Reeds Reeds are waterlogged: becoming stuffy and hard to use

[Cm24]

Hey all, this my first post here on the forums. Long time lurker, though. I’ve been playing saxophone for around 5 years, and I mostly play classical music.

Lately, I’ve been having some trouble with reeds. Due to a series of unfortunate events, I waited too long between break-ins of new reeds, and I now only have around 2 reeds that are reaching the ends of their lives, when I normally have around 5 or 6. Last week, I tried breaking in a new batch of D’addario Reserve 3+s. Lately, I’ve been trying some of the Boveda humidity packs and they’ve been working wonders on my reeds that are already broken in.

So, what I’ve tried to do is this: For the first day, I soaked the reeds for a minute or two and played them for a few minutes, then put them away in a Tupperware container with the 72% Boveda pack. For 6 more days, I’ve been playing them for longer periods of time withOUT soaking them. However, each day, they’ve only gotten stuffier and harder to use well. They seal to the mouthpiece fine with no visible warpage. I’ve tried flattening the backs slightly with my Reed knife, but this hasn’t done much to help (although this has helped reeds in the past.)

I’m worried that I’m going to keep wasting my money on boxes of reeds that I’ll end up killing this way. Is there any way I can continue to use or alter this method of reed preparation and keep using the Boveda packs? (They work well with my other reeds). I know some people can beat their reeds into submission, but alas, I cannot.

All feedback is appreciated, thank you in advance!

 

[Cm24]

Small edit: this is probably important, but I don’t know if my reeds dry all the way before I put them away. I wipe off the surface moisture, but other than that I put them back in the humidity after a few minutes once I’m done playing. Some people say I should leave them out to dry, and others that I’ve asked tell me not to do this. I just feel overwhelmed with the amounts of information that the internet provides. A blessing and a curse!

 

[Nick Wyver]

Dunno, but if it's any help, my reeds are kept permanently 'waterlogged' in vodka and they last for months.

 

[Wade Cornell]

You can continue with the voodoo or try some synthetics.

 

[Ivan]

Lately, I’ve been having some trouble with reeds. Last week, I tried breaking in a new batch of D’addario Reserve 3+s.

I’m worried that I’m going to keep wasting my money on boxes of reeds that I’ll end up killing this way. Is there any way I can continue to use or alter this method of reed preparation and keep using the Boveda packs? (They work well with my other reeds). I know some people can beat their reeds into submission, but alas, I cannot.

All feedback is appreciated, thank you in advance!

Is this a type and strength of reed you haven't tried before?

It doesn't seem as though you're damaging them and like Nick says they can be permanently soaked in alcohol go keep them match ready. When I have done that the reeds have flicked off excess liquid in the tip very quickly

Is your mouthpiece a good'un? It may be that a plump reed isn't sitting flat on your mouthpiece table. The rule seems to be:

Mouthpiece table flat is good; convex/concave is bad

 

[Ivan]

Oh and welcome @Cm24

 

[Targa]

........ and like Nick says they can be permanently soaked in alcohol go keep them match ready.

With the linguistic ambiguity perhaps not the best analogy.

 

[saxyjt]

Check this.

It may not work for you, but it's worth a try!

I wouldn't be too worried about leaving it to dry before storing it etc. Keep it simple. I have a friend who used to leave his reed in the mouthpiece on the neck and he had no complaints...

Now as Wade suggests, if you're tired of cane to synthetic. I've done that and I love it. Hassle free. I can even leave it on for a few days. Just clean it once in a while... And they last!

 

[jbtsax]

When you "flatten" the back of the reed do you use one continuous stroke of the knife from the back end to the tip? When the fibers in the reed expand by being exposed to a lot of moisture the problem I have found is the slight difference between the back of the reed that rests on the table and the part in the "window" of the mouthpiece.

Since this hasn't happened previously using the same brand of reeds there is a possibility there may be one or more leaks in the upper part of the saxophone. This can make a reed feel "stuffy" and unresponsive. I like to tell the following story"

Before I knew much about repair I had a period of time when none of my reeds played well---even my "pet" reeds that I saved for performances. I checked my sax with my homemade leak light in a darkened room and could find no leaks. I took my sax to the tech who later became my mentor in repair and told him what I was experiencing. He held the saxophone and manipulated the neck a bit. Then he took the neck off and set up a "can opener" looking device in a vice and did something with the neck. Then he handed it back to me and said play it now. The difference was like night and day, the reed I put on played beautifully with perfect response.

It turned out there wasn't an airtight fit between the neck tenon and its receiver which made every note sound and feel "stuffy". Some of the first tools I bought when I started my own saxophone repair shop was a good quality neck tenon expander and a set of neck leak testers.

 

[Jazzaferri]

Do you check the backs with a sharp flat straightedge after playing for 5 minutes or so. Both side to side from the vamp to the end and front to back. If there is even a little bit of light showing that can make for a stuffy reed

 

[Colin the Bear]

The reeds get the blame when a little cork wear is the culprit or a little regulation is needed. 😉