 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: kenabbott
Date: 2006-12-31 20:40
Who makes custom made reeds in NYC? Anyone (or is this a silly questions)? I have a oboe mouthpiece that is the shape of a tiny clarinet mouthpiece and takes tiny clarinet reeds. It actually sounds pretty good, but I only have the reed that came with it. The reed is about as wide as an oboe reed (not surprisingly).
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Author: William
Date: 2006-12-31 21:16
Why go to all that trouble--just learn to play an oboe reed. Or is it a case of "I've got the cute little thing and I am going to use it no matter what!!" Have you considered cutting down some of those Ab clarinet reeds being offered on eBay? The cut is probably too long, but it might work. Sorry I can't be of any real help--good luck.
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2007-01-01 14:35
I recall that Paul Cohen, Classical Saxophone prof. at MSM has some antique ones. He might sell them to you for a price.
Mention that I advised you to him- we go way back.
another idea is that you try makeshifting something yourself. I haven't seen one of those mouthpieces for years, but... maybe a Eb cl. or sop. sax reed will work. use a single edged razor and cut off where you need- the reed will split right down the grain very cleanly. then use a dremel to cut the back short enough- or jewelers saw. hack saw, if you are desperate.
But there is likely no one that will really make new reeds for any kind of reasonable price.
-sky gardener
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2007-01-01 16:33
Ken -
I don't think anyone in NYC, or anywhere else, makes hand-made reeds for sale. Tom Ridenour offers hand-finished reeds, http://www.ridenourclarinetproducts.com/eroicapg.html, which I think would be worth trying.
Kalmen Opperman teaches all his students to make reeds using just a knife. He can make a perfect reed in under a minute, but for mere mortals like you and me, it's a long procedure. I'm not sure whether he would accept a student just to learn reedmaking these days, but his students should be able to teach you.
Chuck West at Virginia Commonwealth teaches his students to make reeds using the ReedDuAl. You can email him at the VCU site, and he'll probably give you the names of some of his students in the NYC area.
Robert DiLutis makes a collection of tools that lets you make excellent reeds from tube cane. http://www.frontiernet.net/~reedmach/ They're is very expensive, though. The cane splitter, planer, shaper and profiler are over $1,000. If you start with finished blanks, you can use just the profiler, but that's $550. It's probably worth the cost only for teachers with large studios. However, he can probably put you in touch with teachers who have his equipment.
Finally, there are tools that help you adjust commercial reeds to play quite well, including Ben Armato's Reed Wizard and Tom Ridenour's ATG System.
If you find anyone who sells hand-made reeds, let us know.
Ken Shaw
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Author: cuscoclarinet
Date: 2007-01-02 14:00
Now that's something I've always wondered; why don't clarinetists make thier own reeds? So many double reed players do, and up until the late 1800's it seems many clarinet players did. How come no more?
The expense of the tools would seem a likely candidate, but if more people were doing it wouldn't the price go down? Don't most of us already have knives and trimmers anyway?
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2007-01-02 14:59
as for expence- if more players made their own reeds the price would NOT go down much. double reed making tools are expensive and most dbl reed players make their own reeds.
but the answer is simple. machines can make reeds as good as or better (and faster) than those made by hand. machines still can't make really good double reeds for the masses so those players have no choice but to make their own.
-S
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Author: Tom Piercy
Date: 2007-01-16 16:13
Dear Ken,
I live in NYC and make reeds for myself, my students and some other performers upon request.
Please contact me at my e-mail address.
Tom Piercy
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