Reeds First Ever Reed Drying On Stage

[Veggie Dave]

Last night I was playing a club that had fans everywhere to try and keep the temperature down. On stage the temp drifted between 27C and 29C. Not the hottest stage I've played on, but still quite toasty.

First song, I grab the tenor and try to play the first note (high E IIRC) and nothing, then a squeak. 60 seconds or so of trying to get the reed as wet as possible and it starts to come back to life. The next few songs it's great but then there's a break of sax songs for about 20 minutes. This is all it took for the reed to dry out again. Not as badly this time, but still hard to play until I manage to get it wet again.

A 20 min or so break between sets and it's back to square one. Weirdly, the alto reed (only used on two songs during the two hour show) and the clarinet (used only once) had no issues.

This is definitely a new one for me. Am I missing something? Could it simply be the tenor was in line with one of the big fans which caused the reed issue (the clarinet and alto were much more protected) or something else? It definitely wasn't simply the stage temperature because I've played on much hotter with no issues.

 

[ESJohn]

I can't be considered an expert on anything sax related but I had a thought. Would placing the cap over the mouthpiece in between tunes have helped you? Maybe the situation would have been better if you had a synthetic reed available?
Just totally wild guesses here. I'm looking forward to replies from others! I'm sure I'll run into a moment someday like you had last evening.

 

[Pete Effamy]

Another one for replacing cap - with gaffer tape around it to plug any holes / gaps. Keep the moisture in.

 

[Veggie Dave]

Mouthpiece caps are always left on to stop me catching the reed and damaging it.

 

[wakyct]

I'm guessing the fan air was hitting the tenor.

I wonder if anyone has ever made an oversize cap that you can fit a sponge into.

 

[Ivan]

One swallow does not make a summer, so this drying event may not happen again

But a guaranteed fix is Légère

 

[Nick Wyver]

I’ve only had this issue in mid summer on an outdoor stage. Playing tenor mostly but sop on a couple of numbers. First time I picked up the sop it was unplayable. Corrugated reed. So I stuck to tenor.

 

[Pete Effamy]

One swallow does not make a summer, so this drying event may not happen again

But a guaranteed fix is Légère

Yep. The only question mark I would have against Legere (I use American Cut on tenor) would be in a “concert” of jazz maybe, as they are more bitey when pushed I think. But in terms of the Suzi Q gigs I do and the type of gig that Dave is doing I think that’s a bonus - cutting through guitars and keys etc

 

[LostCircuits]

Welcome to my world, come up and play at 7-10,000 ft elevation with single digit % humidity. But as long as you know what you are doing, you can make it work.

 

[PaulC]

Last night I was playing a club that had fans everywhere to try and keep the temperature down. On stage the temp drifted between 27C and 29C. Not the hottest stage I've played on, but still quite toasty.

First song, I grab the tenor and try to play the first note (high E IIRC) and nothing, then a squeak. 60 seconds or so of trying to get the reed as wet as possible and it starts to come back to life. The next few songs it's great but then there's a break of sax songs for about 20 minutes. This is all it took for the reed to dry out again. Not as badly this time, but still hard to play until I manage to get it wet again.

A 20 min or so break between sets and it's back to square one. Weirdly, the alto reed (only used on two songs during the two hour show) and the clarinet (used only once) had no issues.

This is definitely a new one for me. Am I missing something? Could it simply be the tenor was in line with one of the big fans which caused the reed issue (the clarinet and alto were much more protected) or something else? It definitely wasn't simply the stage temperature because I've played on much hotter with no issues.

I will second (third?) the notion of using a synthetic reed to avoid this from happening.

 

[Ivan]

single digit % humidity

Café Sax science phrase of the week

 

[skeller047]

Older Link tenor caps have a giant hole in the top. When living and working in Lake Tahoe (6000+ feet elevation), reed drying was a thing, especially in winter. I plugged the hole with a piece of leather, glued in so it was airtight, and occasionally put a small piece of damp paper towel in the inside. A horn sitting idle on a hot stage when the ambient humidity is lower than 10% will dry out a reed in just a few minutes.

 

[Vlad]

Do the bassonist trick of having a glass of water nearby to dip it in

 

[thomsax]

Make sure that your cane reeds is soaking water for hours. Place the reed in a glas with little water and with the heel down so the reed can soak water.

Before you put the reed on the mouthpiece take 1-2 drops of water on the reed to connect the reed and table of the mouthpiece. Do the same on the contact surface between the lig and reed as well. 1-2 drops of olive oil (virgin) is even better but harder when it's comes to cleaning the mouthpiece.

You can also; after soundcheck and tunning remove the reed and keep it wet/play until you are going on the scene. Best is to bring the saxophone with you backstage so it's possible to keep it ready to play.

 

[Veggie Dave]

Yep. The only question mark I would have against Legere (I use American Cut on tenor) would be in a “concert” of jazz maybe, as they are more bitey when pushed I think. But in terms of the Suzi Q gigs I do and the type of gig that Dave is doing I think that’s a bonus - cutting through guitars and keys etc

I've never tried synthetic reeds before, partly because of cost and partly because I don't seem to need that extra brightness. I've actually gone over to Red Javas to cut down a little of that top end.

I suppose I really should bite the bullet and get round to trying some.

And Suzy Q, would that be Ms. Quatro?