[daviddoria]

Is it normal to have to use a much **SOFTER** reed as the tip gap gets bigger?

For example, on my guardalla super king, i am using 2's or even 1.5's, but on my Dukoff D6 I use 3's, 3.5's or 4's. Is this a "bad habbit" or something based on a poor embochure? Or is it normal/ what you are supposed to do?

Thanks,

David

 

[milandro]

I don't get it, normally it would be quite the opposite. The more open your piece the thinner the reed , closed mouthpieces can be played with thicker reeds. How can you do the opposite?

 

[daviddoria]

I think we have described the same thing?

The Super King is MUCH wider than the D6, hence I am using softer (thinner) reeds. I was just asking for some confirmation that this is how it is supposed to be.

 

[BariMelt]

That's pretty typical. Wider tip opening = lesser strength reeds. This was one of Santy Runyon's basic principles. It's not a bad habit at all. Play what feels comfortable.

 

[Dave Dolson]

daviddoria: It looks to me like your first post asked about harder reeds on larger tips - not what you wrote in your next post.

Regardless, the theory is the bigger the tip-opening, the softer the reed (not sure if thick and thin are good descriptors).

However, other factors in mouthpiece design and individual embouchure may come into play, thus justifying the use of a harder reed on a more open tip. It is what works for you, not us. DAVE

 

[milandro]

Is it normal to have to use a much harder reed as the tip gap gets bigger?

David, it is not really important and I am not making a point to prove you wrong, but here you say exactly the opposite of what I say or you say later on, you say that bigger opening (bigger tip gap) equals thicker (harder) reed.....the opposite is true!

Bigger gap=thinner reed, thicker reed=smaller gap

personal factors come into play as well. Another factor is the dimentions and shape of the chamber

 

[daviddoria]

BAHHHHH what a terrible typo!! I totally mis-read it even after you claimed I had mis-spoken.

my mistake!!

However, glad to have my question answered

 

[milandro]

no prob,it happens to us all.....

 

[BYOB]

Some people do prefer heavy weight combos though.

 

[Martinman]

Some people do prefer heavy weight combos though.

Saxophone Collosus era Sonny Rollins for example.

 

[daviddoria]

heavy weight combos = large gap and hard reeds?
how big? how hard? why - better sound?

 

[hakukani]

There are other considerations besides tip opening. If you're playing a high baffle piece, then you'll probably want a bigger tip opening.

I'm playing a .090 opening on alto, which is larger than I ever thought I'd play on.

On tenor, I'm practicing on a .125 tip opening with 2 1/2 vandorens (equivalent to a 3 in a rico). I'm getting a big, dark sound down low, and a dark, yet projecting sound up high. The downside is that you gotta develop some serious chops to play it in tune without biting it closed (i.e. controling the tip opening with your jaw.) I'm workin' on it.

 

[Martinman]

heavy weight combos = large gap and hard reeds?
how big? how hard? why - better sound?

Ego.:twisted:

Some people do sound best on that combo though. It is just what works for them...

 

[hakukani]

Ego.:twisted:

Some people do sound best on that combo though. It is just what works for them...

I just finished the day's practice. I've been playing alto for a couple of weeks and just went back to tenor. Man, my back and ribs are sore!

 

[Smooth Sop Berator]

David, it is not really important and I am not making a point to prove you wrong, but here you say exactly the opposite of what I say or you say later on, you say that bigger opening (bigger tip gap) equals thicker (harder) reed.....the opposite is true!

Bigger gap=thinner reed, thicker reed=smaller gap

personal factors come into play as well. Another factor is the dimentions and shape of the chamber

I believe you are making an incorrect assumption regarding the reason for differences in reed strength. I believe that reeds are all cut to the same thickness for a given model; Vandoren V16, for example, and then sorted for stiffness. The stiffness is mainly a result of the natural variation in the cane itself, not how thick the manufacturer cuts it, though there must be some variation due to manufacturing tolerances. Again, this is between individual reeds of the same design, same company.

 

[milandro]

I believe you are making an incorrect assumption regarding the reason for differences in reed strength. .......y.

I don't think I misinterpreted the question ( which was answered to the satisfaction of the original poster I believe), and also I don't think that your comment has anything (if not in loose terms)to do with the question asked by the original poster (always a good idea to read what an answer is actually answering).

The question was if the relative size (shall we use this term?) of a reed has to increase or decrease while increasing or decreasing the tip opening.

My statement is that, in order to keep approximately equal resistance and playbility, if you increase the size of the reed you should reduce the size of the opening (by using a different mouthpiece) and otherwise, if you increase the size of the opening (should you use a larger opening mouthpiece) you should reduce the size or strenght of the reed.

It goes without saying (it is commonplace, really...but this wasn't the question at all) that different brands and different models (design or cut) of reeds you have different resistence and that also within the same Brand or Design the various crops turn out different reeds. It has been my experience that the same Brand and the same strength perfomed completely different between one batch or the other of the cane used to produce the reeds.

 

[milandro]

Some people do prefer heavy weight combos though.

Yes, it seems to be an important point to achieve, for some, to play thick reeds as a form of manhood display!

Some time ago I witnessed the stupid bragging of this guy in a shop, while he was telling this girl in search of advise (and he was much too willing to oblige...) that he played sort of thick" metal" plates really, Iron Bars, ......well, many famous players were very happy with 2 or 3 size reeds (it is all relative to brand and design but, hey!, it is just to sat that they were not huge sizes!)

 

[nitrosax]

Reed strength is determined by *density* of cane for the most part, but actual thickness of the reed does also play a part. Check out the diagram RICO uses to illustrate this with their new Reserve reeds...

 

[gerard]

Sorry, but I'm going perform CPR on this old post and bring it back to life. So in the most part the wider the tip the softer reed you should use. I am fairly new at playing so forgive me, but what are the tone/volume characteristics between a closed tip/harder reed vs a more open tip/softer reed. I am currently using a Link HR 6* with #2 Plasticovers and seems to work well for me. But since I am at the early stages of "GAS", I bought a new sealed box Link STM 7* for $80 on Ebay. Just wondering what I expect as far as tone quality.

 

[harmonizerNJ]

gerard,
While I believe it is true that you can play softer reeds on mouthpieces with larger tip openings (all other things being equal), I don't know if there are any generalities on what the resulting tone quality will be with the different combinations. For example: for me, playing the low notes softly on my Meyer 10M mpc is easier than hitting those low notes when playing the same reed on my Meyer 9M mpc (which is slightly less open). I don't know why, and your results may vary.