First good then Bad!

[impulse]

I can`t understand this and it`s driving me crackers. I select a reed say a RR 2.0 and I play along quite happily with it. Next morning I play again and am appaled at the sound. Rough, growly and hard to play. So then I go thru` my box of reeds and select one that seems to be a bit better, play for awhile and come back later to the same problem. Sometimes it is the reverse with the bad sound ending up on a repeat sounding much better. I`m spending most of my time fiddling around with different reeds. This is happening with both my alto and tenor saxes. The MPCs are Yam 4Cs (altho` I`ve ordered a Selmer C*) I think the problem is compounded by not being able to play a reed much stronger than a 2.0
Do other players find that some days the tone is round and easy to produce while other times with the same set up , it`s well, Ugh! Russ

 

[pauloalto]

Reeds can be very frustrating. I have experienced this problem a few times, I've found it happened if I hadn't quite positioned the reed on the mouthpiece correctly. Sometimes giving the reed a rinse under the tap and drying it off helped. Sometimes it's just been a dud reed that happened to play well once and I've never got the same out of it again - I think they change slightly after they have been played for the first time - sometimes this seems to make them better, other times worse.

The problem I've had more is that I find one very good reed which plays consistently well and then I struggle to find another one that is as good. I posted about that (and got some really helpful responses) in: Saxophones (Mouthpieces, Reeds Ligs etc): Topic various questions about various saxophones, page 2.

 

[Linky Lee]

This actually sounds like a set-up problem.

Probably the cause of this is that you are having the ligature on at a different tightness, or you aren't aligning up the reed correctly and it is sticking out further from the tip or behind the tip meaning you are playing on a thicker or thinner bit of cane.

If you can get into the habit of a consistent set up that you like to play on then that's great. Occasionally some reeds in a box are harder to play on than others though.

 

[mr__myles]

Mang, sometimes I pick up my sax and I'm just not feeling it, my sax feels stuffy and harder to play. Some days my sound is beautiful and cool, you just gotta jive with it. it could be set up problems etc, but it also could be you, everyone has good days and bad days. 8)

 

[griff136]

Sounds like , as Linky Lee suggests, that it may be a set up problem where it could be one or any comination of the following:

reed not moist enough or too moist

reed not in the correct position in relation to the tip and rails of the mouthpiece

ligature not in the same position,

ligature too tight or not tight enough.

If you had a new reed and it was playing fine then it is put back on the mouthpiece and it doesnt then there is something amiss somewhwere.

 

[lee_]

Griff, we need to start peddling Fibrecell reeds in here!8)

If you look at your cane reed after it has dried following substantial use, chances are the tip is all wavey, or possibly just curved. If the reed tip is not flat, the reed isn't gonna perform as it should.

If the tip has dried to some non-flat shape (which it frequently will), all you need to do is wet it until it flattens out again. Usually you can do this by holding it in your mouth for a few minutes. When the reed tip is flat again, it will perform to spec.

As pointed out above, make sure you are putting your ligature on the same way each time. I like for the top of my ligature to be just below the bottom of the cut portion of the reed.

 

[AlistairD]

Lee wrote:

If you look at your cane reed after it has dried following substantial use, chances are the tip is all wavey, or possibly just curved. If the reed tip is not flat, the reed isn't gonna perform as it should.

If the tip has dried to some non-flat shape (which it frequently will), all you need to do is wet it until it flattens out again. Usually you can do this by holding it in your mouth for a few minutes. When the reed tip is flat again, it will perform to spec.

I agree and a quick way of helping to flatten the tip is to press it against the mouthpiece table for 30 secs. when the reed is damp. This is a trick that my teacher showed me...