 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: BGBG
Date: 2016-01-09 03:58
Can anyone suggest way of marking reeds with initial date, and number that does not smear when wet?
I have tried pencil, Sharpie Fine Point & Ultra Fine Point, and Paper Mate Flair M and all smear the first time wetted, a few unreadable. I tried the flat side which was worse. The bark side is a litle better. What to use and which side to mark?
Maybe even how to try and clean off the smeared.
And perhaps just write on the curved bark side?
Post Edited (2016-01-09 04:11)
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2016-01-09 04:24
permanent marker pen works fine for me.
Are you totally soaking your reeds or just wetting the vamp?
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Author: kellid
Date: 2016-01-09 06:27
I use a finetip sharpie and mark the end. That way I can see it when on the mouthpiece and in the reedholder without taking them out. It's easier on my bass reeds, neat writing helps too.
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Author: BGBG
Date: 2016-01-09 07:11
I think the trouble is I was writing on the back with fine or ultra fine sharpie. . I may try soaking in peroxide to see if it gets the smeared writing off but I guess it doesnt harm anything.
I soak in water about 2-5 minutes about 7/8" deep from tip toward end in a little bottle before play. Seems to help. 2.5 to 3 reeds strength.
Then I rub down vamp and polish the back on paper or back of a clipboard. Probably what wets and smears the back.
Just thought I would see what others do.
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Author: fskelley
Date: 2016-01-09 09:04
Keep a chart somewhere with the details of a reed's life- date of first use, how many days you've played it, etc. Then all you need on the reed itself is a code number. I started with 1A 1B 1C... and a few years later I'm up to 7H or something like that. Eventually I will get to 3 characters, but I will not play clarinet long enough to get to 4 characters.
It is difficult enough to keep the code number on my reeds readable, I occasionally have to refresh a number or letter with my black Sharpie (medium not fine point). I cannot imagine trying to write dates and such on the reeds.
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
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Author: Gregory Williams
Date: 2016-01-09 09:46
Try the Pilot Precise V5 (Extra Fine) Rolling Ball
It might smear a tiny bit.
Careful though, it darkens the sound somewhat!
But seriously, I find this works pretty well. I write just above the bark. That way, my colleagues can see just how long I've been playing on the same mediocre reed.
Greg Williams
Minnesota Orchestra
#TeamPILOTpreciseEXTRAfine
Post Edited (2016-01-09 09:51)
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Author: BGBG
Date: 2016-01-09 10:07
I am now using a small piece of Duck Label Tape on the bark side below the vamp, (not on the cut), and a Sharpie Fine Point with just a reed number. Writing on flat side just does not work for me. Also began a reed tracking notebook with history of each reed start to finish.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2016-01-09 14:36
Get a fine laundry marker. Nothing on this earth will shift them.
Tony F.
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2016-01-09 21:36
I use a Sharpie. More important, as Norman alluded to, I subscribe to, and I think Ed Palanker preaches, a reed should not be exposed to liquids beyond the level which vibrates--the "business end" if you will--say the lower half of the reed.
I think (but am not sure) the philosophy here is "why introduced the base of the reed to a medium which can't help it, and might hurt it."
Your concerns over exposure to Hydrogen Peroxide, if for sterility sake are noted. I've never had need to do this despite keeping my reeds in constant humidity, where bacteria can thrive. It you believe H2O2 to prolong reed life, again, I would think that whatever causal agent is at work here would only apply to the business end of the reed anyway.
I do first wet, and rinse off reeds after play in regular tap water though to keep the destructive properties of saliva, not to mention bacteria in my mouth, at bay.
(satire)
Stan---rumor has it, and from your discussions of same, that the nomenclature you write on reeds is so cryptic and detailed that the NSA seeks to pattern it for nuclear launch codes!!! Intellectually superior aliens, and future musical archaeologists/archivists will write white papers seeking to offer theories interpreting its meaning! Personally, I suspect future life forms will view it to have meaning akin to the Mayan calendar! (Maybe it does!) ![[wink]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie3.gif)
I kid Stan...you're a good sport and if it works for you...then so be it.
Post Edited (2016-01-09 21:38)
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Author: rdc
Date: 2016-01-10 01:13
For what it's worth, I use an ultra fine point Sharpie on the curved bark of the reed. Before marking, I take the time to file a flat area in the center of the bark near the heel of the reed to mark on. I found that if I wrote on the shiny bark, the ink would smear, but haven't had any problem on the flat area I create (I don't wet the bark area of the reed).
I use a four digit number. The first two digits are the month (01, 02, 11, 12, etc) and the last two digits represent the number of reed started in that month. For example, the final reed for December was numbered 1207, and I have started breaking in the first new reed of the year, number 0101. For me, by the time the same month comes back around, reeds numbered in that month from the previous year are long gone.
R. Chest
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