Reeds Good reed, Bad reed

[mizmar]

but is it really acceptable

In fact you do accept the situation - assuming you buy reeds; others don't and use synthetics... Which are, more or less priced to cost the same as cane per playing hour.

My question was; is it economical to change? Would you pay 30% more for a 100% perfect box?
Would enough people pay more? Would everyone be just as satisfied?

 

[Targa]

Would everyone be just as satisfied?

No, because if reeds were consistent and perfect we wouldn't have 19 pages of threads about them.

 

[mizmar]

No, because if reeds were consistent and perfect we wouldn't have 19 pages of threads about them.

Challenge accepted!

 

[Littleboyblue]

Good one or 10,010+ post

 

[Woodpad]

No, because if reeds were consistent and perfect we wouldn't have 19 pages of threads about them

I don't want to live in a world where you can't complain on reeds.

 

[thomsax]

I can complain but to send back two reeds from Sweden to Thomann in Germany????? Lets face it. There will never be a 100% perfect reed. You can spend your time complaining and sending reeds back. Or make the unplayable reeds playable. Just few (maybe 1% ?) of the reeds in a box are damaged.

 

[mizmar]

Don't forget that the great reed-selector-grader-adjuster-o-matic has to produce

...a 100% perfect reed

... 100% of the time for 100% of players

 

[thomsax]

Don't forget that the great reed-selector-grader-adjuster-o-matic has to produce
... 100% of the time for 100% of players

Buy blanks and design your own reed. Or make your own reed out of a piece of cane. Or buy a reed that is close to what you want and make them better. File, scrape, drill, cut ..... or don't do anything at all. I'm a reed nerd. I have my own reed treatment.

View: https://youtu.be/XBAafccRxag

 

[ellinas]

Buy blanks and design your own reed. Or make your own reed out of a piece of cane. Or buy a reed that is close to what you want and make them better. File, scrape, drill, cut ..... or don't do anything at all. I'm a reed nerd. I have my own reed treatment.

View: https://youtu.be/XBAafccRxag

View attachment 21166View attachment 21167View attachment 21168

Wow what's the deal with that hole in the center of the reed?

 

[Colin the Bear]

Reducing the heart affects the feel and response.

The vast array of reeds, from the same manufacturer, use slightly different cuts to change the shape of the vamp and thickness of the heart to change the feel.

I suspect Thom has been experimenting.

 

[Jimmymack]

Wow what's the deal with that hole in the center of the reed?

It’s an old trick well known to members of SOTW from years ago, a guy called Bootman promoted it, it’s based on a couple of reeds manufactured around the sixties, maybe before, that came pre-drilled. I did it for a while, it might work, it might not, these days I’ll just massage the reed around the heart and that does work.

I have a box of Oscillator reeds that were sold ready drilled, rotten cane but they are too hard to play easily and I haven’t bothered working on them, I bought them just for the sake of it and because I was bored during the first lockdown.

 

[lydian]

Yeah, back in the 70s, I had some reeds with the hole. I forgot the brand. Seems like a gimmick to me since that part is too far back to make any difference. I probably bought them because of the price at the time. As a kid, I really couldn't afford to spend very much.

If synthetics sounded and felt closer to cane, I'd have switched a long time ago. But they're still not close enough for me. I'm not willing to compromise that much on my sound on my main instrument. I'll use them on bari and bass sax and occasionally clarinet. But on other saxes, they don't cut it.

 

[saxyjt]

There is a tech just next door to where I live that offers reeds with a kind of grove:

Collections

Ligature & Anches Made in France

www.ligaphone-paris.com

I never tried them. But it is the same idea as the 'hole'.

 

[mizmar]

offers reeds with a kind of grove:

Oh! I need those! My sense of time is appalling🙁

 

[thomsax]

Wow what's the deal with that hole in the center of the reed?

I think the low tones on bari comes out a little bit better. I'm just drilling baritone reeds. I drilleed tenor reed but that didn't make so much difference.

 

[thomsax]

I suspect Thom has been experimenting.

Yes. My sax journey is a big experiment. I'm just playing for fun and I don't say that you should do the things I do.

 

[thomsax]

For many years ago I bought a tenor from USA and in the case there was a box of Saxgourmet drilled reeds.

 

[Jimmymack]

Saxgourmet and Bootman were pals around that time. Innocent days.

 

[Nick Wyver]

As I may have mentioned before, 🙂 I take them out of the box, play them and chuck them when they're dead.

It saves a lot of hassle.

 

[thomsax]

As I may have mentioned before, 🙂 I take them out of the box, play them and chuck them when they're dead.

It saves a lot of hassle.

Yes, but you give your reeds a vodka treatment? One good thing with cane is that cane is naturally antibacterial. Drink your vodka. Don't drink Gammel Dansk (bitter). Hell to your reeds and pads. A Gammel Dansk and a beer was good before playing.