Reed Soaking

[Vortex]

i've heard a lot about soaking reeds in different substances, such as: water, salt water, vodka, even creme de menthe syrup! wondering what other people usually soak theres in (those of us who don't just suck on them for 5 minutes)

[timobrien]

Personally, I keep mine soaking in vodka.

The reeds seem to last longer, they are always ready to go and I know they wont have any germs on them!!

8)

[Andrew]

Saliva...

[Media Lint]

I just stick the reed in my mouth while I assemble the sax and arrange my area/space then secure the reed and warm up the sax. By the time the sax is ready for fine tuning, the reed is sufficiently warmed up as well. Rinse reed after use. If I neglected to do this the last time, I rinse it off before I stick it in my mouth ... usually.

[Toni Linder]

Saliva breaks up organic fibers, that's what it is here for in the first place. Its enzymes break up the fibers of the reeds. It seems that if you soak the reeds in plain water first, there will be less saliva diffusing in the reeds (?) and reeds last longer.

[Razzy]

Soaking in water is conducive to mold. Personally I find it unnecessary to soak a reed in anything but saliva in your mouth for about .5 seconds before you put it on the mouthpiece. And after I'm done playing, I wipe off the excess saliva on my pants or whatever and then just stick the reed back in the case. I keep the reeds in the vandoren blue cases and rotate through about 10 (2 vandoren boxes and one of those small la voz reed guards that hold 2). With this method, unless I chip them or something, almost all of my reeds stay playing great, and I've had more success than when I soaked for like 5 minutes the first time I Played a reed.

[Tears June]

I want to know if you use water to clean the reed after playing it.
Anybody who don't do thsi and why?

:cry:

[Frank D]

I usually do a water soak prior to playing, then rinse them off after playing and let them air dry. That pretty much stopped any problems I had with mold.

Timobrien, I may have to give your method a try! Could you please contact me offline? I may be moving to FL, and would like to ask about the music scene there. fdemar@hotmail.com

[MusicMedic]

A while ago I went to a master class given by Don Menza. He walked in the door, set his case down pulled out a dry reed and put the thing on his horn. He grabbed the horn with no strap and played about a ten minute cadenza.

When he was done he said, any questions about my reeds and warming up?

I thought that was a trip. he went on and elaborated...but you get the point. :)

That being said, I use water. I used to have a complex humidifier system that worked very well. -The one with listerine. I just gave up on that.

[Vortex]

Are you sure it was dry? He could've soaked it really well before he left home or something like that. Also, if it was one of those plastic reeds he wouldn't have needed to soak it at all.

[RS]

I moisten my reeds in my mouth with saliva then play on them for at least 20-30 minutes. At this point the reed is played in and will stay moist and ready to go for several hours with the mouthpiece cap on. I never have a problem with reeds on doubling horns drying out while the horn is setting. Reeds soaked in water dry out much faster than reeds moistened in your mouth with saliva. If you're a doubler and have to play horns that have been setting on their stands for long stretches never soak your reeds in water.

[Steve J.]

RS writes:
"Reeds soaked in water dry out much faster than reeds moistened in your mouth with saliva."
Do you have any evidence of this? I am no scientist but I have doubts. It appears to me that the setting horn's mouthpiece cap prevents evaporation. I don't think the drying rate has anything to do with saliva vs. tap water. I double and have never noticed a difference in drying rates.

Razzy writes:
"Soaking in water is conducive to mold."
I disagree. Do you have any evidence of this? Not allowing the reeds to dry quick enough is what encourages mold. I haven't proved this but I would bet a saliva soaked reed left in a humid environment for long enough time would promote mold growth on an equal par with a water soaked reed.

[RS]

Well, I haven't run any scientific experiments to see if water evaporates faster than saliva but the only players I have known who have trouble keeping their reeds dry soak them in water.

[RS]

Correction:--"keeping their reeds MOIST..."

[Lyle]

After I have used a reed for awhile, and they get to looking grungy, I soak them in hydogen peroxide. I let them bubble for thirty to forty min. I know this cleans the reed, and it might be imagination but they seem to play better.

This is not my original idea.

[Media Lint]

Quote: I moisten my reeds in my mouth with saliva then play on them for at least 20-30 minutes. At this point the reed is played in and will stay moist and ready to go for several hours with the mouthpiece cap on. I never have a problem with reeds on doubling horns drying out while the horn is setting.

I find the same thing. Sometimes I like to play tenor and alto and switch around, though I don't actually gig. Often in casual jams. If I play one for 20 minutes I can switch then come back to it with no fuss. Even without a cap, actually, up to two hours or so.

[Vortex]

Hmm, good news guys, I've clarified a previous topic. I tried the vodka, and quite honestly it sucked for reed soaking, and it just wore out my reed too fast (was good to drink though, *hic*). But here's what you're supposed to do. Take a small sip, and suck on the reed as it mixes with your saliva. Start getting a good saliva build up, and let the vodka kinda froth with it, it'll break in a reed real nice.

[danodownunder]

I have been playing for 30 years and soaking reeds in a GOOD spirit is amazing the last and last and never go crinkly etc as the spirit pickles the wood and darkens the sound. I use those little glass spice jars and put a little high density foam in the bottom to protect the tips, it works give it a try and get back.

[Vincent]

danz, What spirit do you soak your reed in? Also, do you just soak them prior to playing or do you keep the reed soaking in the spirit constantly?
Thanks. :)

[Vortex]

Ok, once and for all, here's a good way to soak a reed. After a lot of experimentation, i've come up with this process:

Before playing:

1) Let the reed soak in clean, cold water for 5 minutes or so
1a) If it's a new reed, let it soak in vodka for ONE minute (not too long, that'll break down the fibers of the reed beyond the break-in point :x)
2) Suck on the reed for a few minutes
3) Take a sip of vodka (don't swallow) and start sucking on the reed, letting some of your own saliva mix with the vodka, keep this up until you feel it's "ready"
4) Suck off any extra moisture, and your reed should be good for awhile.
5) Repeat as needed. Note: You don't need to soak the butt of the reed

After playing:

1) Just rinse the reed off and keep it wherever you usually do

Well, that about covers it, this method works wonderfully for me, any questions?

[Tears June]

Anybody tried to use vodka to do this? Is it really worthy to do it?? Really can improve the reed quality and more easy to play?

:cry:

[Ritchie]

Vodka is about 40% alcohol, the rest is water, and some negligible amount of other stuff. I would expect a reed soaked in vodka to dry faster than when soaked in water, because alcohol evaporates easier than water. Better to drink the vodka, if your reed does not play well, have another glass until you THINK it works fine :wink:

Same thought about the difference between water soaked and saliva soaked reeds - what does saliva contain in addition to water? And how much of this? Is it enough to slow down evaporation and how much residue is left, and how does it affect the reed?

Completely different picture if you soak your reeds in oil, e.g. olive oil, I have not tried this myself, but I am sure someone has. Please report!

In my experience reeds soaked in water and saliva stay moist about the same time. But especially in a doubling situation I prefer to put the couple of reeds I will need into a glass of water to having three, four or even more reeds in my mouth at once!

[Toni Linder]

[quote="Ritchie"]

"Same thought about the difference between water soaked and saliva soaked reeds - what does saliva contain in addition to water?"

Saliva contains enzymes that attack plant fibers - i. e. when you put a reed in the mouth, you beginn to digest it ...

[colibri]

It really depends on the purpose of breaking in a new reed. You either want to have some reeds ready to go when your old ones die, or your old ones are dead and you desperately need new ones.

Wetting the reed with saliva can break in a reed a lot faster. There are people who believe that the only way to break in a new reed is to soak it completely with saliva, and play overtone exercises on it for 15 minutes. It does break it in faster (feels like an old favourite), but it'll also die faster.

[Vortex]

Saliva contains enzymes that break down the fibers of the reed, but when you're trying to break one in, you want to wear down the fibers slightly (that's why you don't soak in water for the first use of a reed). For some reason reeds moistened in saliva tend to stay moist longer than those in water, but they also don't last as long. The worst that can happen with water is the reed warping. That's why people use vodka, to eliminate those enzymes and break in the reed.

Meanwhile if you suck on it too long, or use too much vodka, you'll just wear out the reed, so moderate your use of each.