Author: vboboe
Date: 2008-04-15 07:06
... interesting question, so many interesting differences in procedure!
my life's schedule defines and limits time available to do reeds, so i've divvied up the job into two main stages -- tying on & roughing in, and cutting & finishing & blowing in a new reed
i have a 10 reed case for blanks, when it's full i cut a new reed once a week until 3-4 spaces are vacant, then shuffle up the remaining blanks and add new tied wet ones, i find the skin on my thumb gets too chafed and tender guiding the thread after about 4 ties, so i usually tie 3-3-4 to finish a bundle of 10 pieces over several weekends. I usually pre-soak over-night and take an hour+ to tie and rough in blanks first thing early in the morning
While the cane is still wet from tying, it's too wet to make a playable reed, so i just do the rough-in work by measuring and defining the apex and debarking the tip down to middle wood (shiny bark & white tissue layer off), and the very tip from 70mm to fold is usually thinned a bit more than that so there's room for it to open up more readily while drying -- i do not cut off the fold at this stage -- and i also define the catches and debark the back windows in two narrow strips down to mid bark. Bark is left on everywhere else. Then i put it away in blank case, it dries out and waits its turn for finishing
when cutting a new reed, i soak just long enough to make it workable, and thin it to a flattish C, the cutting takes maybe as much as half-hour, then blow it during practice for roughly another half an hour (or more accurately, until its wild voice is tamed to a sweeter sound and doesn't back-chat at me no more!) then put it away for tomorrow's practice, some more blowing in, usually needs a bit more dusting here and there on 2nd and maybe 3rd day, until it settles down as the reed it can be by the end of the week, and by then it's tuned up as well
i usually thin the tip until the fibres begin separating by themselves, then i clip the fold at 72mm, then insert the plaque to scrape on
after cutting, 'best' reeds turnover the 3 in my oboe case which i use in band rehearsals (and mini-concert coming up soon), the so-so reeds turnover my daily home practice reeds
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