Author: Dutchy
Date: 2008-12-24 18:02
When I was first getting started, I got so frustrated by constantly either oversoaking (I'd put it in to soak and then go off and do something and forget about it for 30 minutes), or undersoaking (too dry, won't play yet) that I finally went out to Target and got an old-fashioned egg timer. If the reed is "currently in use", IOW, it's already rather damp, then I soak it for no more than one turn (i.e. 3 minutes). And if I just played it last night, IOW it's still extremely damp, then depending on the ambient humidity, sometimes I just dip it in the water and let it sit out for 3 minutes.
If the reed hasn't been "in use", IOW, it's been on the "inactive" list, then I give it two turns (i.e. 6 minutes), or sometimes three turns.
If I let an "active" reed sit longer than that, yes, it swells up too much and becomes quite stuffy, which is annoying. It'll still play, but it doesn't sound very nice.
The only bad effect I've ever noticed from oversoaking, aside from rendering them briefly unplayable, is that they tend to grow a film of bacterial scum (the "glop" or "gunk" that peroxide removes).
I've occasionally totally forgotten about a reed soaking and come back to it the next day, still patiently waiting in its cup, and have noticed no long-term ill effects.
I don't see how playing on a dry reed would affect it at all, let alone ruin it. You're just putting a stick of wood in your mouth, and if it's too dry, it won't flex against the grip of your embouchure--it's just a stick. As long as you're not crunching on it with your teeth, I don't see how putting it in your mouth could damage it.
And as soon as you put it in your mouth, of course, it begins to rehydrate from your saliva.
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