 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ryder
Date: 2008-04-05 05:03
Does anyone know of some place or person I can possibly get some vintage/aged reeds? I want to see what the fuss is about. What characteristics do aged reeds generally have?
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2008-04-05 16:23
>>What characteristics do aged reeds generally have?
>>
They're old?
But seriously--that comment is less facetious than it probably looks. The characteristics of old reeds vary, depending on why they're old and how they were stored while they got old. If they're old because they got such a well-deserved reputation for being bad that everybody quit buying them, then it's almost a certainty that they're at least as bad now as they were when fresh. Mere age can't turn a bad reed into a good one. Age won't re-cut a sloppy manufacturing job or straighten out wavy-grained cane or make rough or irregularly-grained cane smooth and even, for instance.
The best bass sax reeds I ever played had been sitting in a store since
the guy who used to buy them (for the same sax I now own) quit playing, at least a decade earlier. I also bought some excellent Vandorens for alto clarinet years after the company discontinued the purple plastic box. Apparently the stray purple box had fallen behind something, in a local music store. The employee who found them said he didn't like to throw them out, but didn't feel comfortable selling anything quite that obsolete, either. He showed them to me because he knew I hardly own anything that isn't obsolete! So, let your local store know that if they find "new old stock," you'll be happy to help them get rid of it!
Even so--Maybe sometimes age can turn a good reed into a better one, but having played on quite a lot of "new old stock" reeds I've found with used clarinets I've bought, I'm skeptical that ageing more than a year or two does any good. I got lucky with those bass sax and alto clarinet reeds, but those two experiences stand out in my mind because they're rare. Most of the new-in-the-box but very old reeds I've found in cases with used instruments have turned out to be unplayable.
My experience with playable reeds aged more than a decade, including those superb bass sax reeds (which were "plain old Ricos," btw--I don't use those on any other instrument but after some experimentation they're all I buy for bass sax now), is that they may play extremely well at first, but they don't last as many hours as more recently-made reeds. That's the only generalization I feel comfortable making about long-aged reeds. The geriatric reeds that play well are brittle, more easily damaged when putting them on and taking them off the mouthpiece. Also, when they fail, they seem more likely to disintegrate all at once--splits, multiple tip chips, etc. appear suddenly. I've had good but very old reeds become unusable within the space of half an hour. Anyone who uses an elderly reed in a concert had better have a backup ready for a quickie replacement.
I suspect I'm getting these results because the reeds that played well for me had aged in dry storage. Moist storage may be good for reeds we're using regularly right now, but for long storage, moisture is a disaster. I've bought quite a few old instruments sold with vintage reeds subjected to damp storage conditions. Yuck. If you buy from a remote location, try to make sure first that you're not buying a nice packet of mold and mildew specimens.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: skennedy
Date: 2008-04-05 22:21
I bought a box of Vandoren A.Sax reeds in a purple cardboard box about thirty years ago. The box looked as if it had come from the early 60's or before. They played great the first and maybe the second time I tried them. I remember them because they were soooo good. The next time I tried them they were no good---nothing but squeaks.
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2008-04-06 11:23
For long term storage I want the reeds very dry so as not to get mold or mildew.
The Vitalizer I use for my active reeds, and it makes a big difference. Though I'm an artist for them, I would call a product bad if it were. The bag seems to last about a year, so I suggest using the Vitalizer Reed case instead. As I have a custom reed case, I use the bag and put the case in the bag. Cigar stores sell the bags also, but are under another brand and the humidity is @ 69%.
Good thing about that is that you can get a larger bag than what is currently from Rico.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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