[ericpd]

I'm trying my first Fibracell. Half are saying I should remove the smooth clear film coating on the bottom of the reed and the other half are saying I'm supposed to leave it stuck on the reed. It seems to play ok with the film stuck on the reed, but when a friend saw me loading my mouthpiece, he said I was supposed to remove the bottom film. That it was on there for packing purposes only. When I asked someone at summer camp who's using another type of plastic, he said I wasn't supposed to remove it, that it belonged there. I'm not sure and there wasn't any instructions that came with it. Just one reed in a plastic case. I got a feeling that if I remove the clear film stuck to the bottom of the reed, I won't be able to replace it before screwin' sumptin up. So I'm askin' here, hoping you other Fibracell users can tell me the real deal. Thanks!

 

[Enviroguy]

I use Fibracells on tenor. And I've never seen a clear film on the bottom. Mine only have a clear film label on the top with writing on it. The bottom of the reed is just the fiber glass material that the reed is made out of.

I bet it's just shipping film to protect the finish. And it should likely be removed before use. But wait until a few more members chime in here just in case this is something new that I don't know about.

 

[ericpd]

Thanks for the quick reply Mr. Envrioguy. Geez, I just put the post up, went through a couple scales, and bam,... the first reply. You can see the film extending just slightly beyond the base of the reed. It's flush at the tip, not even noticeable. Just beggin' to be pulled. Just hearing you've never pulled anything is enough for me. I'm leaving it, at least like you suggest, until some other fibrabell users chime in. Thanks again!

Jr.

 

[Charliefred]

DON"T take the film off. It's supposed to be there. I've used fibracel reeds for almost five years and never have taken the film off. However, there is a faint possiblility that the film can detach by itself - and then it blocks all air going into the mouthpiece. It happened to me with a very old reed (never been played before) that had been improperly stored. But so far I haven't had a film detachment on my regular reeds.

Charlie

 

[ericpd]

Thanks Charlie for the input. Not too long ago, I took a razor blade and trimmed off the excess film to guard against it snagging like a hang nail or something. Now it's flush up against the base and there's no clue that there's a film coating on the bottom. Been blowing on this thing for a couple days and I gotta say, I really like it. Not as mellow and student sounding as cane, but I'm tired of that anyway. I've noticed I have to pay more attention when I go up a little high and when going quickly back-n-forth with the thumb octave, but I guess I'll get used to that. I might even try some of the other brands. One of the instructors at summer camp uses a white one,... think I'll ask him who makes it. Again,... thanks everyone!

 

[Ed Geddes]

The film is part of the reed. I have had it detach on baritone reeds and it does not enhance the reed at all. 4 years on fibracell.

 

[Captain Beeflat]

The film is part of the reed. I have had it detach on baritone reeds and it does not enhance the reed at all. 4 years on fibracell.

Same experience.
There is a film, which is an intrinsic part of the reed. I have been playing Fibracells for many years & only once has the film become detached.... on a totally worn out reed...the reed's final imploring appeal to be discarded.

 

[Dave Dolson]

Agree about the film being left on the reed. I've been playing Fibracells, too, for several years now and on occasion, the older ones will show some separation. I haven't found that separation (the film showing at the sides of the reed) to make any playing difference. But when I pealed off the film once, the reed became really sticky against the mouthpiece's table and that made it difficult to properly position the reed. So, a new reed was in order. DAVE

 

[ericpd]

Thanks again for all the comments. Well I've been playing on my Fibracell for about 4-5 days now and I just noticed the film just the other day. The reed plays well, and I prolly don't have enough time on the sax to really notice any subtle differences in nuance to cane reeds yet. So for me, that's a good thing I guess since my motivation was saving money. I still up to experimentation with these things. This weekend, I plan to go back out the music store and see if I can find the type of synthetic reed some of the older high schools guys are using. Right now, all I know is that it's white, or maybe very light gray, almost a foggy milky kinda clear. That one seems kinda popular with those guys,... and I'm guessing for good reason.

 

[ericpd]

Well,... apparently, someone from Fibracell read this post. Shortly after answering an e-mail from them, I received a replacement reed from them,... in Tuesday's mailbox. This one plays even better than the first one I had. Gotta conclude something wrong kinda funky with the first one which might have contributed to the film prematurely separating from the reed. In another thread, someone said that eventually the film will separate, but washing in hot water may make it happen sooner rather than later. So from now on, cold water and a little dish detergent should do the trick. No Windex either!!!

Meanwhile, my Legere Studio Cut #2 (the foggy milky kinda clear read I was trying to identify) came in from WWBW, and I like that too, but not as much as the Fibracell. They seem to play differently on different mouthpieces. The Fibracell works best on my Barone NY6M and the Legere works best on my Meyer 5M. Is this normal? I guess what I'm asking is if certain reeds do better on certain mouthpieces? And why? Man, this is nice. For the last week, I haven't even touched a cane reed. Wondering if I should try that Legere Signature reed!!!

Jr.