Can someone please tell me why this is?
After I clip a reed the reed that is too soft the reed plays better but sounds dead - stuffy and not resonant. Why?
if you clip the tip of a reed off, you move the "heart" of the reed closer to the front. You might need to adjust your reed by shaving a tiny bit of material off of the entire vamp. If you've never done this before, look it up on the net. There are lots of sites with info on adjusting a reed.
Just remember - don't EVER shave the heart of the reed... UNLESS you clip it. Good luck!