[turf3]

Well, the stresses on the reed when playing will tend to make it collapse into the mouthpiece window; furthermore, the reed is wetter on the flat side than the curved side; so you will periodically have to go back and flatten the back of a reed.

On baritone I usually find I've got to go back at least one time and re-flatten. After some weeks, though, they seem to stabilize.

Personally I just use a small penknife and a small straightedge. Same knife I use to adjust the strength, side-to-side balance, and adjustment of tip vs. heart vs. shoulder areas. But what do I know? I'm an old fart, who learned reed adjustment back in the day when it was considered standard practice for all single-reed players.

I'm not really sure how you get the back of a reed flat by sanding, if it's out of flat by 0.020" as I've commonly seen, without sanding down the back of the tip to nothing, or trying to hang the tip off the sandpaper and not accidentally going over it, plus people are typically recommending these super fine grits that will take you HOURS to flatten 0.020", and furthermore if you've ever tried to lap a convex surface you'll find that it's real real easy to make it worse, because it just rocks on the high spot. On the other hand, flattening the back with a small knife allows you to remove material exactly where it's needed, and not where it's not needed.

 

[turf3]

"Balancing the sides from the middle to the back"?

I don't understand this.

Do you mean making the stiffness of the reed even from side to side? You'll mostly be working near the tip. Back up the vamp the effectiveness will be less and less, and of course whatever you do in parts of the reed that are on the flat table of the mouthpiece won't do anything.

Seriously, why not just buy a little penknife at the hardware store, a box of Ricos, and practice balancing, softening, clipping and reshaping, etc., till you've got it? Seems a lot easier and more universal than relying on special "systems" and specific tools.

Basically my reeds last till the vamp's too short to keep clipping and reshaping, or I finally get a split, or I chip them. Sometimes I throw new reeds into the mix just because I start worrying that I'm getting used to softer and softer ones, so I introduce a few new ones just to make sure things are staying stable.

 

[turf3]

All of these things seem bit extreme when you can just buy a good penknife and a single edged razor blade. Mostly, it seems to me, you're paying for their instruction book

Yeah, but that's not specific to the specific tools and "system", so we're not supposed to comment.

 

[turf3]

So I looked this thing up: Am I correct that it consists of a small surface plate to use in sanding, some sandpaper, and instructions both printed and video?

 

[turf3]

Is this "sanding block" like what you use for autobody work or drywall work, a rectangular piece of material you wrap sandpaper around and which serves as a backup to it, so you get a flat surface?

 

[turf3]

If you sand down the majority of reeds, aren't you really just taking most of your reeds down a half number or a quarter number? No wonder they all play easier.


Because I keep reeds for a long time and tend to clip and reshape a given reed more than once, I'm always a bit concerned that I'm gradually reducing my reed stiffness and letting my chops get weaker. That's why I regularly introduce new reeds into the mix. I will typically retire a few of the oldest, shortest (means it's been clipped the most times and so its scrape is getting further and further away from what the manufacturer intended) or softest ones and introduce some new ones, a couple times a year (that's when I'm playing a lot; I'm not playing regularly at all since the Plague Years started, so the post-2020 situation is totally different).

 

[turf3]

good for you! I’m asking about something specific, not for you to posture.
Has anyone ever found that kind of comment valuable on this website? No. Take your weird fragile attitude somewhere else
[/QUOTE

good for you! I’m asking about something specific, not for you to posture.
Has anyone ever found that kind of comment valuable on this website? No. Take your weird fragile attitude somewhere else

That response sounds like you're thinking you got taken, paying for a couple pieces of wood and a couple pieces of sandpaper, when others are telling you that you can get the same results with a cheap penknife and 6 inch ruler. You shouldn't show your concern quite so blatantly. Play it cool, man.