 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2015-01-24 01:47
Well, they'll probably be jet lagged, pale, and develop this urge to use their own car rather than mass transit. No doubt your reeds will ask you for a gym membership.
No.
Phillip. The goal is to make your reeds "feel" as they've never left. At the level of proficiency that your affiliations suggest you should be storing reeds in a humidity controlled environment even when at home.
I don't know when your leaving, but if soon, rather than wait for mail order get to either Weiner, Sam Ash or a cigar shop and get some Rico a.k.a. Boveda 72% humidity packs. Put them in a zip lock bag with your reeds.
If going to Sam Ash White Plains call Josh before for stock.
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Author: maxopf
Date: 2015-01-24 01:49
I'm not sure how the humidity in NY compares to the humidity in LA (I'm guessing LA is probably much drier), but I think it'd be wise to have a variety of reeds that are both softer and harder than the strength you're comfortable with. When I played in the CA all-state band last year, my reeds totally changed between San Diego and Fresno - if I remember correctly, they became too hard, but then when I tried to soften them at the last minute I did a poor job and they became too strident sounding. This year I'll avoid adjusting the softer/harder ones before leaving.
Humidity control can help too, like WhitePlainsDave has suggested.
Post Edited (2015-01-24 01:51)
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2015-01-24 02:49
By all means take harder and softer reeds, and even a Legere or two.
I went hear the Chicago Symphony in Carnegie Hall many years ago, where Clark Brody had terrible intonation problems. Kal Opperman told me that Brody came to see him the next day, complaining that all his reeds were impossibly soft in NYC, even though they were fine in Chicago. Kal fixed up a few for him and advised him (and me) never to travel without some extra reeds harder and softer than what plays well at home.
Ken Shaw
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Author: kdk
Date: 2015-01-24 03:23
WhitePlainsDave wrote:
> I don't know when your leaving, but if soon, rather than wait
> for mail order get to either Weiner, Sam Ash or a cigar shop
> and get some Rico a.k.a. Boveda 72% humidity packs. Put them
> in a zip lock bag with your reeds.
I would add a caveat - storing *all* of your reeds in Ziplocks with humidity packs may be risky if you aren't familiar with how reeds are affected when stored this way.
I am one of very few players on this BB, I guess, who has tried using humidity packs in Ziplocks many times more than once just doesn't like the way the reeds feel after a couple of days. In my experience they get uncomfortably hard in comparison to the way they played before I bagged them, and I've only tried the 56% ones. For me, humidity doesn't seem to be an issue for newer reeds, and older ones revive very reliably if I just wet them longer. They seem, from my point of view, to remain more flexible if allowed to dry between playings.
I am *emphatically not* telling you not to humidify your reeds if you find it useful - only that you shouldn't try it for the first time under the conditions you've described in case your mileage and Dave's (and most others on the BB) turns out to differ. Or, if you don't have the time to try it first, at least hold a few out just in case.
Karl
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Author: tylerleecutts
Date: 2015-01-24 07:31
Get a really good clarinet case! This limits the need to travel with multiple strengths. Get a case that you can get a near-vacuum seal and that has some sort of humidity regulation. The DiLutis reed cases are really good, and I've heard good things about the Vandoren Hygrocase as well.
Other than that, definitely balance and carry some reeds that are harder and softer than you would like, just in case. I would only differ by half of a strength, or if available, a quarter of a strength. So, if you like 3.5+ reeds, it would be better to carry 3.5 and 4 reeds than carrying 3.0 and 4.0 reeds if you like the 3.5.
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