 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: vboboe
Date: 2008-01-30 05:53
OK, i'm baffled -- i've got this DIY reed sitting around needing a fix, american scrape, mostly satisfactory, robust enough and mostly sweet, not too heavy in lower, warm enough in middle, a bit twangy (not as refined as i'd like) in first octave range, then it trails off noticeably in 2nd octave and altissimo
It's not just my air or thin wall oboe with its characteristic sing-song tone up there, other reeds are more robust up there by comparison, and 2nd 8ve is working OK with other reeds
In neutral embouchure it's averaging maybe 4 clicks flat to start with, it lips up easily once it's warmed up and been working awhile
Suggestions? Where / how do i fix this weak high partial reed to strengthen its upper range?
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Author: cjwright
Date: 2008-01-30 06:28
You're saying other reeds don't have this problem? Are they on the same gouge?
Sounds like maybe the sides of the gouge are a bit too thin, or your shape is a bit to wide. Have you stuck a plaque in the reed, and trimmed the sides of the tip slightly in so that they don't flare out (I don't mean the corners, I mean the actual sides of the tip). Sometimes this helps to prop up the high notes.
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Author: hautbois
Date: 2008-01-30 13:02
The problem may be because of what you identify as the reed's natural tendency to be flat. Whenever you have to lip up a reed, the tone will be thinner, especially in the upper octave.
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Author: Bobo
Date: 2008-01-30 14:13
I use CJ's technique quite often since my shape is a bit on the wide side...my method is to use a super microfine sandpaper sponge made by 3M that I found at Kmart. It comes in a six inch or so square and I cut small one inch squares from it and very lightly buff the side of the tip of my reed so that it curves in at the top. It's amazing how this helps focus the upper register and also can free up some vibration in the tip.
CJ, quick reed question: After how many reeds do you throw away the plaque because the sides get too sharp (from contact with the knife) and start slicing off fibers when the plaque is inserted into the reed?
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Author: cjwright
Date: 2008-01-30 18:46
I don't count the number of reeds, but rather do exactly as you say. When I notice it's a problem, I change plaques.
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Author: vboboe
Date: 2008-01-31 04:42
<<You're saying other reeds don't have this problem? Are they on the same gouge?>>
... i'm using only glotin standard ready-to-tie, what gouge do they use?
<<Sounds like maybe the sides of the gouge are a bit too thin, or your shape is a bit to wide>>
... OK, after looking a lot closer i see one quadrant of the heart is thinner than the other three, and over the rail, so that's thinned that side, from the top anyway (not the gouge itself)
<<Have you ... trimmed the sides of the tip slightly in so that they don't flare out (I don't mean the corners, I mean the actual sides of the tip). Sometimes this helps to prop up the high notes>> and <<very lightly buff the side of the tip of my reed so that it curves in at the top. It's amazing how this helps focus the upper register and also can free up some vibration in the tip>>
... OK, so that's good to know, i've sometimes done that because (ahem) sometimes scraping frays tip sides a bit, but didn't know it had more use to it than cosmetic value (there's a lot of stuff to know about american scrape reeds!)
<<The problem may be because of what you identify as the reed's natural tendency to be flat>>
OK, it's not quite 71mm, could clip the tip a micro sliver to sharpen it up
thanks, i'll give these ideas a go
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Author: hautbois
Date: 2008-01-31 13:50
In addressing what to do about a flat reed, consider whether it is flat but stable, or if it is unstable in pitch as well. If it is stable, clipping the tip might be sufficient; you would then be able to use a more open embouchure in the upper octave and be more likely to produce a fuller tone there. If it is not stable, then try overlapping the blades, or increasing the overlap if they already are overlapped. This will raise the pitch as well as increase the stability. But it may also take a little vibrancy from the reed, often requiring some additional judicious scraping. (Sometimes I also carefully trim off some of the excess overlapped cane to reduce the numbing effect too much overlapped non-vibrating cane can have on the vibrations of the reed.) Then, if the reed is stable but still flat, the tip can be trimmed.
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