I have utilized both, in general I don’t like to work on reeds with the ATG sanding block if the reed is too wet. I do flatten the back of the reed with the reed geek or reed knife, whatever is handy. I like to do small adjustments in balancing the sides with the reed geek but if a reed is a harder one to begin with I do like using the atg to bring it down quickly , and balancing as per the ATG instructions works as well for me also. I also like to use microfiber polishing cloths for fine finishing of the reed as well as reed rush.
Posts by ving
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As to soaking, I don’t generally like to soak a reed much more than 30 seconds at any point. I don’t have luck with them either adjusting or playing on them when water logged. I have been buying reeds that have been ending up a little soft after playing them in and as a result have only really been doing small adjustments with the reed geek lately. When I was using the ATG exclusively, I was starting with a stiffer reed to begin with which gave room to adjust with the sanding block. I did find my reeds ended up much more stabile that way. I actually have a small sd card case I adapted to hold a small glass plate, sanding block and reed geek that I take with me on gigs. If all my reeds would happen to be too stiff at a certain venue, a quick swipe with the sanding block more often than not takes care of it. And the reed geek if I need to flatten the back.
I would offer the value in the ATG is the ability to replicate your results very easily and quickly. Yes, I suppose you can do the same with a knife but I never had the same luck as far as consistency of results with a knife compared to the ATG. For me, since I didn’t have a teacher who really went into any details pertaining to adjusting reeds, I found value in the atg package.
Couple other thoughts, I have had two mpcs that used either a lavoz med or green box 2 1/2 (alto), and on both just slightly adjusting with the sanding block worked wonders on those. I found the slightly thinner tip after sanding/balancing was beneficial for those. My current tenor mpcs I haven’t found the right strength/cut yet, and when I’ve used the atg I’ve brightened up the reed in a way not beneficial to the sound on those so I think it depends a bit on what you are looking for from the reed; if you are someone who doesn’t like thinning out the tip the atg might not be as helpful, fwiw.
I made a second block to go in a second travel sd case; I used a cedar block (for clothes storage) and added some foam adhesive poster squares on the sides to help create a more rounded edge for contact between the reed and the block. It’s pretty good, not as good as the included block with the ATG but useable. I’ll post a pic.
(I should add I forgot my reed geek in this photo, I also have a couple of the cheap drill bit substitutes lying around. I actually prefer the glass rod that came with the Vandoren plate for small balancing adjustments when the reed is on the mpc. I don’t have a set method, I try to do what it seems like the reed needs. Sometimes it’s more surface polishing, sometimes balancing etc. seems to vary based on the reed and also time of year. I have noticed that less is more for me, when I’ve really done an elaborate ritual it hasn’t really paid off).
I find I can play sax reeds mostly right from the box with slight adjusting, with the exception of Vandorens. Those I seem to need to let equalize a little bit between wet/dry cycles before they feel stabile. On clarinet I seem to need to do this regardless of the brand, but I’ve tried up to 5 days of slight playing on new reeds but two or three seems to be enough usually.
Thanks to this post I’m going to get some new reeds and go back to using the atg more. Key is starting with a harder reed to begin with, Ridenour recommends a half strength harder I believe but I like something that just sits slightly too hard, working reeds down from a full half strength harder I’ve found too time consuming.
I’ve never had much luck clipping reeds myself. I’m currently going back through a bunch of old reeds seeing if I can get some of those working on a new mpc I’m using. the idea with the ATG is evening out the tip and balancing through sanding “against the grain”. Starting with the stiffer reed just gives you more leeway to take material off really. I’ve got boxes of old reeds here, some in strengths harder than I currently use, so I’m seeing if I can get any of those working.
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