 The Oboe BBoard
|
Author: jhoyla
Date: 2013-01-13 06:35
Hi everyone,
I recently bought a lot of gouged, hard cane - and it is harder than any cane I have used for many a year. Of the ten pieces I started processing, two pieces cracked during shaping (when tightening the jaws) and now the first reed I scraped cracked while I was playing it in (I was a bit aggressive in squeezing it down).
Before I attack seven more blanks with a knife - what advice can anyone give me?
J.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: HautboisJJ
Date: 2013-01-13 14:11
Not sure whether this is constructive at all, but i find that with this kind of cane (which can be VERY good), it is better to simmer them in water NOT more than 20 minutes before shaping and tying. I am not sure why but they seem to crack easier if you over soak. Soft cane is easier to work with but never produces the excellent quality of a dense piece of cane, which by the way should sink faster as well (hard does not equal dense... and we need dense AND hard). Do everything with care, it will be worth it!
Regards,
Howard
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: GoodWinds ★2017
Date: 2013-01-13 19:37
I love dense cane, so if you decide you don't want it, think of me!
Secrets for working it? Soak adequately (I won't venture to name the number of minutes) and do the first wrap or two quite s l o w l y. Make sure the seal is good, slip the blades only if you have to.
Shave the cane over several episodes (i.e. don't try to finish the reed in 1 or even 2 sessions) and adjust incrementally.
I am NOT a professional reed-maker but I sure love the sport.
GoodWinds
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: jhoyla
Date: 2013-01-14 10:40
I've become very lackadaisical with my reedmaking with the softer cane I have been using for the last year or so - tying rapidly, going from blank to completed reed in one session the next day. The reeds were okay and had a useful life of a couple of hours :-(
I am going to take it much more slowly, now that I have decent cane. Thanks for the advice!!
J.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: JRC
Date: 2013-01-14 12:45
Completing a reed in one session have never happened even once in my over 50 years of making reeds. Perhaps I am not as talented as an average reed maker.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: jhoyla
Date: 2013-01-14 13:55
Sorry - I exaggerate. I get the reed to be playable in one sitting, but not completed! I have to adjust it while playing it in over the next few days, often quite extensively and sometimes even during a performance (in the orchestra pit).
I don't consider myself to be a better than average reed-maker, either..
J.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: GoodWinds ★2017
Date: 2013-01-14 15:22
I'm a very good reed maker but I have to TAKE TIME and do a lot of breaking in. My reeds last a very long time, though, so I consider the investment worthwhile. I've experimented with different kinds of cane over the past 35 years but always come back to the kind I started with, it seems to work best for me.
Others on this board have advised that you find what works and eliminate all other variables if you can. That is helpful. Once in awhile I will buy a 'pro' reed crafted by a pro reed maker, that is how I continue to learn.
But there will ALWAYS be variables: weather (yeah, we all know about that one!), the type of instrument you play and its condition, your own unique ideal of sound, the kind of music you play, etc etc
Let us know how you get on.
GoodWinds
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: huboboe
Date: 2013-01-14 20:30
I don't know about simmering cane - never tried it but it seems extreme - but i like to soak cane in the hottest water I can get from the tap. Then just before shaping or wrapping I refresh the hot water and let the cane warm for a couple of minutes.
When you let your reeds sit overnight before adjusting them, the cane dries out. You can fold time and speed the process by parking your reed next to the bulb of your reed lamp, where it is nice and warm. The reed will dry out thoroughly in 10 - 15 minutes and can be treated as if it's the next day.
I learned this trick from a colleague named Bob O'Boyle from (I think) the Chicago area. If any of you know where Bob is these days please let me know or give him my email addy. Thanks...
Robert Hubbard
WestwindDoubleReed.com
1-888-579-6020
bob@westwinddoublereed.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: mschmidt
Date: 2013-01-15 02:33
Just goes to prove my favorite axiom: when talking about oboe reeds, as soon as you figure out the ONE THING that you must NEVER DO, somebody comes along and tells you it works great and that you should do it more often....
Mike
Still an Amateur, but not really middle-aged anymore
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: GoodWinds ★2017
Date: 2013-01-15 05:34
I sort of noticed that too, Mike! That's why I try to avoid making 'rules', and share what works for ME.
I've never tried 'simmering' cane -- will stop at 'just barely warm' because frankly, I'm afraid of extreme temperatures when it comes to any sort of plant life. Alive or dead.
Some day I might try it...
GoodWinds
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: huboboe
Date: 2013-01-16 23:04
Boy, I couldn't agree more, Mary - the world is full of people who confuse what works for them with Truth. Anything I day or have said on this forum comes with the caveat that it is what works for me. Though I've been doing it and teaching it for a long time, there are certainly other ways do do most anything.
Robert Hubbard
WestwindDoubleReed.com
1-888-579-6020
bob@westwinddoublereed.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
