cents max. My reeds out of 5 average about 1 excellant, 3 good, and 1 that might be crap. So maybe 4 reeds per $2.00? Since I make 5 reeds a day, I always have plenty of excellant reeds and good reeds. I can't imagine looking in my box and saying to myself, "Oh my gosh, I only have 2 good reeds left!"
How do you guys afford $25 (American) a reed? How long do they last you? Do European style reeds last longer? (American reeds = 10 hours of good playing perhaps? Depending on your construction of reed.) My reeds last probably 2 or 3 hours of breaking in, and then only 5 or 6 good playing hours. I attribute this to the fact that I blow the heck out of a reed, and make mine very thin. (I also spend 2 or 3 days max making a reed.)
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