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 Artie Shaw and Plastic Reeds
Author: CWH 
Date:   2008-03-25 20:04

I’m going to toss this question out there and see if anyone just might have an answer or information that can help me. I have been reading quite a bit about Artie Shaw and recently came across an interview that Dr. Fredie Pacheco did with the maestro some time ago. The substance of this interview can be read in “Who is Artie Shaw…and why is he following me?”
None the less Artie talks about using “plastic reeds”, here in lies the question. Does anyone know what reeds he may be speaking of or what manufacture was producing “plastic reeds” back in the 40”s? In advance, thank you for any information on this topic.

Study, Practice, Play and Enjoy.

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 Re: Artie Shaw and Plastic Reeds
Author: BobD 
Date:   2008-03-25 20:13

In the early '40s all you could get was plastic reeds due to the War. They were solid white. Don't know the maker. I doubt that Artie had much good to say about them....I certainly don't.

Bob Draznik

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 Re: Artie Shaw and Plastic Reeds
Author: GBK 
Date:   2008-03-25 20:26

In the '40s Artie Shaw used a plastic "Enduro" reed.

Artie Shaw often endorsed Brilhardt products. (mouthpieces, reeds)

"Enduro" reeds were manufactured by Brilhardt...GBK

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 Re: Artie Shaw and Plastic Reeds
Author: Don Berger 
Date:   2008-03-25 20:58

I went to work in 1941 in a [later] plastics-maker's R&D, Phillips Pet Co, OK, and except for high pressure polyethylene and Bakelite, the major plastics were DuPont's nylon and acrylic polymers, polymethylmethacrylate etc, so I'd guess the Enduro reeds were of the latter. I vaguely recall the white plastics, I prob. tried some but stayed with cane Vibrators. Help? Don

Thanx, Mark, Don

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 Re: Artie Shaw and Plastic Reeds
Author: 53engine 
Date:   2008-03-25 21:42

Maccaferri, the only polymer they could get was white nylon and they made reeds and mouthpieces out of it but people thought that the white mouthpieces were wierd looking on their horns so they never did sell many. I sold a ton of them for alto and tenor sax and clarinet on ebay, the ligature was fitted into a groove in the mouthpiece. Cool deal.

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 Re: Artie Shaw and Plastic Reeds
Author: BobD 
Date:   2008-03-25 23:47

Or, it's possible that the white reeds were made of Melamine? I certainly don't know for sure but I do recall that everybody's were quite beat up. I'm trying to recall the popular tradename of poly methyl methacrylate. Pet Co. was, as I recall a milk processor and so the possibility of the reeds being made from a casein based plastic is possible. Oh, how we hated those white reeds.

Bob Draznik

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 Re: Artie Shaw and Plastic Reeds
Author: Bill G 
Date:   2008-03-26 02:32

During the 40's I played an Enduro bass clarinet reed on my tenor sax, and it played better than anything else available. It had one outstanding virtue: It was uniformly bad--responsive but raucous.

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