Author: hautbois
Date: 2007-08-16 19:40
From time to time I utilize all of the techniques cited by Cooper and d-oboe (Damon?). In addition, on a few reeds where I am still not getting appropriate vibrations, I take a small chink (placing the knife on the cane, and basically taking a stroke towards the tip which takes depth out of the cane there, but with virtually no length to the stroke) behind the tip (behind and not interfering with the small, somewhat blended hump between the tip and the heart), on both sides of the heart (not the center) without disturbing the hump. Alternatively, I take a short stroke at the very bottom of the heart into the windows on the back, parallel to and on either side of the spine. For this I sometimes hold the reed backwards, and stroke towards the thread. The latter scraping location seems to assist with the continuation of the ring of the sound, while the former seems more to assist with the initiation of the sound. Neither will be of any benefit if the tip of the tip is not thin, and the 'hump' is not blended (the 'hump' being less of a hump and more of a second tip, as referred to in the prior postings), and both will actually be damaging if done to extremes, creating wildness in tone or intonation. Finally, sometimes I try a 'dusting' of the heart -- holding the knife so lightly that it barely removes any scrape, and going over the sensitive center and tip end of the heart. It is amazing how little cane removal there can create a large difference.
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