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Re: Cordier reed trimmer?

Author: David Niethamer
Date: 2005-05-27 02:09

>Kalmen Opperman told me that when he learned to make reeds, his teacher >wouldn't let him use a trimmer and forced him to shape the tip on the blank >before beginning to cut the vamp. That certainly forces you to concentrate, >since the slightest slip means you have to throw the reed away. I've seen Kal >start with a blank and make a wonderful finished reed (using only a knife) in >under a minute.

Now this is a real man!!

I shape the tips of my hand made reeds with a piece of sanpaper. I do it after I've made the reed, not before. Once you get the hang of it, it goes pretty quickly, and you can accurately match the curve of the tip rail of your mouthpiece. You can "trim" a reed this way as well.

Although I caused a firestorm on KLARINET when I said it, I'll say it again - every reed trimmer I've ever used crushed the tip of the reed, and changed the playing characteristics of the reed. So I gave up on reed trimmers. The Vandoren one works pretty well, but is very pricey, especially compared with the old sandpaper that I now use!

David
niethamer@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/dbnclar1/index.html

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Cordier reed trimmer? new

Matt Locker

2005-05-26 12:06