[ving]

Hey all,

So I’ve been ferreting away reeds for close to twenty years I’d say; if a reed totally dies on a gig, I’d ditch it but if it was just stuffy or over the years of trying mpcs I have a ton of reeds lying around. I was always thinking maybe they’d play better sometime down the road! Haha. Anyhow, I’m pulling out some of these and trying to get them going. Anyhow else doing something similar? Sometimes they play right off, but other times they seem to get worse as I play them. Wonder if I have to kind of break them in again, or at least get them used to being wet! Some are ending up too played in to be useful, but I’m hopeful I can work on some of the stiffer/harder strength ones and get them dialed in. I guess I’ve been kind of a reed junkie....

 

[Grumps]

When I go through a box of reeds to find a playable one, I too will put aside reeds which don't work well for me at the time. A different season of the year however, they might work better for me. If not, then and only then will I work on them; but if I have to do that, I'll only use them as practice reeds from then on.

 

[ving]

I’ve been using this as kind of a challenge to see if I can make use of basically being a reed hoarder! So far, yes I find most of these to be practice reeds at best. Since I’ve been doing some recording projects at home, unfortunately a lot of these don’t sound all that great so they aren’t good for that. Funny, I used to worry more about having new reeds on gigs but the opposite seems to be true; most of these I’ve tried would be fine on a loud gig where nuance tends to be lacking....

 

[milandro]

before I started to work on reeds there were many reeds which weren’t to my liking but at some point I found what worked for me and found the strength , the brand(s) and the way to deal with the reeds and adjust them which worked for me.

Even reeds that are gone soft will get a new lease of life with clipping and sometimes re-working. By doing that I have extended the life of many reeds (some time reworked on some old rejected ones and found a way to play them) and saved a substantial amount of money.

There are reeds which appear to get worse and worse, as you play them and as you try to fix them, those are the only ones which I deem unusable.

 

[area51recording]

I think I heard Bob Reynolds mention that when he was done with a reed he would bust the tip so he'd never be tempted to revisit it....that's what I've done for years now. Conversely, my wife's late first husband was a sax player as well. I've been living with her for nearly 4 years now and I'm STILL finding boxes of old reeds squirreled throughout the house......

 

[AddictedToSax]

I think I heard Bob Reynolds mention that when he was done with a reed he would bust the tip so he'd never be tempted to revisit it....that's what I've done for years now. Conversely, my wife's late first husband was a sax player as well. I've been living with her for nearly 4 years now and I'm STILL finding boxes of old reeds squirreled throughout the house......

That';s my method. Once I';m sure it';s gone I take my thumb and bend the reed until the tip folds over. If I could find a reed clipper I might give rehabilitation a try. Haven';t found any in the music stores in town.

Ha, sounds like she has a type. 🙂

 

[sopsax]

...my wife's late first husband was a sax player as well. I've been living with her for nearly 4 years now and I'm STILL finding boxes of old reeds squirreled throughout the house......

That is hilarious!

 

[area51recording]

That';s my method. Once I';m sure it';s gone I take my thumb and bend the reed until the tip folds over. If I could find a reed clipper I might give rehabilitation a try. Haven';t found any in the music stores in town.

Ha, sounds like she has a type. ��

Ha! I guess so! Funny story: We've got one guy around here who is a whiz of a tech. My late buddy and myself both had our horns worked on by this guy. He's a decent player as well with a wit as dry as the Sahara. When my wife and I got hitched, I inherited his Mk6, and since it had sat in the case for a few years I took it to this guy for a tune up. I said to him "Mike, you might recognize this horn....you've worked on it a few times". He says, "Ohhhhhhh......did you get the house?" I say, "Yeah, guess I did"....he says, "Did you get the refridgerator?"....By that point I knew we were going to go through all the major appliances, so I cut to the chase and said, "Sure did. Also got the chick living in the house"...He says a little later, "So.....she's got a thing for sax players"....I say, "I guess so!" He says, "Well......maybe I should start practicin'"

 

[Rumbabajabba]

I think I heard Bob Reynolds mention that when he was done with a reed he would bust the tip so he'd never be tempted to revisit it....that's what I've done for years now. Conversely, my wife's late first husband was a sax player as well. I've been living with her for nearly 4 years now and I'm STILL finding boxes of old reeds squirreled throughout the house......

Same. I have enough OCD habits to need to start saving all my reeds. I have a few for emergencies but it could become overwhelming, got enough crazy things in my head as it is.

 

[crabsushi]

Pat Labarbera told me he never tosses a reed if it doesn't play right away. Sometimes the cane just needs to sit for a while before it ages into a good reed!

Perhaps that's a little extreme for some, but if you think about the time that goes into a fresh reed, it's already been aged a few years so a few more couldn't hurt?

 

[milandro]

cane is aged 3 years before it becomes a reed, I have had old reeds from a shop 20 years old on the shelf that were next to unplayable

 

[skeller047]

On the other had, I just opened a box of Rico brown box alto reeds that I bought in 1983. They play really well.


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[GaSax]

I still have a few Glotin #3 Soprano reeds from the late 1990's when I had a Soprano. Interesting thing is they no longer fit in the reed guard I bought at the same time. Found them in the junk drawer. Until few months ago there were some of the reeds still in the reed guard I found in the junk drawer. I threw those out, washed the reed guard and tried putting the unused reeds in it. They were all too wide for it. Had to leave them in the little cardboard sleeves they came in.

When I get another Soprano I'll try them out. 🙂

 

[ving]

I’ve got some old royal tenor reeds from the 80’s I bought when the music store I worked at clearances them out, but they don’t play particularly well. At least no better than current reeds available. I did dig out my reed clippers though, seeing how much I can use all these reeds.... better obsession than trying mpcs...

 

[Grumps]

I'd have just waited for a change in seasons before clipping those old Royals. Back in the day when I played them exclusively, if one didn't work, it went back in the box for another day. Eventually, the right time of year came around and I'd get use from the whole box. Never threw them out. Never worked on 'em. The old ones, that is.

 

[click]

There are reports that the old school method was not to clip the reed, but to burn it off over the edge of a quarter.

 

[Hassles]

There are reports that the old school method was not to clip the reed, but to burn it off over the edge of a quarter.

Please give it a try and report back here - sounds awfully interesting. Personally I don't like the smell - reminds me of my past when all my friends were smokin' ****.

 

[click]

Please give it a try and report back here - sounds awfully interesting. Personally I don't like the smell - reminds me of my past when all my friends were smokin' ****.

I did it many times, from say, 10 yrs ago and more.

The advantage is, for a smoker, no need for special knives or clippers, with the materials being carried around.
Lighter and a coin or two.

In addition, the tiny sliver burnt off is so small that no smell ever troubled.

The burnt end, due to the reed structure I suppose, brushed off cleanly.

I do not recall any burned or smokey taste either.

It worked fine as far as I can recall.

[I moved to Legere about 5 years ago and stayed there]

 

[Hassles]

Did you ever detect a stiffening of the reed tip due to the burning?

 

[KeithL]

I did it many times, from say, 10 yrs ago and more.

The advantage is, for a smoker, no need for special knives or clippers, with the materials being carried around.
Lighter and a coin or two.

In addition, the tiny sliver burnt off is so small that no smell ever troubled.

The burnt end, due to the reed structure I suppose, brushed off cleanly.

I do not recall any burned or smokey taste either.

It worked fine as far as I can recall.

[I moved to Legere about 5 years ago and stayed there]

Yeah, I had a teacher back in the early '90s who was a session guy in NYC in the '50s - '70s that showed me how to do this. There's very little smoke and no taste. After burning my finger a few times I graduated on to using Cordier reed trimmers for tenor, bari, and clarinet. Of course at the time they only cost about $15-$20 each so they sort of paid for themselves rather quickly.

I was thinking about doing a short video of "sax hacks" and including things like the tip burn, using a champagne bottle cork as an end plug, Crown Royal bags as neck bags, etc.. I thought it might be a quaint distraction for the young folks who appear willing to pay exorbitant amounts for small bits of everyday stuff labeled "Saxophone Accessory" or run their entire lives via apps.