[Ferret]

I'll be honest, before I found this forum I never thought more about my reeds than "is it chipped" and "is it moldy?"

How can I tell if my reeds are completely done? How far from the original stiffness, etc. should I let a reed go before figuring it's time to buy some new ones? I tend to use all my reeds at once rather than just a few, which I suppose isn't the best idea. I have a reed case and I'll more or less randomly grab one out of the bunch, so I figure using my different reeds won't offer much of a comparison. Do you dudes figure out if a reed is no good based on unused ones you have around, or a preconceived notion of what a reed should sound/feel like (that'd be the thing I need to figure out, if so)?

 

[Reedsplinter]

Obviously, different people will have different answers, based on routines and on expectations. I generally open up a box of Rico Select Jazz reeds -- 5 to a box -- soak all five for 10 minutes or so, and try them out. I rank them one to five, one being the best, and then put them away again until the next day, when I go through the same routine again. Assuming the order doesn't change (sometimes it does), I then take the best 3, put them in my reed saver, and use them at gigs. Most often one of those will emerge as my favorite. I try to rotate through the three uniformly, but it rarely works out that way: one just speaks the best, 7 times out of 10. Eventually, however, that reed will begin to go dead: it loses its snap crackle and pop. I think that saliva ultimately degrades the cellulose until the reed gets softer than it should be, and at some point it ceases to be the best one in the reed saver. I keep it around until it's pointless and then -- hey, there's another thread here about what to do with old reeds you don't want any more; I usually use them for driving underneath the fingernails of people I'm torturing. Or wait, no, those are the people who come to the gigs and get tortured by the reeds because they have to listen to me play. Now I'm getting confused. Someone else?:shock:

 

[wersax]

You know, it is kind of personal. Most of us that play a lot and have for a long time have a definite idea on how the reed should sound and feel. When it gets below a certain threshold, it no longer suits us and we toss it. How much you play and what situations you play in, as well as your concept of tone have a lot to do with how long reeds last. Maybe you're one of those people that are not hard on reeds or maybe you're not very picky about how they play. Do you not notice any difference in the sound and response from reed to reed? From your post it sounds like they all sound the same to you.

 

[king koeller]

First of all, reeds are expensive.
Secondly, reeds only get thrown away when they are split or cracked.
Mold is not a problem for me.
I use an old school La Voz Aluminium reed Guard with four slots.
I load 4 Vandoran Java 3.5 tenor reeds into each slot, numbered 1 through 4.
The best reed will work it's way into the Number 1 slot.
After some time, certain reeds will start to show some wear, and they will be put into the lower slot numbers. I will not throw them out, they can always be used for rehearsals and sound checks in the hot full sun. I'll save the best reed for the gig. When one reed leaves the guard,(split, or cracked) then a new reed will enter in slot number 4 and work it's way up too number one. This way I'm dealing with 4 reeds at a time, and rotating them. I'm not wasting them. When finished playing, the reed is dried before going back into the reed guard. The mouthpiece is dried using a cotton handkerchief pulled through.
I always brush my teeth before every session with Tom's Toothpaste so my mouthpiece and reed stay clean. I always scrape the reed flat with a reed knife or razor blade. New reeds are brighter, old reeds get darker.
Whatever the reed gives me, I'll go with it. Never fight your reed.
With the combination of Java's 3.5 and Morgan Jazz 9M and hand tied string Ligature, every day is a new day full of hope, discovery and purpose.
Good Luck!

 

[Ferret]

You know, it is kind of personal. Most of us that play a lot and have for a long time have a definite idea on how the reed should sound and feel. When it gets below a certain threshold, it no longer suits us and we toss it. How much you play and what situations you play in, as well as your concept of tone have a lot to do with how long reeds last. Maybe you're one of those people that are not hard on reeds or maybe you're not very picky about how they play. Do you not notice any difference in the sound and response from reed to reed? From your post it sounds like they all sound the same to you.

I can tell a bit of difference between reeds, but as to whether one is better or not, eh, it's hard to say. The newer ones tend to spit out higher notes easier and cleaner, older ones sound better lower.

I play ~1-2hrs per day, by myself with a few books and audio lessons, so I'm flying by my own observations and such. From reading these posts, I suppose the more I play the better idea I'll get from what I want out of a reed, then. Thanks for the help.

 

[wersax]

I can tell a bit of difference between reeds, but as to whether one is better or not, eh, it's hard to say. The newer ones tend to spit out higher notes easier and cleaner, older ones sound better lower.

I play ~1-2hrs per day, by myself with a few books and audio lessons, so I'm flying by my own observations and such. From reading these posts, I suppose the more I play the better idea I'll get from what I want out of a reed, then. Thanks for the help.

It's all trial and error man, though I don't think you should be blowing through reeds too fast if your playing consists of practicing at home---this is no put-down, it's just that as King Koeller said, reeds are expensive. If you get to a point where your playing out a bunch that could change depending upon the gig. At small group jazz gigs where I'm playing standards and ballads, an old reed might be the thing, where if I'm playing loud rock and have to play lot's of high notes, a new reed would be preferred.........daryl

 

[selmer]

save the great reeds for gigs and practice on the rest.

 

[bertolotti]

you do not like it anymore.......

 

[BYOB]

I agree wersax, in that when the reed falls below a certain standard, for me, it gets thrown into the practice pile.

Then after it softens too much, it is deemed unplayable, and is thrown into the junk pile, of which i'll try the reeds a few months later and see how they are.

 

[Saxmusiclover]

When it begins to sound different (no longer as nice as it originally was).

 

[Pure Magic]

Thats what I do...

save the great reeds for gigs and practice on the rest.

Thats what I do, too bad for my dog and cat:twisted:

 

[AuntSaxophone]

I'll be honest, before I found this forum I never thought more about my reeds than "is it chipped" and "is it moldy?"

How can I tell if my reeds are completely done? How far from the original stiffness, etc. should I let a reed go before figuring it's time to buy some new ones? I tend to use all my reeds at once rather than just a few, which I suppose isn't the best idea. I have a reed case and I'll more or less randomly grab one out of the bunch, so I figure using my different reeds won't offer much of a comparison. Do you dudes figure out if a reed is no good based on unused ones you have around, or a preconceived notion of what a reed should sound/feel like (that'd be the thing I need to figure out, if so)?

In school, I would play my reeds until they were so chipped that there wasn't any saving them... Then again. I didn't have the money to be buying new reeds all the time. I considered myself lucky if I had the money to have more than one reed at a time in my case.