Reeds ATG system

[Jazzaferri]

I got my ATG system a week ago and was amazed at how easy it is to make blech reeds sound good.

today after spending some time most days on learning how to test reeds i got one cane just about perfectly balanced and my signature as perfectly balanced as I am capable of detecting at this stage.

what I am completely mind boggled by is how little has to come off before detectable changed happen

 

[rhysonsax]

I've heard other people say this system is really good, but think it is quite hard to get in the UK. How did you get hold of it and how much does it cost ?

Rhys

 

[daveysaxboy]

Buy reeds,whack them on till 1 works.Quick check through all to see if theres good/bad.Put good in box,crap 1's in my draw.Total time spent,about 10 minutes then i go practice loads.Thats my system and always will be.Lifes rather short to be sitting messing about with a tiny piece of wood when i can better improve my overall playing by ??? yes playing my sax.

 

[sushidushi]

I've heard other people say this system is really good, but think it is quite hard to get in the UK. How did you get hold of it and how much does it cost ?

Rhys

Here is a link to the ATG system on Music123, an online retailer in the USA (and where my saxophone came from, indeed).

The cost from there is $80, so about fifty quid, though they don't ship that product to Blighty.

http://www.music123.com/woodwinds/ridenour-professional-atg-reed-finishing-system

 

[daveysaxboy]

Forgot to mention also the more time you spend playing the sax you WILL get more reeds to work per box as your good old chops are much stronger so all the time people sit messing about with the many magic reed systems there poor old chops are getting weaker.Its a simple method that really works.

 

[c9off]

I would like to purchase but feel that it just doesn't give 'reasonable' value for money as by the time it pops through the door it is likely to cost about £80+

He sells directly on Ebay (although not currently) at $115 delivered, which would normally incur possibly duty but almost certainly VAT & clearance charges

I made a best offer of $50 which he declined, counter offered $60, later found out that he previously accepted $51 to another ebayer! (50 items offered for sale so plenty of stock...

anyone fancy a group purchase?

 

[daveysaxboy]

I would like to purchase but feel that it just doesn't give 'reasonable' value for money as by the time it pops through the door it is likely to cost about £80+

He sells directly on Ebay (although not currently) at $115 delivered, which would normally incur possibly duty but almost certainly VAT & clearance charges

I made a best offer of $50 which he declined, counter offered $60, later found out that he accepted $51!

anyone fancy a group purchase?

So i see my words of wisdom failed.Thats alot of reeds for £80.00.Wonder how many reeds you would make worse doing this magic method ? there would be alot i would think.

 

[sushidushi]

I can't ever see myself getting one, but hobbies can be rather addictive, as most of us can attest! It isn't necessarily just about cost, and most people will have times when playing is far too antisocial (especially the way I play, but a detached house helps) and I can see that it could be rather good fun and give a sense of achievement to bring a dead reed back to life.

 

[daveysaxboy]

I can't ever see myself getting one, but hobbies can be rather addictive, as most of us can attest! It isn't necessarily just about cost, and most people will have times when playing is far too antisocial (especially the way I play, but a detached house helps) and I can see that it could be rather good fun and give a sense of achievement to bring a dead reed back to life.

Or a good sense of achievement could be spent learning a nice Charlie Parker lick.Each person has his,her own set daily thing but as you hear its nots my bag.In over 25 years i could count the times i've tryed messing about with reeds and evertime was a waste for me.I noticed a few reeds came alive but soon died very fast.I've never owned a reed clipper or reed rush in my life and wont.Tryed cutting a tiny piece of the tip a few times on hard reeds but no good.I have to admit though for me the Rico jazz select reeds are by far the most consistent reed i ever had.I also like Rigotti gold reeds.Strange thing is also that any Vandoren reed and me dont go.If i get a box of 5 RJS tenor reeds nearly every time 4 will work great and the 5th 1 waits to mature and nearly every time after a while sitting about the 5th reed will work.Again its what suits you sir so to speak.

 

[Di in France]

Buy reeds,whack them on till 1 works.Quick check through all to see if theres good/bad.Put good in box,crap 1's in my draw.Total time spent,about 10 minutes then i go practice loads.Thats my system and always will be.Lifes rather short to be sitting messing about with a tiny piece of wood when i can better improve my overall playing by ??? yes playing my sax.

I understand what you're saying, but surely you can do both. Reeds are very expensive and there are a lot of duff reeds lying around which can be used with a little bit of adjustment. Just sayin ;}

 

[daveysaxboy]

I understand what you're saying, but surely you can do both. Reeds are very expensive and there are a lot of duff reeds lying around which can be used with a little bit of adjustment. Just sayin ;}

You can do what you want ,i do;} i did say each to there own and what suits you sir and everyone has his,her own daily thing.Go and knock yourself dizzy sanding down reeds and i'll keep doing my daily,monthly,yearly practice 🙂))🙂))🙂))

 

[sushidushi]

All very true, of course, but reed fiddling could be a late night activity and not necessarily get in the way of practice.

Is there any logical reason why keeping a reed in a drawer might improve it? Something like humidity or something? I tend to do much the same thing, but then I don't play in any way consistently, so any changes might be more to do with me than with the reed.

 

[daveysaxboy]

All very true, of course, but reed fiddling could be a late night activity and not necessarily get in the way of practice.

Is there any logical reason why keeping a reed in a drawer might improve it? Something like humidity or something. I tend to do much the same thing, but then.I don't play in any way consistently, so any changes might be more to do with me than with the reed.

But you need to check how your efforts are changing the dudd reed.A couple of rubs here or there and you could go to far and then the reeds past hope i would think so if you mean late night in not being able to blow then thats out the window.I've found that some reeds mature over time.After all its wood.If i'm low on reeds i check in the draw and the older reeds get a quick soak for a few minutes and a lot of them at times seem to have a 2nd live.I've heard alot of guys say the same thing.Not got any written facts about it but hey it works for me.In the end reeds are any sax players nightmare but mine are alot less after i went to RJS years ago.I loved La Voz for years but they were very hit and miss.

 

[Colin the Bear]

I haven't had a duff reed for years. I use the vandoren classic blue and all ten in a box play. I tried some chinese white crane and they all worked too on tenor and alto.

I do clip them as they go off. Some will clip only once and some will clip three times. I do use a close mouthpiece and maybe this has something to do with my reed experience. I don't know how folk play a wide mouthpiece.

I think the price of reeds, especily tenor and baritone will lead to some folk experimenting and good luck to them.

Whatever works for you.

 

[altissimo]

there's a bit here on reed scraping, as well a lot of other info on Joe Allard -
http://davidvaldez.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/joe-allard-saxophone-method-unveiled_21.html
I liked this quote of his -
"If you're working in a pit where the conductor won't let you read a book, one thing you can do is scrape reeds. The conductor thinks you're working on reeds to play for him. It's a great excuse - that's when I worked on my reeds" - http://www.joeallard.org/pedagogy.html

 

[Jazzaferri]

Like the inventor of the ATG Tom Ridenour who is a superb clarinetist, I play with a very loose embouchure to allow the reed to vibrate to its fullest extent. A la Joe Allard, Dave Leibman, Jerry Bergonzi to name a few of the sax players I know for sure do the same.

I am lucky to find one reed in several boxes that doesn't require some level of increased embouchure pressure to play properly.
As it takes about 2 - 3 minutes to test and adjust the reed to the point where it works well I don't find the time to be an issue. After a day or two I will likely give it a further tweak

 

[Jazzaferri]

But you need to check how your efforts are changing the dudd reed.A couple of rubs here or there and you could go to far and then the reeds past hope i would think so if you mean late night in not being able to blow then thats out the window.I've found that some reeds mature over time.After all its wood.If i'm low on reeds i check in the draw and the older reeds get a quick soak for a few minutes and a lot of them at times seem to have a 2nd live.I've heard alot of guys say the same thing.Not got any written facts about it but hey it works for me.In the end reeds are any sax players nightmare but mine are alot less after i went to RJS years ago.I loved La Voz for years but they were very hit and miss.

That is acually incorrect in regards to the atg system

 

[jeremyjuicewah]

I bought and use ATG. For me it saves binning a lot of expensive reeds. My favourite reed is Rico plasticised, its about 6 euros a go retail and by the time I've paid postage from Reeds direct not a lot less. Even with losing a little plastic on each treated reed ATG saves me stacks of dosh and instead of gurning away and huffing and puffing into a duff reed I get a full box of great reeds. Good on them stalwarts as want to play away with a scaffold plank and relish the dull tone, but ATG has been worth every penny of the full cost to me and I would not want to be without it.
Bon fin de semana
Mike

 

[jeremyjuicewah]

By the by, where are you Johnboy?

 

[johnboy]

By the by, where are you Johnboy?

Hi Mike,
I'm just back home at 'Bonalba', after a ten week, self inflicted trip to Oz (definitely not for me!). I was hoping to get down to Sydney and meet up with 'Rikki', but didn't get the time to do it (SORRY Rikki!!!).
I was lucky enough to play a couple of gigs with 'Mumma Janes Blues Band' and really enjoyed that, WOW can she sing 'The Blues'!!!!!!!
Anyway, back on topic:
The ATG system works quickly and very effectively. It isn't cheap, but being as good as it is, it's worth the money!
I have never understood this business of "Developing You Chops" (fighting the reed). It is counter productive, and completely unnecessary. Adjust/tune the reed to suit your mouthpiece (which the ATG system does), and enjoy developing your tone and vibrato easily. That is the true way to improve your embouchure.
For those starting out on the sax, my advice is to practice while facing into a corner of the room, and record those practice sessions, so that you can hear your actual sound and any improvement made.

John 🙂;};}