Author: Dutchy
Date: 2009-01-01 22:47
I've found that the reed leaks if the wire is tightened too much. Like I said, it's miniscule tweaks we're talking about here.
I've used wire a lot on both factory and handmade reeds that arrive too closed-up for my embouchure. It's hard to know what "medium", "medium-soft", etc. mean to different reedmakers, so I've salvaged a number of reeds that way. And for some reason, about half of Fox Medium Artist reeds work better for me from the get-go if they're wired.
I've been rinsing my reeds out afterwards not only with water, but also with several good squirts of 90% rubbing alcohol, on the theory that you're going to have bacterial colonies growing on the reed, since you have bacterial colonies growing in your mouth, and it stands to reason that they're going to transfer to the reed. And bacterial waste products are acidic. And anything acidic is going to be breaking down the cellulose.
So, assuming that I can kill most of the bacteria with 90% rubbing alcohol before I put the reed away, I should have reeds that last longer.
I'll get back to you in five years or so. ![[grin]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie5.gif)
|
|
The Oboe BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
