Burning A Reed Instead Of Clipping It?!?

Cameron Wigmore · 03-08-2003, 08:56 PM

I read that one can just burn the last millimeter of reed tip off with two half dollars and it works just like clipping. I read a few years ago that Bird did this in a pinch. Has anyone tried this? I'm about to.....

Cameron Wigmore · 03-08-2003, 09:31 PM

Hmmm.....
It seems to have worked! I had to carefully sand the bit between the millimeter of ash and the untouched reed tip. After I sanded the chared bit off, I sanded the side rails and the tip curve. A U.S. half dollar works great for Tenor. Now, All I have to do is play it, but I suspect it'll respond like a clipped reed...
Still wondering if anyone can give me feedback on this procedure.....

MS · 03-08-2003, 10:22 PM

You can order a plaque from Runyon Products that has a good tip shape for burning. You can leave the tip charred - will respond as well - probably better. IMHO there is a difference between clipping and burning in the reed response. Not sure that I prefer wither.

Cameron Wigmore · 03-08-2003, 10:54 PM

Seems to work well! I always disliked reed trimmers. Will save me $$$ if I can re-use all those dozens of reeds that have become too soft! Hooray!

Lenny · 03-10-2003, 06:02 AM

There was a guy who posted on the old SOTW site that he had a device for sale (around $60) that would cleanly burn the tips for you & he claimed that burning the tip sealed the cane in a way that made it last a long time & provided better response. Another guy posted that you could make the same device yourself just by cutting a frame to match your reeds with thin tin or aluminum.
I followed the 2nd guys advice and made a little flap of tin cut to the shape of the reed and I do think it works better than cutting a reed. It gives it a brighter response too so maybe there was something to what they said. I don't know that its better than a good reed though. Never tried the half dollar route.
It can give me more life out of a reed though and make a soft reed play good.

Bryan Kendall · 03-10-2003, 05:17 PM

Why not cut the tip of the reed with the appropriate size reed clipper for your horn THEN USE A SOLDERING IRON OR WOOD BURNER TO BURN THE EDGES CLEAN. Wouldnt this would give the same result as burning but give a much more perfectly rounded tip? I tried burning with a match but the fire got out of control and flamed too much of the reed. Am I missing something here?

Question: Why is it that clipping the reed with the reed clipper makes the reed sound dull but burning the reed makes the reed sound vibrant and full????? WHY?

Troy · 03-10-2003, 10:59 PM

I have the Runyon gizmo for burning reeds and it works great. Just a lighter and this thing are all you need. Works fine for me, although I don't need it much now that I'm using Alexander reeds.

Cameron Wigmore · 03-11-2003, 07:36 PM

I think the reason why the reed responds with a brighter sound when it's burned and not clipped is because the heat from the flame actually "cures" the fibres, like when you harden a metal sword in a fire.

Ritchie · 03-12-2003, 09:01 AM

... well, wood and metal do actually react diffrently to fire, don't they?

You have to put the reed on a piece of metal with the correct shape you want to have your tip in. Otherwise there is no way of getting a predictable result. And you should not burn to long, it's only the procedure of a few seconds. The metal acts as a heat sink but will become useless when it is all heated up by the flame. BTW, I am the guy with the "do it yourself" device from the old forum.

Toni Linder · 03-12-2003, 12:44 PM

Ritchie, as you seem to be the guy with the burning device ... can you tell me why such a simple metal plate should cost 60 $$$?

Sassaphone · 03-12-2003, 06:03 PM

I use an old English penny--one of the big ones. It perfectly matches the beak of my Morgan 7L.

Ritchie · 03-13-2003, 10:12 AM

Toni, you got me wrong

. I was advocating the do it yourself method because it will cost you only 1-3$ for a sheet of metal foil and a couple of minutes to cut the shape of a reed tip from it. I could not understand why anyone would want to spend 60$ for a little bit more sophisticated version of a specially shaped piece of metal.

Cameron Wigmore · 03-16-2003, 12:42 AM

Yeah. I use two half dollar U.S. coins. I burn for a few seconds. The resins in the reed do 'cure' from the heat of the flame. That was a very good observation, Ritchie, that wood is different that metal. I learned that in kindergarten.

Since I am suck a quick learner, I have now become a master at burning reeds. Yes, you may envy me, but it won't make you any better.

For you serious cats, that was humor. Ha Ha Ha!

**Roger Aldridge** · 03-29-2003, 08:05 PM

This is really funny! I'm finding is that certain things I did YEARS ago -- like burning reed tips rather than clip them -- are coming around full circle. I hadn't thought about burning reeds in a very long time. But, recently A Matched Set told me about the Runyon reed burner so I got one to try out. Earlier today I was sheding clarinet and found several reeds that needed a touch up. So, I give the reed burner template a try. It's absolutely great! Whenever I've clipped Alexander Classique reeds it seems to take the life out of them. But, after burning they play close to as well as they did when new.

Man, between reed burning and drilling I'm all set!!!!