How long can a good reed last?

[jivemutha]

I started playing over two years ago. I play 10-12 hours a week. I've been playing a 2 1/2 Marca reed on my soprano for what's got to be at least 3 months. It sounds as good now as it did initially.

Is this totally weird or can a cane reed last this long? I'm doing absolutely nothing to preserve it. (If it makes any difference, the mp is a Super Sessions E and the horn is a Selmer Serie III.) Thanks in advance.

[dirty]

The number of days to your next gig, minus one.

[saxmanglen]

Until it dies. :cry:

[Martinman]

I had these two Vandoren #3 alto reeds that lasted a year once; I eventually threw them away because I got bored and wanted new reeds.

[Martin Williams]

What Dirty Said!!!

Its Waaaaay to true

[saxmanglen]

If you have an 4 hour gig, it usually craps out during the second tune. That's why I try to keep at least 4 decent reeds in rotation in my reed holder.

[RS]

Some reeds can seemingly sound and play well for a long time. Still I think they loose something after a couple or few days. Some richness or depth. So I always like to use a fresh reed. I very rarely will play on a reed for more than a week.

[littlemanbighorn]

If you have an 4 hour gig, it usually craps out during the second tune. That's why I try to keep at least 4 decent reeds in rotation in my reed holder.

I always kept 8 going at a time until I had problems with all the reeds in my case going moldy(full-on long hairy white fuzz. Nasty.). This has happened several times, so until I've got a reed storage system worked out where this won't happen I'm only keeping 3 in rotation. (Of course these were baritone reeds, so it's very expensive and frustrating.)

[jivemutha]

Thank you for your replies. Here's what I'm considering the take-home message to be: the life of a reed is EXTREMELY variable. Thanks again.

[silvin]

It also depends on you slap playing!

[Wailin']

It's no wonder most people I know abandon sax in favor of piano or an instrument that requires doesn' require such high maintenance. Reeds cost a lot!

[silvin]

And when the move, the cost for moving the piano is the one for 2,357 reed boxes!

[jbtsax]

My experience is that reeds last longer and play better when they are rotated, and you polish the backs of the reeds to help seal the fibers. See my post in this link for the technique. http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?t=58693&highlight=polish+reeds

It is also true that reeds played day after day go soft faster than reeds that are rotated, and that the player who always uses the same reed usually doesn't notice because the change is so gradual. The best way to keep the muscle tone up in the embouchure is to rotate your reeds.

John

[jazzbluescat]

A reed will typically last me 19 hours. I don't rotate(maybe I should).

[littlewailer]

It also depends on you slap playing!
darn, i slap a lot so i guess that means my V16 3 that has been playing great for a month is about to bite it.

[saxmanglen]

I was always told if you slap too much you'll go blind....:shock:

[littlemanbighorn]

I was always told if you slap too much you'll go blind....:shock:

I, through years of extensive research, have proved that wrong. Oh.... slaptonguing? That won't make you blind either.

[bluesaxgirl]

The number of days to your next gig, minus one.
So thats 4 years and 364 days.

[luispa]

It's no wonder most people I know abandon sax in favor of piano or an instrument that requires doesn' require such high maintenance.

... or start using synthetics

[jivemutha]

It's no wonder most people I know abandon sax in favor of piano or an instrument that requires doesn' require such high maintenance. Reeds cost a lot!
The least a piano needs tuning is usually once a year. The cost is more than the cost of reeds, no matter how many reeds you go through.

[Carl H.]

You can tune your own piano, and you can make your own reds. I prefer synthetic reeds, and tuning my own piano.

[hakukani]

You can tune your own piano, and you can make your own reds. I prefer synthetic reeds, and tuning my own piano.

I want to grow my own reeds, and my Kurzweil can be tuned any way I want it.

[Wailin']

How about customized reeds, designed to suit each player's individual tastes?

We're gonna get to that point in the near future! Maybe a new synthetic polymer is in the making that will sound equally good to a wet cane.

Have you ever found that "perfect" sounding cane reed and wish you could have all your reeds designed with its exact configurations? Then it dies!

I think that's on the horizon as we speak.

[Carl H.]

Have you ever found that "perfect" sounding cane reed and wish you could have all your reeds designed with its exact configurations? Then it dies!

I have the tools to do this, and did so for a while. Look into the perfecta reed.

I still prefer synthetic. With work you can get your sound back and there is so much less prep work involved with the synthetic reeds.