What container do you soak your reeds in?

[David Dorning]

Join me in a glass of brown vodka to celebrate but remember-dont eat the yellow snow.

“Dreamed I was an Eskimo” – thank you the great FZ!

I don’t give reeds a prolonged soak to start off with, just keep them longer in my mouth when they are new to get them good and wet. When I finish playing I rub the flat side on a piece of plate glass (can’t remember where I picked up that tip but I think it’s common practice) and put them to dry in their plastic case. They certainly get noticeably smoother and feel more glassy on the bottom surface after a few days, which must be good for close contact with the mp. I suspect what is happening is that some of the smaller molecular components of the cane are gradually loosened and leached out, and then get rubbed up and “set” on the flat surface against the glass, filling the micro gaps in the cane like a thin layer of polish. It all holds together by hydrogen bonding (the chemistry that happens when water-soluble stuff dries out and sticks together). This will probably consolidate the reed surface and make it just a bit more rigid and responsive - they do seem to play better after a few days. Maybe also explains why reeds can go off if too wet – the hydrogen bonding gets disrupted and it all goes a bit floppy? For what it’s worth I also polish my mp faces on a very fine Japanese water stone then a leather strop to get rid of all machining marks. I tried it first on cheap mps before doing my YAM 4Cs. No idea if it improves them but certainly it didn’t make them any worse, and the faces and rails are now all very flat and shiny and compatible with those polished reeds.

 

[Jamesmac]

“Dreamed I was an Eskimo” – thank you the great FZ!

I don’t give reeds a prolonged soak to start off with, just keep them longer in my mouth when they are new to get them good and wet. When I finish playing I rub the flat side on a piece of plate glass (can’t remember where I picked up that tip but I think it’s common practice) and put them to dry in their plastic case. They certainly get noticeably smoother and feel more glassy on the bottom surface after a few days, which must be good for close contact with the mp. I suspect what is happening is that some of the smaller molecular components of the cane are gradually loosened and leached out, and then get rubbed up and “set” on the flat surface against the glass, filling the micro gaps in the cane like a thin layer of polish. It all holds together by hydrogen bonding (the chemistry that happens when water-soluble stuff dries out and sticks together). This will probably consolidate the reed surface and make it just a bit more rigid and responsive - they do seem to play better after a few days. Maybe also explains why reeds can go off if too wet – the hydrogen bonding gets disrupted and it all goes a bit floppy? For what it’s worth I also polish my mp faces on a very fine Japanese water stone then a leather strop to get rid of all machining marks. I tried it first on cheap mps before doing my YAM 4Cs. No idea if it improves them but certainly it didn’t make them any worse, and the faces and rails are now all very flat and shiny and compatible with those polished reeds.

I've never heard of the rubbing glass. But rubbing the back of the reed on newspaper works. The newspaper print works as a mild abrasive.

 

[David Dorning]

I've never heard of the rubbing glass. But rubbing the back of the reed on newspaper works. The newspaper print works as a mild abrasive.

Yes, a two-part process - the abrasive takes down the peaks and rubbing fills the troughs with the residue.

 

[jbtsax]

I have always rubbed the backs of reeds on a stiff good quality paper like the inside cover of a method book placed on top of a perfectly flat surface like a glass or formica counter top. Rubbing with increasing pressure eventually causes a clicking sound. At this point you find the back of the reed has been polished to a smooth and shiny surface that water beads and rolls off. This needs to be repeated from time to time as the fibers take on moisture and expand.