Hard to blow

[Oakleaf]

ok, i dont know if it's the reed or what. here's what happened. ok, i switched reeds recently. went to rico's. what happens is that when i bust out my reed from the case (already broke in ya know) i play for awhile, and then if i set it down, even for a couple minutes, then pick it back up it wont play. i mean, some of the top notes, sorta shrill, but it feels like i'm trying to inflate my thumb. it's horrible. and i know it's not cause the reed's dry either, cause i can take it out and wet it again, just like the first time, but it still doesnt work. i've tried it with my old brand too and it's the same story. different reeds, different everything. and man if i ever felt like throwing something at a wall.

help me please!!!!

[djonk]

When you set the sax down for a break, did you insert a pad saver mop into the body?
Another thought is that one or more of the octave pads might have a slightly noticeable leak.
Concentrate on leak or blockage in the neck and upper stack.

And lastly is this a "Union" Sax? They are known to only play, for the give amount of time and no more; without receiving overtime compensation!!

[djonk]

Check for; broken, weak or disconnected SPRINGS!

[Oakleaf]

it's never done this before, for the 5 years i've had it. it's a silver con chu berry, the 1920's model. i'll check all that.

[morgan]

I hate that.

I think it's a waterlogged or ruined reed, but it (gagging-reed-osis) also feels like one of those inexplicable life phases, like major depression, that you just hafta go thru, that eventually just go away and leave you wondering "why". Of course try a new brand of reed, do lots of long tones, maybe try holding the sax in a weird position like Prez, or wearing your socks backward or something like Kevin Costner in Bull Durham ...

[SteveZ]

i know EXACTLY WHAT YOU MEAN!!!! the same thing drives me nuts sometimes. try a couple of things:

1. try moving the lig closer to the tip end of the mouthpiece, and tightening the lig a bit. could be the reed is warping a bit, and tightening the lig forces it back into shape. also, moving the lig forward so that the first band crosses just barely behind the part where the bark meets the beginning of the vamp helps a little.

2. wet the heart of the reed

3. move the reed so that the tip is exactly in line with the tip of the mouthpiece.

4. wave some chicken bones over the saxophone

[Oakleaf]

yea, switched reeds again today. it worked for the first half hour as always. band teacher decided to talk for about five minutes about something that really didn't concern me or anything, but it froze up again. i'm about ready to cry. what's going on!!!

and the worst part is i dont wanna take it in to the shop cause they'll say i'm an idiot cause it only locks up if you play it for half an hour.

i was finally starting to get back into it again. just really discouraging.

thanks for the suggestions though. i'll try em.

[Gordon (NZ)]

Perhaps a swab or pad saver loosened the soldering of an octave vent.

[djonk]

Try to play the mouthpiece off of the sax. Play it before----then in about one half hour of playing (when the sound locks up) try the mouthpiece off of the sax again. Determine whether the problem is the reed & mouthpiece or if it is the horn!

[The Martin]

An other thought.... :idea:

Your reed is to soft....
Rico's strength numbers aren't comparable with lets say vandoren classic.
If you go from 2,5 vandoren to 2,5 rico you loose strength.

If your embouchure is to tight or you blow to hard you can close the mouthpiece.....

[Andrew]

8)

[The Martin]

I had a look ar you profile.
You're a music store person...
Could mean you know your bussinness....

:lol: Probably no reed problem then

[Altoholic]

Is the reed sealing to the mouthpiece? W/the reed & ligature attached,close the shank end off w/the palm of your hand and suck the air out of the set-up,then remove it from your mouth. If the reed doesn't spring away from the facing w/an audible "pop",that could be the problem. Hope this helps.

[jean]

When I played a Dukoff MP I had this problem, and even wrote to this group about it. If I set the horn down for even a few minutes, it would not play when I picked it back up. I loved the MP.....was starting to get some nice edge and character, but it was VERY finicky with reeds and I finally gave up on it. Good luck to you....these problems can be so frustrating.

[Mike Ruhl]

Try a Fibracell reed.

[jazzbluescat]

....feels like one of those inexplicable life phases, like major depression, that you just hafta go thru, that....

I been cyphering up on my cicologhy, iffing anybody wants to know somethin'.

:shock:

[Oakleaf]

I'm planing on having the octave key repaded, it's getting sorta beat up lookin anyways. if that doesnt solve the problem then i think i'll move to a thicker reed. thank you all sooooooooooo much for all your help. it's been greatly appreciated, and i learned some stuff!

[jp3]

I have similar problems - especially with Rico Royal tenor reeds and usually when the weather is very dry. Seems that the tip and heart of th reed dry out differently and causes the reed to warp. Doing the seal check - as Altoholic describes or checking with the mpc on the neck - invariably shows that the reed is no longer sealing. Soaking the reed in a glass of water for 10-20 minutes usually brings it back into shape.

[Dippledorp]

i still really think your reed is simply drying out. This happened to me so bad over this winter I strived for my own solution. I bought a pill bottle sorta thing, first tryed totally filling it with water. Reeds got waterlogged after a while, but no drying out. So i tryed using the same bottle, and every morning I fill it with water then let the water drain back out, then cap it off and try not to open it often or leave it open. It seems theres just enough moisture for it to sorta soak, but not get water logged. u can usually carry 3 or 4 reeds, and they playt instantly like synthetic

[Lyle]

Dippledrop

I have done the same as you, in keeping reeds in damp container.

Add just a little listerine, and they will be minty fresh. :)

[Paul Coats]

It is just this kind of thing that made me give up on cane reeds, and switch to Fibracells. I am open to any other good synthetic reed...

I have tried BARI reeds, but was only satisfied with them on bari sax. Legere reeds have a smooth, dark tone, good for classical and symphonic band, but poor altissimo, at least for me. Others report good altissimo. Dunno.

I just don't have time to fiddle with reeds. I need to just put on a reed and play, and Fibracell answers this for me. And it plays the same from the beginning of the gig til the end. No soggy reed.

[Razzy]

Simple solution: take the reed off of the mouthpiece when you know the horn isn't going to be played, even for a few minutes, and place it in a reed container, after drying most of the moisture off. Drying the reed manually via shirt or whatever and then placing in the container has no negative effects. However, letting it sit there and dry out causes the reed to "dry out" unevenly and the cane to lose consistency and strength, thus causing the dull, unplaying sound, or just downright unplayability. This can usually be seen by some sort of wavyness to the tip of the reed, or anything but a flat edge on the top when viewed edge-on.

Also try capping the mouthpiece. This is by far my favorite thing about the Vandoren optimum ligature: the cap that comes with it. It closes the reed off from the air perfectly, just enough to keep moisture inside and let it breathe a bit with the holes in the top. I've played in a pit this year where I play alto in 3 songs, all the rest tenor, and the alto songs occur near the beginning and at the very end, and I put the alto down for about an hour between songs. As long as I cap the mouthpiece, the alto reed will play like new right when I pick it back up again...