 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2020-01-07 18:27
Hi,
I got one of these for my Christmas, and just now finally plucked up the courage to try it and it was really good.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vandoren-RR200-Glass-Resurfacer-Stick/dp/B0002CZRJ0
I had a reed that was just a bit too hard and I rubbed the flat surface on the flat of glass (except not the tip) and I rubbed the curved side of the reed, very inexpertly, with the glass stick (again not the tip). The reed was just that little bit softer afterwards and it meant I could use it instead of having to throw it away. Seems like a good thing, especially for those of us who are very new to reed adjusting.
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2020-01-07 20:19
Never throw reeds away unless there is nothing left of it. Even a tip broken off can be used for experimentation.
Like Michelangelo said, there is a masterpiece in every stone if you remove all that is not needed. Old reeds are good for practice and experimentation. Make a place to have sorted reeds in various conditions and use them later for your reed education.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-01-07 22:44
I wouldn't go so far as to say you can salvage any reed. There are fibers that are regular.....or they are not. Also, if the fibers are in some way mutilated (as in a worn out reed) you will drive yourself crazy trying to get it to play properly. And none of that experience will help you with a good piece of cane.
But you can make Etsy projects out them.
..................Paul Aviles
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2020-01-08 13:23
Hi Paul,
Thanks, yes, I kind of realised what the limitations were when I looked with my microscope. I figure that if there is a very strong vein right up one side of a reed and nothing comparable up the other side then I'm fighting a losing battle. It's nice to have a go though. :-)
Ta!
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Author: dorjepismo ★2017
Date: 2020-01-08 18:11
I use the reed stick regularly. It's sort of like rush, but doesn't disintegrate or start smelling bad. The surface wears down a little after you use it for a couple weeks, so it takes less off the reed, but that's probably a good thing. I only ever use the beveled part on the tip. The resurfacer is okay, but sandpaper on glass is more convenient and seems to work better if you're at home.
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2020-01-14 17:20
I think that maybe this reed resurfacer is harder to use right than I thought. After I worked on my reed I proudly went to my lesson and gave the most murderously rubbish performance ever. I think I accidently sanded the reed to extinction, and I didn't even do that much to it.
I will sand a bit less next time. :-)
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2020-01-14 18:06
Good learning experience! When a reed at least plays, I always just improve it a bit, then play on it a lot before 'improving it a bit more'.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2020-01-14 18:54
SunnyDaze wrote:
> After I worked on my reed I proudly went to my
> lesson and gave the most murderously rubbish performance ever.
> I think I accidently sanded the reed to extinction, and I
> didn't even do that much to it.
That may be a separate problem. As the reed gets more and more soaked, it's vibrating qualities change. If you make adjustments to a new reed that's absorbing a lot of water, it can easily turn out to be too soft the next day, at least until it reaches the same point of saturation. So, as Ken suggests, you're better off doing a little at a time and not going for perfection all at once.
Karl
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Author: dorjepismo ★2017
Date: 2020-01-14 21:40
Both the wand and the sanding surface take a lot off until they've been used a bit. Then, the glass wears down and they remove material more slowly.
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2020-01-15 01:41
Thanks, I didn't realise about it absorbing water, though of course it makes perfect sense now I think about it. I'll just do a little each day in future, and watch for the wand and sanding surface wearing down.
btw, is it the done thing to say thank you for advice on this board? I got told off for saying thank you by email the other day, by someone who apparently doesn't have time for that. I was very surprised. :-)
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2020-01-15 02:33
>>I got told off for saying thank you???
Whoever it was needs to be told off!!
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Author: kdk
Date: 2020-01-15 03:20
Whoever it was must have been having a bad day (or week).
Karl
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2020-01-15 11:36
Thanks, I'm so glad you think that. I like saying thank you when people have helped. :-)
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2020-08-15 21:23
Hi,
I have bought a copy of "Handbook for making and adjusting single reeds" by Kalmen Opperman, and have been trying the advice in with my vandoren glass Resurfacer kit.
It seems to have worked very well. I just adjusted a 3 strength Vandoren V12 reed. At the start it was too hard to play and by the end I could play it well through all the registers right up to D6. I just sanded the flat side a bit all over and then took a little bit off the shoulders so that the low registers would play more freely. I avoided taking anything off the tip because I wanted the high registers to sound easily and really ring. It seems to have worked (so far, touch wood).
I think maybe for people who are starting out at adjusting reeds like me then this book and the vandoren Glass Reed Resurfacer might be a good place to start.
Jen
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Author: kdk
Date: 2020-08-15 21:46
SunnyDaze wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have bought a copy of "Handbook for making and adjusting
> single reeds" by Kalmen Opperman, and have been trying the
> advice in with my vandoren glass Resurfacer kit.
>
> I think maybe for people who are starting out at adjusting
> reeds like me then this book and the vandoren Glass Reed
> Resurfacer might be a good place to start.
You always should keep in mind that ultimately it isn't the tool or even the technique you use that matters so much as where you remove cane and how much. Anthony Gigliotti used reed rush for all of his adjustments. He used a knife only to cut the bark straight across ("file-cut" or "French-cut") when availability issues with Vandoren forced him to use other reeds. One of his students (Eddie Marks) with whom I studied for a couple of months, only used a reed knife (without taking the reed off the mouthpiece). I know players today who use the Vandoren stick, a Reed Geek, files, the Ridenour ATG block, a knife, and even, still, rush. Brad Behn has one video on YouTube in which he uses a thin strip of sandpaper near the tip and both a knife and a Geek for work farther down the vamp and a file along the edge of the bark.
The point is that reed balancing is a matter of applying whatever technique and tool is most comfortable (and, hopefully, effective) to shape the reed in a way that allows you to produce your best performance.
Karl
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Author: Luuk ★2017
Date: 2020-08-19 13:50
Just another add-on to this older thread: my experience with the Vandoren glass (both plate and stick) is not that its surface wears down, but that is becomes 'blocked' with reed powder.
I clean the glass now and then with water, using an old toothbrush and it works as new again.
Regards,
Luuk
Philips Symphonic Band
The Netherlands
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2020-08-21 16:21
Hi Luuk,
Thanks, that's a great tip. I had wondered how I should clean it.
Jen
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