Leaving the reed on...

[dave2sax]

I've always taken the reed off, rinsed it (and the mpc) and then put everything away.

I really didn't think many people left the reed on the mpc inbetween playing or practice sessions - and if they did I guess I (incorrectly) assumed it was more out of laziness than anything practical.

Over the weekend I watched some of the Vandoren masterclass series on youtube with Sanborn - excellent stuff!! There's a link around here somewhere to it. In one of the clips, Sanborn explains his meticulous process for getting a reed ready to play.

But, once he gets a good playing reed on his mpc, that thing remains on there permanently - it never comes off and remains soaking wet on the mpc until it dies. He qualified this by saying he practices every day, so the reed is never out of action for that long, and each reed lasts only about 2 weeks given how much he plays. He also wraps up the whole mpc and neck with plastic and tape overnight, so it remains airtight. That really surprised me.

[tenor71363]

I leave my reed on. I know that I will practice in a reasonable amount of time(less than 12 hours) after I put the horn down. When I go back, the reed is still a little moist. I take it off the MP, soak it for a few seconds, then begin playing.

[Nefertiti]

I used to do that a lot but for some reason now if i leave the reed on with just a mouthpiece cap on it for a few days there is a good chance there will be mold on it. I take them off and put them in a Selmer case on glass. They seem to last longer for me now also.

[daigle65]

Doing this on an HR mpc can warp the table.

Having a reed that you play exclusively last 2 weeks is pretty good in my opinion.

His method doesn't sound very sanitary though !!!

[martysax]

But, once he gets a good playing reed on his mpc, that thing remains on there permanently - it never comes off and remains soaking wet on the mpc until it dies. He qualified this by saying he practices every day, so the reed is never out of action for that long, and each reed lasts only about 2 weeks given how much he plays. He also wraps up the whole mpc and neck with plastic and tape overnight, so it remains airtight. That really surprised me.

I learned that from a Berklee student teacher when I was 13. I haven't changed since.

[dave2sax]

Doing this on an HR mpc can warp the table.


Really? Is that true? I was going to give it a try, but if it might screw up the piece then forget it.

Also, after one practice sometimes the mpc and reed can get pretty slimey - if I left it on for a couple weeks I think it would be pretty disgusting.

[dave2sax]

I used to do that a lot but for some reason now if i leave the reed on with just a mouthpiece cap on it for a few days there is a good chance there will be mold on it. I take them off and put them in a Selmer case on glass. They seem to last longer for me now also.

I've also tried leaving some reeds in an airtight jar with a tiny bit of water (just a few drops) and within days the reeds are growing mold, so I scrapped that idea.

[daigle65]

Really? Is that true? .....
It happened to a clarinetist friend of mine, he would clean his mpc but he would put the wet reed back on.

[daigle65]

I've also tried leaving some reeds in an airtight jar with a tiny bit of water (just a few drops) and within days the reeds are growing mold, so I scrapped that idea.
Instead of water use a small piece of sponge moistened with Listerine.
http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?t=72926&highlight=Listerine

[hakukani]

My teacher left his reed on his mouthpiece. I never could do it--the reed would get soggy.

Before I go to a gig, I warm up and leave the reed I'll be using on the mouthpiece. When I pack up, I leave the reed on. It makes packing up a bit quicker. I take it off the next morning (or afternoon) before I start practicing.

[Finnerski]

I take it off the next morning (or afternoon) before I start practicing.

Kinda hard to practice without a reed on isn't it? :D

[Pete Thomas]

Doing this on an HR mpc can warp the table.


Really? Is that true?

I'm inclined to disagree with this, but you never know, it could just happen.

I usually leave the reed on the mouthpiece. Any unsanitary consequences would have killed me by now, I think you get immune to few bugs on the mouthpiece.

Worrying about it is more likely to kill you IMO.

[hakukani]

Kinda hard to practice without a reed on isn't it? :D

...and put another reed in my rotation on...

Hey,:D I'm trying to be sirius here....

[Sam_C]

Sanborn's reasoning is that once his crazy system of soaking and play testing and numbering each reed is finished, and they've kind of been broken in, he has no reason to change the reed, as it's working. It makes sense, since it soesn't dry out, but I'd also be worried about hygiene.

He said that the longest he ever had a reed was three months!

(By the way I was at the masterclass you're talking about)

[MyMartinTenor]

I wonder if you added some charcoal or rock salt to the baggy with the mpc/reed combo in it if you could retard the mold issue. Still wouldn't solve good ol' school bacteria, but it'd be something....

[notes_norton]

When I was young I used to leave the reed on. Living in humid Florida it was a sure way to get mold on the reed. The mold grew between the reed and the mpc, about where the ligature holds it snug.

I'm not squeamish about it, because it never hurt me, but I found that eventually I didn't like the odor as it started to smell like mildew so I changed my ways.

Now I rotate 4 reeds, storing them in a 4 slot LaVoz Reed Saver.

Works for me.

Notes

[sxmix]

Doing this on an HR mpc can warp the table.


I'm unclear on this... are you saying that the mouthpiece itself will warp? I have never heard of that happening.

It's definitely true that leaving a reed on the mouthpiece will cause the reed to warp. I havent found that to be much of a problem, unless it warps to the point that it doesn't seal against the mouthpiece. (in which case, you can hit it with some sandpaper or a reed knife to flatten it back out).

[Mope]

How can a reed warp when the ligature is holding it snug against the table. Anyone that leaves reeds on the mouthpiece knows that they last much longer. And a reed causing the mouthpiece to warp? I gotta see that.

[hakukani]

How can a reed warp when the ligature is holding it snug against the table. Anyone that leaves reeds on the mouthpiece knows that they last much longer. And a reed causing the mouthpiece to warp? I gotta see that.

The tip of the reed is what warps, methinks.

[Blowhard2]

How can a reed warp when the ligature is holding it snug against the table. Anyone that leaves reeds on the mouthpiece knows that they last much longer. And a reed causing the mouthpiece to warp? I gotta see that.

Seems pretty logical to me .

I often leave my synthetic reeds on the MP, and still on the neck overnight ,either on the horn , or fitted with a mouthpiece cover, wrapped in a velvet pouch in the sax bell , if I have to transport it, without problems.

Onca I have an in tune , "working " setup, I am loathe to move it !.

I have never had problems with mould, but I do play almost every day .

Blowhard2

[Nefertiti]

For me putting it ona piece of flat glass so it can dry flat makes it last much longer. when it's on the mouthpiece it warps every time it dries at the tip. I guess if it never dries out at the tip then it's not an issue but for me it would dry out and warp and if not that it would get moldy.

[Mike Cesati]

I learned that from a Berklee student teacher when I was 13. I haven't changed since.

My method as well, a Bahstan Thang I guess.
we're not lazy we just like to pick up the horn and play. Once I have a good one on there it stays till it's done.
Of course I take it off to clean it and the mpc after the session but put it all right back together.
I have a pc. of tape over the holes in the mpc cap to prevent air from getting in.

There is never mold if I play everyday which I do. YMMV

[kavala]

This subject has been discussed several times previously.
It seems there is not one answer that suits everyone.

For me, I always take the reed off and clean it and the mpc.
I then store the reed in a La Voz reed guard. If you play it soon
after, like the next day, it will still be damp and play straight
off the mark.
Sometimes you get mold.
I don't keep my reeds long as I prefer the sound and feel of
new reeds.
As reeds age they tend to become thin sounding and lose
a lot of their character.
Damp reeds left on my Link caused corrosion to the plating
on the table.

[LeftySaxDude]

I've also tried leaving some reeds in an airtight jar with a tiny bit of water (just a few drops) and within days the reeds are growing mold, so I scrapped that idea.

I do the same thing, but I use peroxide instead of water. No mold on the reeds so far, and they've remained wet for about a month now. I soak my reeds for a couple hours in a combo of water and listerine/peroxide. When I'm done playing, I put the reed back in the jar. Works for me.

[JoAnnPeeler]

In Florida leaving a cane reed on the mouthpiece overnight can result in mold growth. However, I have found that this depends on the brand or perhaps specific box of reed. Some reeds seem to be more susceptible to mold. I suspect that certain reed manufacturers do a better job of preventing mold spores from contaminating their stock or perhaps it is some treatment? For instance, in the same reed case I left two moist Brancher and two moist RJS reeds overnight. In the morning both the Branchers had the start of black mold. Neither of the RJS reeds had any mold.

Today, I've gone 100% over to the dark side and I use Legeres for all my reeds. Even though a great reed may sound just a little better than the Legere (and of course that is subjective) not having to maintain the reed preparation ritual is certainly a plus. It means more time to practice and less time worrying.

[CooolJazzz]

Back in the day, when I was playing a minimum of 8 hours a day...a couple of hours here, a couple of hours there...I used a flip-up reed guard that was attached to the ligature. It kept the reed from warping between sessions, and all I had to do was slap on the neck, pull the reed guard down, and my horn was ready to play within seconds of pulling it out of the case. No diddling around with the mouthpiece or reeds....just open the case, pull out the horn, and start playing. I was playing all the time though...so the reed never had very long to rest.

I also kept the mouthpiece on the neck which I know isn't good for the cork, but I did my own repairs so replacing a neck cork whenever it needed it wasn't a big deal and hardly takes any time at all.

I haven't seen any of those flip-up reed guards being advertised or sold lately, and I've been out of the loop for over 20 years so people may not even use them any more, but almost everybody at Berklee was using them when I was there back in the early 80's.

[quackattack]

I keep the mouthpiece on the neck, so I'm already more or less in tune. I can always recork if I need to, or use tape. I take the reed off the mouthpiece after every use, clean it and store it in a glass Selmer reed case. I find the reeds warps faster and develops discoloration if I don't. Using this reed case has made my reeds last quite a bit longer. If I'm going to play somewhere, that is when I'll leave the reed on the mpc, so it's ready to play when I take the horn out.

[renegade]

It does not really take much effort to remove the reed from the mpc and the latter from the neck so it has become my habit to do so after playing even for an hour and even with with the intention of playing again on the same day.

[raysaxpauley]

[QUOTE=Nefertiti;920787]I used to do that a lot but for some reason now if i leave the reed on with just a mouthpiece cap on it for a few days there is a good chance there will be mold on it. I take them off and put them in a Selmer case on glass. They seem to last longer for me now also.[/QUO

i had the same problem and i use the same solution, one reed had black mold on it after a couple days of sitting.

[Tobias]

I play synthetical reeds, so I've no problem with that question. I leave it on the mouthpiece. Another advantage of these reeds.

But with cane you should remove it, because, when leave it on, the tip gets those waves when it dries and doesn't play well in the first minutes.
The second reason is the hygenical aspect.

When I remove my reed after some days playing there is this little brown mud. Very tasty..

But to be honest, even if I would play cane, I wouldn't care.

[cjmdsax]

I prefer to rotate reeds, so the reed comes off.

I'd think that even with synthetics there is some concern for hygiene for the same reason that the mouthpiece should be cleaned out regularly.