Author: RobinDesHautbois
Date: 2012-05-26 19:56
You know, I'm still convinced that each piece of cane wants to be treated differently....
... there's a lot of contention, in short-scrape world, about U versus W in back of the reed. I have found that the W is the natural result of making a good center line and a U results naturally when reducing that line when hard reeds open too much!
Same thing with the V tip and blend, I like to start by making a straight-across steep step for the tip just to get the reed playing the whole range and THEN sweep the corners (of the step) to improve the sound: this makes the V and results in a more curvy blend.
The joke is just recently, with the changing seasons, reeds have changed their character really suddenly. True, I have been using them since last fall, but the change happened too quickly to be a matter of age: they behaved as if they had split. Defining the step (that was lost with the V sweeping) and adding the wire did the trick.... but I expect they'll go wonky again when summer comes for real.
So the "answers" that everyone provides, I think, should be taken in context.
Happy reed hunting!
Robin Tropper
M.A.Sc., B.Mus., B.Ed.
http://RobinDesHautbois.blogspot.ca/music
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