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I've kept my reeds in a ReedJuvinate container for the last couple of years and I've been quite happy with this solution.
The RJ is an airtight container that holds up to three reeds together with a sponge usually soaked in Listerine. This keeps the reeds in a humid and very playable (IMHO) condition. The main limitation: the RJ holds only three reeds. I need more storage for my reeds, considering I use two different kind of reeds on Alto (one for classical and the other for jazz/everything else) and I have clarinet reeds as well.
I didn't want to fork out £25 for an extra RJ container (I don't even have the extra space in my sax case). So, this is what I have come up with: I bought a waterproof case on Amazon (see link below), added a sponge (I got it from Tesco, then cut in shape):
I soaked the sponge with Listerine, then added some holders with reeds:
I've experimented with it for a few weeks by now, and the results seem very good, comparable to the ReedJuvinate but with the potential to add more than three reeds. Total cost: less than £10 (leaving me with two extra sponges that I can use to clean the kitchen...).
I tried using the container without sponge initially, leaving a quarter of an inch of Listerine at the bottom. This kept only the tip of the reed moist, not a good result. Adding the sponge helps to keep the humidity uniform on the whole reed.
The container I used:
Witz Keep-It Cleaner Waterproof Case, Camo:Amazon.co.uk:Sports & Outdoors
(This is the second one I tried, The first one came from directly from China, it was a bit cheaper but arrived with a crack that made it useless for the purpose)
As for the sponge, any cellulose cleaning sponge should do.
Has anyone else tried a similar solution? How do you like the results?
The RJ is an airtight container that holds up to three reeds together with a sponge usually soaked in Listerine. This keeps the reeds in a humid and very playable (IMHO) condition. The main limitation: the RJ holds only three reeds. I need more storage for my reeds, considering I use two different kind of reeds on Alto (one for classical and the other for jazz/everything else) and I have clarinet reeds as well.
I didn't want to fork out £25 for an extra RJ container (I don't even have the extra space in my sax case). So, this is what I have come up with: I bought a waterproof case on Amazon (see link below), added a sponge (I got it from Tesco, then cut in shape):
I soaked the sponge with Listerine, then added some holders with reeds:
I've experimented with it for a few weeks by now, and the results seem very good, comparable to the ReedJuvinate but with the potential to add more than three reeds. Total cost: less than £10 (leaving me with two extra sponges that I can use to clean the kitchen...).
I tried using the container without sponge initially, leaving a quarter of an inch of Listerine at the bottom. This kept only the tip of the reed moist, not a good result. Adding the sponge helps to keep the humidity uniform on the whole reed.
The container I used:
Witz Keep-It Cleaner Waterproof Case, Camo:Amazon.co.uk:Sports & Outdoors
(This is the second one I tried, The first one came from directly from China, it was a bit cheaper but arrived with a crack that made it useless for the purpose)
As for the sponge, any cellulose cleaning sponge should do.
Has anyone else tried a similar solution? How do you like the results?
so now I use a Vandoren hygro because I don't like the taste of Listerine
