severe reed bowing

[Buescher]

I've had this problem for years and never really been able to resolve it. I generally got used to just ignoring it but it's driving me crazy again.

The reed, when you down the length of it, bends downward. If you put the reed on a piece of glass and look at it from the side, it pops up in the middle, so that the entire reed resembles a bow (as in bow and arrow).

Has anyone else ever had this problem? I haven't been able to find many references to it. I am not talking about the table of the reed warping horizontally in the usual "canoe" fashion. If I take a new reed and soak it and then let it dry, it does not warp in this way, which makes me that it might have something to do with it drying while I am playing and kind of "molding" into that shape, so the tip of the reed is pushed downwards (as if you fasten the reed to the mouthpiece with a ligature and then push the tip of the reed slightly downward). In fact, if I rest on the bottom two thirds of the reed on a piece of glass and let the tip overhang, the reed appears to be very close to being flat.

I am using a 3.5 Vandoren on a large chambered Caravan, so I do not think that it is an issue of the reed being too soft for the mouthpiece. I am also fairly confidant that I am not pushing the reed too forcefully against the mouthpiece.

Does anyone have any advice? This happens to all of my reeds and many of them become absolutely unplayable.

[Buescher]

For reference, I tried breaking in a new reed today: After beginning to break it in for 5 minutes, I pulled it off the mouthpiece and immediately put it on a piece of glass to check. After 5 minutes it had begun to change shape and show this problem.

[bandmommy]

Are you leaving the reed on the mouthpiece and putting the cap on when you are done playing?

Nevermind.

Maybe you ARE putting that much pressure on the reed.

[Carl H.]

How does it play? I'd suspect your reed may be too hard and you may not be taking in enough mouthpiece.

[NatureColor]

Try and think forward instead of squeeze up and down.

[Qsquared3]

if your bottom lip hurts after you play you might be biting and thus putting pressure on the reed. how do you dry and store your reeds?

[Wisco99]

I can only speak for myself, but after playing sax for 52 years I have come to expect anything from a reed. I break them in carefully, don't play them too long and do everything I can to store them correctly. In the end it doesn't matter what reed or mouthpiece I use, those suckers have a mind of their own and can change from good, to bad, to ugly in a heartbeat. One minute they are perfect and seal great, and within a few minutes they can leak and be useless.

If anyone has the perfect answer to keeping a reed playing well, consistently, and especially sealing so there are no leaks I would like to hear it. I would PAY to hear it. I try sanding them on glass, polishing them and pressing them flat. Sometimes it helps but usually I have to just toss them and start breaking in new replacement reeds. FYI...I hate artificial reeds.

Wisco8-)