[brandenq188]

I usually hop around between Java Red, Java Green, V16's, ZZ's and the regular blue box with Vandoren, can't get enough of my Vandoren's lol, however in my 6 years of playing now, I've never really found the purpose or need of reed rotation until this past month, where after one gig, a new reed felt like it was 2 weeks old. When do you (if you do) normally reed rotate? A few days after using the same reed? One day? One performance lol? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[swperry1]

I play one brand all the time, but keep 3-4 in a rotation at all times. I do keep them soaking in water (started this in late August, and it is working for me), but I have always kept 3-4 ready to go. I pick one out of the soup and put it on. Sometimes, as you know, different reeds sound/ feel differently in different rooms...We've all had gigs where you just couldn't get the sound and response you wanted, even on what you thought was a great reed. I just switch to a different one if that happens.

 

[Dog Pants]

This is what I do and what I teach my kids. I have a La Voz reedguard with the 4 slots marked 1 through 4. I use a little yellow sticker (you get them in the news agency for $2 per 200). I remove the reed to play it and move the sticker to the next numbered reed and so on. By putting each reed back in the same slot every time, it also makes it easy to remember which reeds play well or poorly, soft or hard, etc.

 

[TDaddyWinds]

Being a dealer of Vandoren reeds and mouthpieces at my shop here in Rahway, NJ, I salute you. God Bless you. Looks like you're getting the full range of the Vandoren experience. I offered reed trial kits locally in my shop. I gave them Vandoren reeds of their choice to try. I thought it offered people an opportunity to try reeds without having to buy ALL four boxes. I was surprised alot of people didn't take me up on the offer. I think you should always experiment and try different reeds.....even try different brands. I currently offer Marca as an alternative if people are trying to experience something new. I'm gonna audition some other reeds in January with some of my professional customers and see which ones get big positive feedback. Nonetheless, I say keep rotating. All reeds are different....even in the same box. I guess Forrest Gump was right. Life is like a box of chocolates....and so is reed selection and the daily experience with this beast we call the sax.

 

[LampLight]

I almost always play the same model and strength of reed on a given mouthpiece, and I rotate typically 4 reeds - maybe two sweet ones and two "practice" ones. If you need variety, you can get it more easily by switching mouthpieces than by switching reeds.

BTW, a reed shouldn't wear out after one gig. Do you break in your reeds at all?

 

[brandenq188]

Thank you all very much this helps a lot. Reed rotation is new to me, being that it's not something i've really tried until now. Dog Pants that's an excellent idea thanks! And TDaddy yes I worship Vandoren lol, love my Optimum mouthpiece. Do you have a preference yourself on a certain box? Or Mouthpiece?

 

[brandenq188]

I usually pull out a new reed before a gig, I get a very clean and crisp sound with a fresh one, and about 45 minutes before the gig starts yes I'm breaking it in as best I can, whilst maintaining it's hardness. This just happened to be a longer gig than usual, and I mean of course the reed is still playable, just extremely worn out after that. Doesn't usually happen though.

 

[TDaddyWinds]

sweet jesus, I need to clone you, Brandon. An optimum mouthpiece user. Awesome. I myself did not get "wowed" by the Optimum mouthpiece. It's more of a classical/closed type mouthpiece. I'm using the V16 on alto and I'm thinking of ditching my Meyer for the V16 on tenor. We call the Jumbo Java "chops in a box". It's a great piece, but since I'm a repairman, I can't play that thing with horns. I tried that mouthpiece out with a horn that I knew had leaks and I played right through them. That's not the mouthpiece I need to be using when repairing. However, if I were a gigging musician, I'd use that piece and interchange it with the V16 on occasion. I also agree with Lamplight. Switching mouthpieces can really help. It's not uncommon to see a musician have a few mouthpieces based on what they're playing at the present moment. The Ted Klum mouthpieces are also good. I have a professional customer who swears by them and I respect his knowledge alot.

 

[conntentin]

You can to rotate more. I did this case:

 

[conntentin]

.

 

[swperry1]

You can to rotate more. I did this case:

Wow, there are a lot of unevenly cut reeds in that case...must have been a lot of work getting them all ready to play.

 

[daigle65]

I always keep 4 reeds in rotation for each horn. They go through a 6 step breaking in process before they go into rotation.
With 4 in rotation, I'm pretty sure to have at least one that works at any given time.

Cane is a finicky material, your reed might play great one day and not the next.
Is it the temperature, the humidity level, the barometric pressure? Who knows...

Last week I had a new clarinet reed in my 4 that just didn't have any volume to it even though it played well, but this week it sounds full and projects.

 

[jlima]

I usually rotate 8 in a row. By the third week or so I begin to replace them with a new set of reeds.

 

[LampLight]

... Cane is a finicky material, your reed might play great one day and not the next. ...
Last week I had a new clarinet reed in my 4 that just didn't have any volume to it even though it played well, but this week it sounds full and projects.

Cane really is finicky. Most often it degrades slowly or chips, but occasionally it goes from great to lousy in one quantum leap and stays there. I hate that. OTOH, on the occasions where it goes from great to lousy and back to great, I assume the difference is due to me and not the cane. (But that's only because I can't blame the drummer. :mrgreen

 

[JL]

Frist, regarding brands: I stick with one brand at a time. Most of the time, over the past 25 years or so, I've used V16 reeds on tenor. I have switched to other brands (RJS, Rigotti Gold, Alexandar) for a month or two, then eventually returned to the V16 because they seem to work best for me for a varitety of reasons.

Regarding rotating reeds (sticking with the same brand), whatever works for you is the way to go. Here's what works for me. I rotate a box of NEW reeds as I break them in, playing them for up to a half hour or so during practice sessions. Once I've establised that a reed is suitable for performance, I put it in the reed holder. Then I play the first reed in the holder (on gigs) until it's finished. That might be 3 gigs or 4 gigs, rarely more (and V16s seem to last the longest of any reed I've tried). Then I move on to the next reed in the holder. There will be at least 4 or 5 reeds ready to go at all times.

So, in a nutshell, I rotate them at first until they are broken in. But once they are broken in and working great, I don't rotate them. If I do rotate them on gigs, I end up wearing them all out at about the same time. And it's hard to keep track of which one is almost finished.

 

[sirspinbad]

...i like to use the same reed on the same mouthpiece though...due to differences in tables...etc... it's smart........ESPECIALLY with a Guardala,as they are very reed finicky

 

[JJ]

Wow, there are a lot of unevenly cut reeds in that case...must have been a lot of work getting them all ready to play.

Funny, some of the best reeds I have played where unevenly cut.... And I have had many even cut reeds that played really bad. Can you determine reed quality by looking at them? Never had luck with that myself.

 

[swperry1]

Funny, some of the best reeds I have played where unevenly cut.... And I have had many even cut reeds that played really bad. Can you determine reed quality by looking at them? Never had luck with that myself.

I have had some uneven cuts that played well after a fair amount of balancing...I wish I could look at reeds and tell if they were going to be great. That would be a super power!

 

[JL]

Can you determine reed quality by looking at them?

No.

 

[Mike F]

No.

But you can get a good idea.........