Reed Adjustment

[speyman]

Do you adjust your reeds so that they play better?

[YPYAJ]

I find that adjusting your reeds makes their playability last longer. It is something I learned from my teacher, which I had never heard of before college. Also if you have a problem with reeds warping, which is quite a problem here in South Louisiana, there are things you can do to fix and prevent it from happening as often (reeds will always warp when humidity/moisture is present). keeping your reeds unwarped also greatly improves their sound quality.

--JOSH

[speyman]

I just don't see how anyone can play without adjusting their reeds. They will work so much better from top to bottom. It will make the D2 ring like a bell and the response will be greatly increased. It will improve the tone overall and remove the stuffy sound.

[bbbouklas]

@YPYAJ what do you do to make your reeds not warp from humidity?

@speyman what exactly do you do to your reeds to achieve that??

thanx, Nikolas :)

[Carl H.]

S. Goodman has some info on his site on the basics of reed adjusting. There are a couple good books on the subject as well, but the SG site is free (was free last time i looked?).

[speyman]

Here is what I'm using. http://www.ridenourclarinetproducts.com/ATG1.html If you knew the proceedure he is using you could save a lot of money as the rest of the deal is just glass plate, sand paper and sanding block. I wish I had had this years ago as it would have made things (reeds) much easier to deal with and would have saved money. This method will make BAD reeds play good. You'll get more out of the box that are players.

[Carl H.]

It isn't rocket science, but there is some art to it. If you can't handle a knife safely it takes a bit more time using other methods, but for $3 I have a simple setup which does the job quite nicely.

[hakukani]

I just break mine in during practice. If they don't work, they go back in the drawer. If I wanted to obsess about working on reeds, I'd still play oboe.

YMMV, however.

[Carl H.]

If I wanted to obsess about working on reeds, I'd still play oboe.

YMMV, however.

That's why I play synthetic, slap it on and go. No dry reed problems when doubling. But for the odd instrument that has no synthetic available, like contrabass clarinet, a blade and a silver dollar are awfully handy. I pity people who have to buy many of those reeds to get one that plays.8-)

[matty]

I just break mine in during practice. If they don't work, they go back in the drawer. If I wanted to obsess about working on reeds, I'd still play oboe.

That's my way, too. I MAY fiddle with them with reed rush (or that new Vandoren reed stick thingy, but I HATE spending the time. I find a couple per box I can live with save the others for a rainy day...at which point I throw them out usually. I'm sure I'm spending more $ on reeds than those of you who work on them, but it's been worth it for me to have the horn in my face longer.

[speyman]

It takes me about 10 min. for me to get a reed adjusted. I usually have about 3 good ones ready to go at any time. They do play MUCH better than 99% of the reeds that I've played straight from the box.

[YPYAJ]

@YPYAJ what do you do to make your reeds not warp from humidity?

@speyman what exactly do you do to your reeds to achieve that??

thanx, Nikolas :)

Its not that I do things to keep the reeds from warping, its just keeping them in shape. First of all, using Silicone sandpaper, I use 420 to "polish the reed." THis keeps some of the water out. Another thing is usnig water instead of spit to wet your reeds, chemicals in saliva break down the cane and cause warpage. Another thing is just, if you notice a reed playing a little different than usual, check it by lying it on a flat surface, I use a small piece of plate glas that i got from a glass place for free 2"X4". You lay the reed down on that and press around the edges, or you can tell visually once you know what you're looking for. If when you press on the edges of the vamp, you notice that you have to push on the reed a little to get it to touch the glass completely, or you can see the reed not touching the glass all the way around, you have a warped reed. If it is warped, just take some sandpaper, I think I use 220 for this, put it between the glass and the reed, and rub the reed back and forth until it sits flat on the glass by itself, or you can check by using the suck test. Sometimes if you have to sand a lot, you may need to clip the reed.

--Josh

[speyman]

I don't think that I should describe exactly what I do to the reed when adjusting as it wouldn't be fair to RIDENOUR. All I can say is that I adjust (sand) the reed so that BOTH tip coners sound the same (have that ring) and then sand the reed (the complete tip) so that the low notes play easily and the upper notes also play easily. I can't stress how much difference this adjustment method makes the reeds playable. It makes playing very easy and there are no areas that are difficult to play. I also can't believe that more people are interested in adjusting their reeds (hence looking at this thread) as it makes so much difference. To each their own, but I think that this is a very important area that some attention should be paid. I don't know how many reeds that I've thrown away as they didn't play correctly over the years (50) and if I had known about this RIDENOUR method for adjusting reeds I would have saved most of them.

[Carl H.]

Sounds like a standard balancing/matching to me.

[speyman]

Sounds like a standard balancing/matching to me.

OK, great. Now can you describe what you do to the reed so that others on SOTW can understand what it is all about? Maybe we shouldn't take things for granted regarding this subject so that others can learn which is what SOTW is all about.

[Carl H.]

If you notice, I posted earlier where a free basic guide to reed adjusting could be found. It isn't that complicated if you understand what is going on. I taught all my students how to do it as well as gave them all the necessary materials with which to do the work on their own time. I have purchased and read several books dealing with the subject, but don't see the need to go into detail as I have never published any of the handouts I gave my students on the subject. They were for the use of my students.

The SG site does a fine job of explaining the basics. I am intentionally not giving the link due to his history with SOTW and his petty attitude. If you want it go look for it.

[speyman]

Your the greatest Carl. Thanks for the information for fellow SOTW people. Now where is the information on adjusting reeds on this website that you mentioned? http://www.saxgourmet.com/ Maybe you could point that out.

[speyman]

S. Goodman has some info on his site on the basics of reed adjusting. There are a couple good books on the subject as well, but the SG site is free (was free last time i looked?).
Who the hell is S. Goodman?

[speyman]

It isn't rocket science, but there is some art to it. If you can't handle a knife safely it takes a bit more time using other methods, but for $3 I have a simple setup which does the job quite nicely.

If it's not rocket science then you should be able to explain to the people on SOTW or maybe you would like to keep that to yourself and just posture a bit as you know something that someone else doesn't know. Just what is that simple setup you have that does the job quite nicely or is that another trade secret of your and is not for the eyes of people on SOTW.

[Carl H.]

Why the hostility?

Just what is that simple setup you have that does the job quite nicely or is that another trade secret of your and is not for the eyes of people on SOTW.


Single edge razor, and a clear welding lens protector from any hardware store is all you need.

Who the hell is S. Goodman?
You knew who I meant.

Maybe you could point that out.
As I said, It's been a while since I was at his site.

[Dave Dolson]

To answer the original post . . . yes, I adjust every reed I take out of a box. Some folks do - and some folks don't. Some folks use more complicated methods, others don't.

I use a small, sharp pocket knife and scrape the blade perpindicular to the vamp while the reed is held on my mouthpiece by the ligature. I scrape a little (watch those edges and the tip), rinse it under a running faucet, play it, scrape, rinse, play, etc., etc. until almost every reed in the box is a player. DAVE

[hakukani]

Who the hell is S. Goodman?
a.k.a. voldemort, I think.

Yo, Speyman, is your avatar a surgeon playing sax, or a ba'hai?

My new avatar, as I'm feeling owlish, is a Hawaiian Pueo that I took a picture of just before he/she went on a morning hunt.
Beautiful birds, a great flyer.

[Carl H.]

a.k.a. voldemort, I think.

I ain't gonna say that name around here, or spell it either.:shock:

[hakukani]

I ain't gonna say that name around here, or spell it either.:shock:

Bah, I'm only superstitious about the Scottish play.;)

[Carl H.]

Is that the one with Jason in it?:D

[speyman]

a.k.a. voldemort, I think.

Yo, Speyman, is your avatar a surgeon playing sax, or a ba'hai?

My new avatar, as I'm feeling owlish, is a Hawaiian Pueo that I took a picture of just before he/she went on a morning hunt.
Beautiful birds, a great flyer.

No hak, that's Charles Lloyd the old hippy. Sure has a good sound these days.

[speyman]

Thanks Carl. Here is an email link saxgourmet@cox.net that Carl says you can get information regarding reed adjustment. I looked at the site and it says you can request a .pdf file regarding reed adjustment. Good luck.

[Carl H.]

I had not meant this for public posting, but since it is out, I am sorry Harri if SG comes lurking again. I did my best to not make it easily accessible so "he" would not be able to accuse SOTW of benefiting from his labor.

Years ago it was available as a web page and I wasn't sure what format it would be in now. If you should request the PDF on reed adjusting, be polite and thank him for the information, but DO NOT MENTION SOTW in the email. He who shall not be named is very bitter towards SOTW and his response might not be family friendly. You have been warned.

[speyman]

Here is a link to Liebman's book which includes information on how to adjust reeds. http://www.dornpub.com/dornbook.html#Liebman

I did find that Tom Ridenour's method is more expensive but easier to understand and use.

[hakukani]

No hak, that's Charles Lloyd the old hippy. Sure has a good sound these days.

Ah, Charles Lloyd, of course. Didn't recognize him with the hat.

[Swampcabbage]

Yes, I adjust reeds. Just been getting into it myself. I've started by using the Reed Wizard which actually does a very good job and is FAST.

What I don't get is why the necessary secrets behind reed adjusting. How is this any different than discussing tone production, practicing techniques, and the like. I understand trying to protect someone's profiteering, however, the people who developed these methods have long since passed away and most are usually profiteering off of borrowed knowledge.

Personally, I wouldn't go through all the trouble of transcribing a book. And there is such a thing as copyrighting. However, are we to infer that somehow they "own" this knowledge"?

If you get down to it, isn't it actually environmentally and economically irresponsible to withold knowledge from people that could save natural resouces and consumer waste simply to make a buck?

(Understand, please, I am playing much of the devil's advocate here. Just stirring things up a little)>

[speyman]

;)

[Carl H.]

OK, great. Now can you describe what you do to the reed so that others on SOTW can understand what it is all about? Maybe we shouldn't take things for granted regarding this subject so that others can learn which is what SOTW is all about.

balancing/matchingadjust (sand) the reed so that BOTH tip coners sound the same (have that ring) and then sand the reed (the complete tip) so that the low notes play easily and the upper notes also play easily.

I don't think that I should describe exactly what I do to the reed when adjusting as it wouldn't be fair to RIDENOUR.


If you get down to it, isn't it actually environmentally and economically irresponsible to withold knowledge from people that could save natural resouces and consumer waste simply to make a buck?

:twisted:
Stirred up?

[speyman]

No. :D You know I've see a 100 guys like you. Just put me on your ignore list as I've done you.

[speyman]

Whooooool. Reed Wizard is $225. That's too rich for me but I'm sure it works great.

[hakukani]

Whooooool. Reed Wizard is $225. That's too rich for me but I'm sure it works great.

It's cheaper than a new mouthpiece.:)

[Swampcabbage]

I compensate the selling of my soul to corporate America by way of "gearing up". That way, I can more easily fool myself into pretending I'm a pro.

(Seriously, I got it through WWBW with all intentions of sending it back. It seems to work and will definately pay for itself by the end of the year).

[Carl H.]

No. :D You know I've see a 100 guys like you.
If you think so.:| Remember, you came after me. I never went after you. I tried to be civil in my posts here and my PM to you. (Thanks for posting info I didn't want to post.)
If you need to use the ignore button then have at it.

[hakukani]

I compensate the selling of my soul to corporate America by way of "gearing up". That way, I can more easily fool myself into pretending I'm a pro.



Corporate swine:D. I sold my soul to the State...

[speyman]

If you think so.:| Remember, you came after me. I never went after you. I tried to be civil in my posts here and my PM to you. (Thanks for posting info I didn't want to post.)
If you need to use the ignore button then have at it.

OK, here is a copy of the message Carl H sent to me. I don't really think that he was being civil in his post at all. He never said that to not post certain information.

The items in quotes are from Carl H. The replys after the quoted information are my responses. Now, you tell me if he (or she) Carl H. was being civil.


"It isn't rocket science, but there is some art to it. If you can't handle a knife safely it takes a bit more time using other methods, but for $3 I have a simple setup which does the job quite nicely."

Now, how does that help SOTW people learn about reed adjustment. It seems like a put down when you say things like "If you can't handle a knife safely" and "It isn't rocket science". Where is your information about reed adjustment in statements like these.

"I pity people who have to buy many of those reeds to get one that plays."

Here you go again with another put down saying that you "pity" others and what have you done to help with learning about reed adjustment.

"Sounds like a standard balancing/matching to me."

Another put down! Sounds like everyone should know this STANDARD method. I bet you that most people on SOTW don't have any idea about this stuff.


"If you notice, I posted earlier where a free basic guide to reed adjusting could be found. It isn't that complicated if you understand what is going on. I taught all my students how to do it as well as gave them all the necessary materials with which to do the work on their own time. I have purchased and read several books dealing with the subject, but don't see the need to go into detail as I have never published any of the handouts I gave my students on the subject. They were for the use of my students."

Here is another put down as your saying that you gave your students information on reed adjusting yet you won't share this same information with SOTW people. Isn't SOTW about sharing information?

"The SG site does a fine job of explaining the basics. I am intentionally not giving the link due to his history with SOTW and his petty attitude. If you want it go look for it."

I believe this is petty in itself. Why should you not give a link for information. I didn't know the right place to look for that information until I received your private mail to me.


"Quote:
Originally Posted by speyman
Who the hell is S. Goodman?"
"You knew who I meant."

Yea, I knew who you ment.

"Since you couldn't be troubled to find it yourself "

Now that's a smart a@@ comment! Sure I'm hostil in that you appear to have information about reed adjustment but only want to just tell everyone that you have it and don't seem to want to share. I guess it is just a power thing or something when you do something like this.
Why don't you make a copy of that hand out you gave to "your students" and share it with SOTW instead of just crowing about it so that you look all powerful. Good Luck.

[speyman]

I compensate the selling of my soul to corporate America by way of "gearing up". That way, I can more easily fool myself into pretending I'm a pro.

(Seriously, I got it through WWBW with all intentions of sending it back. It seems to work and will definately pay for itself by the end of the year).

Hey Swamp. I thought that the Ridenour method may be just smoke and mirrors but as it turned out, it works great. It too will pay for itself by saving "un-playable" reeds. I wish that I had some method to improve reeds 50 years ago. Just think of how many reeds I've thrown away over the years.:D

[Dave Dolson]

I went back and re-read the thread. I don't understand all the animosity. The original question was do you adjust your reeds? Not how to do it, merely do you? I chose not to post because I've said it all before - many times (and ended up doing so again in this thread).

A simple yes or no would have sufficed. Of course, it then went into more detail, beyond the initial question, and that's okay, too.

From what I read of Carl H.'s replies, he was as succinct as could be. . . especially in light of the fact that this subject has already been addressed numerous times, in exacting detail. I didn't see any animosity in Carl's posts in this thread. It isn't as if Carl is protecting some dark, mysterious secret known only to a few. The info is right here on SOTW - and has been for a long time.

I know that many posters don't read the whole site like I do (well, at least most of the threads) and that there is a mind-numbing repetiveness on SOTW that I admittedly have contributed to, trying to balance a "hit the search button" response against repeated full explanations.

But maybe you (Speyman) could back off a bit, not take it so personally, and use the search button . . . DAVE

[speyman]

Help me out here Dave. I searched for "reed adjustment" and got 200 hits. I then searched "adjusting reeds" and got 173 hits. Save me some time and tell me which one talks about balancing the reed tip so that both sides play the same and adjusting the tip overall so that the low and high notes respond easily.

[speyman]

I went back and re-read the thread. I don't understand all the animosity. The original question was do you adjust your reeds? Not how to do it, merely do you? I chose not to post because I've said it all before - many times (and ended up doing so again in this thread).

A simple yes or no would have sufficed. Of course, it then went into more detail, beyond the initial question, and that's okay, too.

From what I read of Carl H.'s replies, he was as succinct as could be. . . especially in light of the fact that this subject has already been addressed numerous times, in exacting detail. I didn't see any animosity in Carl's posts in this thread. It isn't as if Carl is protecting some dark, mysterious secret known only to a few. The info is right here on SOTW - and has been for a long time.

I know that many posters don't read the whole site like I do (well, at least most of the threads) and that there is a mind-numbing repetiveness on SOTW that I admittedly have contributed to, trying to balance a "hit the search button" response against repeated full explanations.

But maybe you (Speyman) could back off a bit, not take it so personally, and use the search button . . . DAVE

Synonym for the word succinct is the word terse.
Description of the word terse: brief and unfriendly, often conveying annoyance. I too thought that CH was being succinct in his comments.8-)

[hakukani]

Carl is often terse, and to the point. It's an interactional style. Some appreciate it, some don't. I however, tend to be verbose, which could also be irritating in a completely different way.;)

[speyman]

Carl is often terse, and to the point. It's an interactional style. Some appreciate it, some don't. I however, tend to be verbose, which could also be irritating in a completely different way.;)

I'll take verbose anyday. I don't like people to be terse around me. It is just rude in my opinion.

[Dave Dolson]

Speyman: Me thinks you protest too much (paraphrased).

But as far as earlier postings about reed adjusting, there have been numerous. I have not tried to find them again, mainly because I wrote many of them. I'll bet quite a few posters have read about the topic time and again.

Your first question had nothing to do with a reed's edges or tips. It just asked about adjusting. I suppose that the word "adjustment" would need to be defined to argue the point, but why do so.

To me adjusting a reed means prepping a reed to play better. I don't dilly-dally with each edge and the tip . . . I merely scrape the thing until it comes into playing shape. It is simply and quickly done and can be done with CHEAP tools (like I said, I use my sharp little pocket knife).

Like Carl said, it isn't rocket science but some feel for the situation must be used . . . some artistry is required.

Can someone write a 400-page text on how to open a door? Yes. Does that kind of publish-or-perish attitude exist? Yes. Is it necessary? No. DAVE

[speyman]

So where is the descriptive information on how the adjust reeds so that they play good? That was the intent of this thread when I posted. I was looking for someone to tell those on SOTW that didn't know how to adjust reeds how to do it. I don't know how to put what I do to adjust reeds into words. I can only suggest the Tom Ridenour method because that's what I'm familar with. Where is the previous post that describes adjusting reeds so the OTHER SOTW people that are not familiar with this subject can learn how to do it. Where is the post that is complete and consice on how to adjust reeds. I already know where there is a post that offers brief and terse information.....
THIS POST.....................

[Carl H.]

So where is the descriptive information on how the adjust reeds so that they play good? That was the intent of this thread when I posted. I was looking for someone to tell those on SOTW that didn't know how to adjust reeds how to do it. I don't know how to put what I do to adjust reeds into words. I can only suggest the Tom Ridenour method because that's what I'm familar with. Where is the previous post that describes adjusting reeds so the OTHER SOTW people that are not familiar with this subject can learn how to do it. Where is the post that is complete and consice on how to adjust reeds. I already know where there is a post that offers brief and terse information.....
THIS POST.....................
Did you bother to follow through on the pm I sent you?8-)

[Dave Dolson]

Speyman: I am not trying to pull your chain or make life miserable for you, but I need to point out to you that your original post offered nothing of the kind. If you wanted to pass along some helpful hints, that's great (even it has been discussed before).

I think you should have opened the thread with your description of how you prep (or "adjust") reeds, for the benefit of the readership. That seems really simple to me. Then, we wouldn't be here arguing about who was terse, who was succinct, etc., etc.

A while back, a discussion about reed-prep took place. One of the youngsters on SOTW PM'd me and we engaged in several PMs about reed prep. He said he'd learned a lot from me about it. The subject has been mentioned many times. I'm not going to go back through all posts to find them now. Suffice to say, it is there. True, newer posters may not have seen them, but that seems to be the M.O. of new readers. So, a new thread about reed prep would be a good thing. Go ahead and post yours and let's stop discussing semantics. DAVE

[speyman]

Speyman: I am not trying to pull your chain or make life miserable for you, but I need to point out to you that your original post offered nothing of the kind. If you wanted to pass along some helpful hints, that's great (even it has been discussed before).

I think you should have opened the thread with your description of how you prep (or "adjust") reeds, for the benefit of the readership. That seems really simple to me. Then, we wouldn't be here arguing about who was terse, who was succinct, etc., etc.

A while back, a discussion about reed-prep took place. One of the youngsters on SOTW PM'd me and we engaged in several PMs about reed prep. He said he'd learned a lot from me about it. The subject has been mentioned many times. I'm not going to go back through all posts to find them now. Suffice to say, it is there. True, newer posters may not have seen them, but that seems to be the M.O. of new readers. So, a new thread about reed prep would be a good thing. Go ahead and post yours and let's stop discussing semantics. DAVE

I won't be going throught all the post either.

[speyman]

Did you bother to follow through on the pm I sent you?8-)

I don't need to communicate with Steve Goodman.

[speyman]

This is one dead post. I'm out of here. Too bad information on HOW to adjust reeds couldn't be presented here for others to learn about.

[Wailin']

One can get so caught up with reed adjustment that it takes more time to adjust reed than to practice. Find a quick method that works and stick with it. What works for one person may not work for another.

I bought a book by Ray Reed on the art of reed adjustment. He makes a complete science out of reed adjustment and it gets very complicated.

[FujairahMan]

With the time it took me to read through this thread, I could have spent adjusting exactly 3.27 boxes of reeds... and that's 10-packs, not 5-packs. ;)

[gelliot2]

Help me out here Dave. I searched for "reed adjustment" and got 200 hits. I then searched "adjusting reeds" and got 173 hits. Save me some time and tell me which one talks about balancing the reed tip so that both sides play the same and adjusting the tip overall so that the low and high notes respond easily.

Maybe I'm missing the point Speyman but why do you need to search in the first place? As stated, you already use the ATG system, so you must already know how to balance reeds.

For what it's worth, I've used the ATG reed system for years and it contains all the info I'll ever need for reed adjustment.

[speyman]

Maybe I'm missing the point Speyman but why do you need to search in the first place? As stated, you already use the ATG system, so you must already know how to balance reeds.

For what it's worth, I've used the ATG reed system for years and it contains all the info I'll ever need for reed adjustment.

Yes, I use the ATG system and can adjust my reeds very easily. I don't need to know how to adjust my reeds, I only felt that it is so important that others on SOTW could also use such information. Dave D. has said that the information has already been on this forum and that I should search for it which I've done. The search yielded so many threads that I don't want to go through them. Of some note, Carl H. has sent me a link to the Rico reed site which has an article on reed adjustment. I'll be putting that on a thread someday. I'm really surprised in the lack of interest in this subject as I believe it to be very valuable. Improved tone, response and more playable reeds are the results from adjusting your reeds. From the amount of response it appears that people aren't interested in these areas of playing the saxophone.:(

[speyman]

One can get so caught up with reed adjustment that it takes more time to adjust reed than to practice. Find a quick method that works and stick with it. What works for one person may not work for another.

I bought a book by Ray Reed on the art of reed adjustment. He makes a complete science out of reed adjustment and it gets very complicated.

The ATG system is very simple and quick. There is plenty of time for practice using this system. This system will work for all.

[Dave Dolson]

Speyman: I agree with you . . . learning how to adjust reeds is a good thing, even if some players don't want to do it. If that is their desire, I can't do anything about that.

And, some who adjust reeds become obsessive about it while others do it automatically when breaking in new reeds; short and sweet, then they just play the things.

But I REALLY think you came about this thread in a convoluted way. It is clear from all the postings that your original intent was to share your knowledge with others who may not know about this practice. And I see that as an honorable thing.

Yes, it has been discussed many times, maybe not in specific threads dedicated to reed adjusting, but it sure has been cussed and discussed before. And like I've written before, it is obvious that many posters can't or won't go back through the site to become familiar with it. Those of us who have been here a long time (and still have some memory left in their brains) can recall old topics. Those of us who have been here a short time (or relatively short time) may not want to plow through it all - and there is a lot to plow through.

So, go ahead and create a new thread to tell others what you do. Others may come in there and add or detract from it, but I'll bet it won't go as long as this thread. I apologize for adding even more to it. DAVE

[speyman]

Speyman: I agree with you . . . learning how to adjust reeds is a good thing, even if some players don't want to do it. If that is their desire, I can't do anything about that.

And, some who adjust reeds become obsessive about it while others do it automatically when breaking in new reeds; short and sweet, then they just play the things.

But I REALLY think you came about this thread in a convoluted way. It is clear from all the postings that your original intent was to share your knowledge with others who may not know about this practice. And I see that as an honorable thing.

Yes, it has been discussed many times, maybe not in specific threads dedicated to reed adjusting, but it sure has been cussed and discussed before. And like I've written before, it is obvious that many posters can't or won't go back through the site to become familiar with it. Those of us who have been here a long time (and still have some memory left in their brains) can recall old topics. Those of us who have been here a short time (or relatively short time) may not want to plow through it all - and there is a lot to plow through.

So, go ahead and create a new thread to tell others what you do. Others may come in there and add or detract from it, but I'll bet it won't go as long as this thread. I apologize for adding even more to it. DAVE

Well, you should apologize. ;)

[NomDeSax]

Folks, the classic text for reed adjustment info is Kal Opperman's book.
Handbook for Making and Adjusting Single Reeds-Revised Edition. It is pretty succinct (as opposed to terse), but it's all there. It takes practice. Not an expensive book (less than $20).

This is about making reeds and adjusting them.

Ray Reed's book is almost unreadable, even by the motivated. I've been looking at it for a few months now in odd moments. There are some jewels in there, but not easy to find or understand.

Ridenour's scheme is easy to do, but I like really sharp knives.

M.

[Wailin']

I once read an article in Saxophone journal that stated no amount of adjusting scraping or clipping will give a well centered tone. What some sax players do is they test play the reed and discard it untill they find one that sounds good. In doing so their best performances are always accompanied by the perfect or close to perfect reed.

I'll check out the Operman book. You're right! I checked out Ray Reed's book and its waaaay to complex in what he's trying to say. He makes a science out of the whole thing.

[ZiCheng]

In Ray's book, the foreword by the publisher states "This book was written entirely by the author and is presented with pride as written without the need for editing by others." In my opinion, there is room for much improvement in terms of the clarity of writing, presentation of material, and the amount of explanation (there is not enough). However, it is really good stuff, and once you figure out what he is trying to say, the actual process makes a lot of sense.

So far I have only cut the back part of the reed to eliminate the warp in the back and it has been sucessful so far. It will probably take me a year or two to fully assimilate all the techniques this book has to offer. This is a good book but could have been better written and is difficult to understand.

To fully take advantage of the book you will need some tools, the costliest one, the micrometer assembly, costs over a hundred dollars in Canada new. This is another consideration to have before purchasing this book.

[Grovum]

I feel the need to speak in defense of Ray Reed's book on reed adjusting. Even if you don't want to spend all the time that his method involves, he shows shorter methods that work extremely well, and take very little time. Many of his theories about the physics of reed vibration and warping properties are well worth investigating, even if one does not impliment his techniques on a consistent basis. You must do what you feel is right, of course.