[hnthere]

I've used several kinds of reeds on several kinds of mouthpieces and the shapes of the tips never seemed to match. That is, they didn't match until I mounted a La Voz tenor on the anonymous white mouthpiece that came with my new 1955 Conn 16M. Their tip shapes are a perfect match.

That got me thinking: how important is it that the shape of the reed tip matches the shape of the mouthpiece tip? I make sure I don't leave a gap when the tips are shaped differently, but assume many of you who work on your reeds also trim the tip to match a mouthpiece. Does it make enough of a difference that even a mediocre player should get in the habit of doing it? I have some dexterity issues and try to avoid attempting fine craftsmanship when possible, but will risk injury to reed and fingers it if it might be worthwhile.

 

[Pete Thomas]

I've used several kinds of reeds on several kinds of mouthpieces and the shapes of the tips never seemed to match. That is, they didn't match until I mounted a La Voz tenor on the anonymous white mouthpiece that came with my new 1955 Conn 16M. Their tip shapes are a perfect match.

That got me thinking: how important is it that the shape of the reed tip matches the shape of the mouthpiece tip? I make sure I don't leave a gap when the tips are shaped differently, but assume many of you who work on your reeds also trim the tip to match a mouthpiece. Does it make enough of a difference that even a mediocre player should get in the habit of doing it? I have some dexterity issues and try to avoid attempting fine craftsmanship when possible, but will risk injury to reed and fingers it if it might be worthwhile.

I used to worry about this, but in the end I think there is no significant issues from a slight mismatch.

 

[saxoclese]

Years ago I attended a reed making/reed adjusting class where the instructor said to move the reed just slightly past the tip of the mouthpiece and sand it to match the contour. It only took a few tries to notice the sandpaper marks on the mouthpiece and so I decided it wasn't a good idea. I suppose if one had an old identical mouthpiece it would be more practical to use this technique. The acoustics behind having the reed match the tip of the mouthpiece has to do with the fact that at dynamic levels above mf the reed starts to "beat" meaning it completely closes the tip of the mouthpiece for part of its cycle. On the saxophone the tip is open 2/3 of the cycle and closed 1/3 of the elapsed time. On the cylindrical clarinet the opening and closing is about 50/50. It is suggested this is one of the reasons the saxophone can play with more volume.

 

[Dr G]

OP - Try adjusting the position of the reed on the mouthpiece to get the most out of it - above or below the tip.

You may, in time, find a brand of reed that best matches the mouthpiece you prefer, or if you REALLY like a particular brand of reed, you can can your mouthpiece adjusted (Phil Barone once offered to do that for me, but I declined). Beyond that, don’t let Perfect get in the way of good enough.

FWIW, I have never (playing since the late ‘60s) shaped the tips of my reeds to match my mouthpiece, and I’m a pretty finicky guy with regard to the sound and response of my horns.

 

[TomOhio]

I have an old Brilhart tenor mouthpiece. The tip of it doesn’t match any reeds I use very well at all, but it plays fine.

 

[Nefertiti]

I've used several kinds of reeds on several kinds of mouthpieces and the shapes of the tips never seemed to match. That is, they didn't match until I mounted a La Voz tenor on the anonymous white mouthpiece that came with my new 1955 Conn 16M. Their tip shapes are a perfect match.

That got me thinking: how important is it that the shape of the reed tip matches the shape of the mouthpiece tip? I make sure I don't leave a gap when the tips are shaped differently, but assume many of you who work on your reeds also trim the tip to match a mouthpiece. Does it make enough of a difference that even a mediocre player should get in the habit of doing it? I have some dexterity issues and try to avoid attempting fine craftsmanship when possible, but will risk injury to reed and fingers it if it might be worthwhile.

I don't think it really matters. I have played all sorts of mouthpieces that played great where the reed didn't match the tip exactly.

 

[sopsax]

On alto mouthpieces I use tenor reeds, or sometimes bass clarinet reeds. So the tip curves are never gonna match up, & there's a bit of overhang widthwise. Regardless, I can dial in the tone I want.

What seems to have a much bigger effect on response is whether the reed overhangs the tip lengthwise, or is underslung, or meets the tip rail exactly. I can't necessarily formulate a rule of thumb, 'coz so much depends on reed variables, thinness of tip rail, ambient humidity, or sunspots. However, any time I'm unhappy with response, I slide the reed forward or back a half-millimeter or so -- et voila!*

YMMV.

* French expression meaning "I should have taken up the viola."

 

[hnthere]

Thanks everyone. I was glad to see so many people say that there's no need to do the extra work of pruning the tip of a reed to match a mouthpiece. Less work, more play(ing).

 

[milandro]

I used to worry about this, but in the end I think there is no significant issues from a slight mismatch.

Absolutely! When I started clipping my reeds I noticed that even though the profiel may not exactly match the mouthpiece it makes absolutely no difference (we are talking minute differences) to the playing