Author: Oboelips
Date: 2012-04-06 18:06
Confessions of a somewhat OCD reedmaker of nearly 30 years experience:
I spent about 2 decades of life as a mechanical draftsperson as a day job, so I know machine tolerancing. While all staples are manufactured within certain tolerances, they still differ (that's the tolerance part--often + or - .010 or less) . I found out early on that some individual staples were just more dependable, better sounding/responding that others of the same make and lot. You betcha I DID mark those individual staples (if a cork base, I use a sharpie to number it, if a Chudnow, a small piece of tape will do the trick. My reed journal allows me a fair chance on creating another reed with similar characteristics when I attempt to duplicate a good (but expired) concert reed. I take that same staple, wrap and tie with same shape/gouge of cane. It is a system that often works.
Within my experimentation, I've found that regardless of the scrape, a good reed starts with a good staple. Once in a while you do get a great reed on an average staple, but it's often not a duplicatable thing.
Fairly often, my best staples do not fit my mandrel exactly. Staples that fit my mandrels (several different ones) exactly are often 'so-so'--good, but not great.
Just my 2 cents
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