[JohnMarkPainter]

I have three D’Addario reed cases with one for clarinets and two for saxes.

I have a spray bottle of water with a little splash of Dr Tichenor’s that I use to wet reeds before playing.
I also keep a spray bottle of peroxide for periodic use.
After playing, I wipe the reeds and spray with Mist-T-Mist wipe off excess and put them in the case.

This has been working well for me with no mold problems even when I go for long periods of time without playing.
I tried wet storage but had issues when I went for days without opening the container.

What do you do?

 

[Hassles]

a self made equivalent to a reedjuvinate - I use a 125ml / 4oz Nalgene jar which hold 3 alto sax reeds in their holders. The sponge in the base is dampened with distilled spirit. One reed has been in there for 19 months - all is good. I am overdue to replicate this system for tenor sax reeds.

I do not overly modify my reeds but will if needed.

One reed marked black - don't be concerned ;p)

 

[Benjamin Allen]

I have three D'Addario reed cases with one for clarinets and two for saxes.

I have a spray bottle of water with a little splash of Dr Tichenor's that I use to wet reeds before playing.
I also keep a spray bottle of peroxide for periodic use.
After playing, I wipe the reeds and spray with Mist-T-Mist jape off excess and put them in the case.

This has been working well for me with no mold problems even when I go for long periods of time without playing.
I tried wet storage but had issues when I went for days without opening the container.

What do you do?

I kind of just put the cap on the mouthpiece to protect the reed until I play again. (Dr. Tichenor's seems practical as does the peroxide.)

 

[LateNiteSax]

BA's got the right idea.
Stop wasting time with all of this. Put reed on the mp, maybe adjust it with sandpaper or similar and play it. DONE. The reed will be what it will be. You just need excellent quality cane that sounds big and loud and doesn't warp very much. Thats it. All of your obsessive tinkering won't make a whit of difference. play it, wipe it off every couple of days. If you have a metal mp then of course you need to take the reed off, wipe the mp dry. Let it dry out, and hope it won't warp so much that it will be unplayable.

I kind of just put the cap on the mouthpiece to protect the reed until I play again. (Dr. Tichenor's seems practical as does the peroxide.)

 

[Dr G]

No obsessions here either. I put a reed in my mouth when I open the horn case, assemble the horn, put on the reed, and play. When I am done, the reed comes off, gets wiped dry, then goes into the reed case.

 

[Reet McVouty]

No obsessions here either. I put a reed in my mouth when I open the horn case, assemble the horn, put on the reed, and play. When I am done, the reed comes off, gets wiped dry, then goes into the reed case.

+1

 

[adamk]

Always rinse/wipe reed under running water after use.
Use my fingers to squeegee off.
Rinse/rub mpc clean under running water and shake off.
Rinse neck out and shake vigorously.
I then put read/lg on mpc and put away if at gig.
If home i set on piano low note keys yo dry.

 

[JimD]

I put one in a glass of water if I'm home while I put the horn together, I put it in my mouth if I'm out. Then put on mouthpiece and stick it in my mouth and blow on it. Afterwards, if I'm home I might rinse it in the glass then lay it on a cupboard top until tomorrow, if I'm out I leave it on the mouthpiece till I get home then lay it on the cupboard. They never get mouldy and I haven't caught anything nasty in over 15 ears of doing this and unless I'm unlucky the reed dries flat.

 

[rsclosson]

Initially, a simple reed geek treatment after soaking in water. After that just let it dry on a flat surface.

 

[Grumps]

Take the reed out of its packaging. Suck on it for a bit while I put my horn together. Put it on the mouthpiece, not overtightening the ligature. If it's new, I'll rub my thumb along it from the middle to the tip. If it plays well, I keep it on. If it doesn't, I put it away for another day and grab another one. When I'm done, I put the reed in my gig clip for next time.

 

[Dr G]

Take the reed out of its packaging. Suck on it for a bit while I put my horn together. Put it on the mouthpiece, not overtightening the ligature. If it's new, I'll rub my thumb along it from the middle to the tip.

If we are talking new reeds, I wet them, rub them as Grumps describes, let them dry, and then polish them with a piece of paper before use.

I believe in storing them in a reed clip as well, to ensure they dry without warping. Storing them on a mouthpiece will tend to warp the reed.

 

[turf3]

I don't have time for all that bidness.

I keep them in a "reedguard" (different makers, different trade names, but you know what I mean, the little spring clip doohickey that (usually) holds 4 and attempts to keep the tips flat).

Wet 'em down before playing. Dry 'em off on my pants when done.

When they get too soft I clip 'em. If they're too hard, or the back goes out of flat, I scrape 'em.

Even without voodoo, it's not uncommon for me to get six months' or a year's playing out of a reed, if it's in a holder of 4.

The one little trick I'll use if Im on a gig with doubles, is to put a piece of paper towel or napkin up in the mouthpiece cap, get it wet with water, then put on the MP. It's like a little tiny humidifier for the reed, and it keeps the reed from drying out when the horn's sitting unplayed. At the end of the night I just rap the cap smartly on the floor; the little wad of wet paper falls out; I throw it away.

Another sort of trick, is to keep your reed stuff and main mouthpiece in a little bag in the case - that you take with you to your seat; because almost all places you play, you need to get the cases off the bandstand or out of the rehearsal room. That way if you want to change a reed, it's right there at your chair, not in your case down the hall through the kitchen.

The other thing I do is when I smell that "EWWWWW" upon bringing the mouthpiece into playing position, I wash out the MP with soap and warm (not hot) water. Just the ordinary hand soap in the men's room works fine.

Not a reed trick, but paint all the tops of your pegs (flute, clarinet, soprano) white so you can aim at them in the dark. I just use a white paint pen or White-Out.

But what do I know, I've only been doing this for 42 years now.

 

[Benjamin Allen]

If we are talking new reeds, I wet them, rub them as Grumps describes, let them dry, and then polish them with a piece of paper before use.

I believe in storing them in a reed clip as well, to ensure they dry without warping. Storing them on a mouthpiece will tend to warp the reed.

Reed prep versus reed storage, I tend to agree. As for reeds warping, it happens sometimes, but I just moisten and flatten or switch to a new reed putting the warped one wet into a reed storage case. So I guess I tend to rotate warped reeds, but they play fine after running the cycle. I suppose I'm just trying to emphasize that I have no obsessive reed strategies. It's generally just play the prepped reed without too much effort (as little as possible).

 

[JL]

If I'm at home, I place the reed in a glass of water for a minute or so, take it out, carefully position it on the mpc, tighten the lig, put the mpc on the horn and play. After playing, take the reed off the mpc, dip it in the water, squeegie the water off with my fingers, do a quick wipe with my shirt tail, put it back in the D'Addario reed holder.

If on a gig, it's the same process except after playing I leave it on the mpc, then when I get home remove it, wipe it off and put it back in the reed holder.

The only part of this I'm obsessive about is positioning the reed on the mpc. I do that very carefully to get it in the exact right spot! Then play a couple of notes to be sure.

 

[skeller047]

I don't have time for all that bidness.

I keep them in a "reedguard" (different makers, different trade names, but you know what I mean, the little spring clip doohickey that (usually) holds 4 and attempts to keep the tips flat).

Wet 'em down before playing. Dry 'em off on my pants when done.

When they get too soft I clip 'em. If they're too hard, or the back goes out of flat, I scrape 'em.

Even without voodoo, it's not uncommon for me to get six months' or a year's playing out of a reed, if it's in a holder of 4.

The one little trick I'll use if Im on a gig with doubles, is to put a piece of paper towel or napkin up in the mouthpiece cap, get it wet with water, then put on the MP. It's like a little tiny humidifier for the reed, and it keeps the reed from drying out when the horn's sitting unplayed. At the end of the night I just rap the cap smartly on the floor; the little wad of wet paper falls out; I throw it away.

Another sort of trick, is to keep your reed stuff and main mouthpiece in a little bag in the case - that you take with you to your seat; because almost all places you play, you need to get the cases off the bandstand or out of the rehearsal room. That way if you want to change a reed, it's right there at your chair, not in your case down the hall through the kitchen.

The other thing I do is when I smell that "EWWWWW" upon bringing the mouthpiece into playing position, I wash out the MP with soap and warm (not hot) water. Just the ordinary hand soap in the men's room works fine.

Not a reed trick, but paint all the tops of your pegs (flute, clarinet, soprano) white so you can aim at them in the dark. I just use a white paint pen or White-Out.

But what do I know, I've only been doing this for 42 years now.

I've used every one of these tricks. Except the little bag, I just put my reed case and mouthpiece in my pocket. Often soak the reeds in my mouth driving to the gig...

+1000, turf3, the voice of experience has spoken.

 

[Guto]

Nothing in particular after the initial adjustments to flatten the table and sometimes shaving off some material to balance it out. After that I just pull them out and play. After playing I wipe them with my fingers and put them back is the reed case.

 

[Lambros]

The only part of this I'm obsessive about is positioning the reed on the mpc. I do that very carefully to get it in the exact right spot! Then play a couple of notes to be sure.

Exactly...the devil is in that detail.

 

[JohnMarkPainter]

I don't have time for all that bidness.
The other thing I do is when I smell that "EWWWWW" upon bringing the mouthpiece into playing position, I wash out the MP with soap and warm (not hot) water. Just the ordinary hand soap in the men's room works fine.

Yeah....it's mostly the "Ewwwww" I am trying to avoid
I drink a lot of coffee when I am working too.
So I even keep some Listerine in the studio

 

[Grumps]

I will say this though, with the covid bug going around... Now that I'm playing a bit again, I set up my reed/mouthpiece at home, put the cap on it in the case and take it to the gig. After I play, I don't touch the reed to take it off, but instead just cap the mouthpiece and remove the reed and put it away after I get home and can wash my hands before touching it. I also have to abstain from rubbing my reed with my finger on the job. Things we all might want to be thinking of when getting back to it.

 

[JohnMarkPainter]

I will say this though, with the covid bug going around... Now that I'm playing a bit again, I set up my reed/mouthpiece at home, put the cap on it in the case and take it to the gig. After I play, I don't touch the reed to take it off, but instead just cap the mouthpiece and remove the reed and put it away after I get home and can wash my hands before touching it. I also have to abstain from rubbing my reed with my finger on the job. Things we all might want to be thinking of when getting back to it.

It is really hard for me to not wipe the reed with my fingers when I pause from playing.
A squirt bottle of peroxide works great