Reed review, reedmaking thoughts
Tuesday October 02 2007
Got a great reed review from a client in Ohio who was very happy with the reeds I sent her. I’m glad because she was very particular about how she wanted her reeds. I sent her 3 according to her specifications, and 2 that were “my usual” reeds. Ironically, she liked “my usual” reeds better.
I find that a lot of people have a lot of specific demands that they want in their reeds.
- Extra darkness.
- Mellow sounding (sometimes with a crisp ring inside).
- Wide shapes. Thin shapes.
- Extra resistance. Less resistance.
- Long tips. Short tips.
But all of these concepts are rather subjective, and in the end, people just tend to like MY reeds. There are a lot of reeds out there, and they all come in different shapes and sizes, but unless someone tells me, “I want two popsicle sticks lashed together. Can you make me that?” I think I’ll just stick to my scrape.
On another note, I thickened the sides of my Graf #1 gouge, to get more stability in the high register and it worked. I’m happy with the adjustment, even though it takes a bit more time to scrape a reed. My reeds are coming out more stable, but with a bit more beef since the opening is a tad larger. There’s still all the same good qualities; same response, ring, and tone in my reeds.
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