Hi there,

I thought I'd give you all a tiny bit of info regarding the Fibracell reeds.

I use them for tenor and bari.  I love them.  However.....I've had to return 3 to the manufacturer because after playing on them for a few hours, the lay of the reed starts to peel off.  Yup, that's right.

I've exchanged numerous emails with the Fibracell manufacturers and what I've ended up with....it's not a manufacturing or product default.....but my fault!  They made me wrong so they could be right.

They say, after I get done playing, wipe the reed off and dry the mpc, then replace the reed on the mpc is what's causing the reed to peel.....so my question to all of you is....?

Have any of you had that problem?

Thanks for your time,

Fred Gruenebaum

A number of years ago they admitted to making a bad lot of Fibracells that
de-laminated easily.  They offered free exchanges.  

They appear confident that they fixed that problem.

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> Hi there,
> 
> I thought I'd give you all a tiny bit of info regarding the Fibracell reeds.
>
> I use them for tenor and bari.  I love them.  However.....I've had to
> return 3 to the manufacturer because after playing on them for a few hours,
> the lay of the reed starts to peel off.  Yup, that's right.
>
> I've exchanged numerous emails with the Fibracell manufacturers and what
> I've ended up with....it's not a manufacturing or product default.....but
> my fault!  They made me wrong so they could be right.
>
> They say, after I get done playing, wipe the reed off and dry the mpc, then
> replace the reed on the mpc is what's causing the reed to peel.....so my
> question to all of you is....?
>
> Have any of you had that problem?
>
> Thanks for your time,
>
> Fred Gruenebaum

A few years ago I had a few Fibracells that failed this way -  the bottom
membrane separated from the reed at the very tip. Fortunately, it never
happened at a gig - the reed suddenly becomes virtually unplayable.

But I haven't had this problem since then. Either you got a bad batch, an
old batch, or the problem is recurring - they have changed their reeds
lately; the color is different, the fiber is described as "new, improved",
and the reeds seem slightly less bright-sounding (I find I can remedy this
however using Ridenour's sanding block).

In the past, I have modified a few Fibracells.  It does not work well. 
Instead I buy several of each strength from different lots (months apart)
and I grade them to 1/4 strengths.

To "clip" them, I used a stainless steel mouthpiece as a fixture and
overhung the Fibracell past the tip.  I then bent the tip of the reed over
and sanded it off against the tip rail of the mouthpiece.  I have only done
this twice but it worked well enough to get 6 months out of each reed.

I have scraped and sanded the vamps.  This raises small fibers that
irritate your bottom lip until they are worn off.  Wisking the reed over a
flame can curl the fibers up so they wear off easier.   It works, but not
well.

You can "drill" Fibracells too.  This works decent but I've only tried it
once.  

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yep, I have had one fibracell reed that peeled off the bottom; could have been from what the mfg said

michael
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Fred Gruenebaum 
  To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Wednesday, May 24, 2006 11:11 AM
  Subject: [MouthpieceWork] Fibracell


  Hi there,

  I thought I'd give you all a tiny bit of info regarding the Fibracell reeds.

  I use them for tenor and bari.  I love them.  However.....I've had to return 3 to the manufacturer because after playing on them for a few hours, the lay of the reed starts to peel off.  Yup, that's right.

  I've exchanged numerous emails with the Fibracell manufacturers and what I've ended up with....it's not a manufacturing or product default.....but my fault!  They made me wrong so they could be right.

  They say, after I get done playing, wipe the reed off and dry the mpc, then replace the reed on the mpc is what's causing the reed to peel.....so my question to all of you is....?

  Have any of you had that problem?

  Thanks for your time,

  Fred Gruenebaum


  Got a Mouthpiece Work question?  Send it to MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com

  Visit the site at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MouthpieceWork to see the Files, Photos and Bookmarks relating to Mouthpiece Work.

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I've been using Fibracell reeds on S/A/T for about 6 years - I've 
never had one that separated like this. And I leave the reed on the 
mthpc all the time (occasionally removing the lig & reed to clean the 
mthpc - but only every 2 months or so)

It's a little unclear in your post - are you saying that they 
recommend that you remove the reed, wipe the mouthpiece, then replace 
the reed? Or is that what you're currently doing?

--- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, "Fred Gruenebaum" 
<fgruenebaum@...> wrote:
>
> Hi there,
> 
> I thought I'd give you all a tiny bit of info regarding the 
Fibracell reeds.
> 
> I use them for tenor and bari.  I love them.  However.....I've had 
to return 3 to the manufacturer because after playing on them for a 
few hours, the lay of the reed starts to peel off.  Yup, that's right.
> 
> I've exchanged numerous emails with the Fibracell manufacturers and 
what I've ended up with....it's not a manufacturing or product 
default.....but my fault!  They made me wrong so they could be right.
> 
> They say, after I get done playing, wipe the reed off and dry the 
mpc, then replace the reed on the mpc is what's causing the reed to 
peel.....so my question to all of you is....?
> 
> Have any of you had that problem?
> 
> Thanks for your time,
> 
> Fred Gruenebaum
>

Hi there,

Well....it was simply a no-win situation for me to get through to the folks at Fibracell.....

All that I said was exactly what I do....i.e., take the reed off, wipe it dry, dry the mpc, put the reed back on, and that's it.

To make me wrong....Fibracell said....."oh no, you've got to put the reed back into the little plastic case...that's why the reed started to peel....."

Peter....if I had told them that....when I'm done playing, I take the reed off and wipe it dry, then put it into the little plastic case....they would've said...."oh no....once you've dried the reed off, you need to put it back on the mpc."  So you see, they were completely closed to the fact that the reeds have a serious manufacturing defect....upgrades and improvements notwithstanding.

Get it?  This is after returning 2 tenor and 1 bari reed, which they replaced on their good side.  But, it is a problem.

I do play a metal mouthpiece, which I mentioned, but that didn't matter.  So....go know?

Still love the reeds, but at $12-15 a pop, I've started to use the bari reeds, which are a bit brighter, but I don't have to worry about the cessation of sound in the middle of a solo.

Thanks for asking,

Cheers,

Fred Gruenebaum


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Peter Rawlings 
  To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2006 10:39 AM
  Subject: [MouthpieceWork] Re: Fibracell


  I've been using Fibracell reeds on S/A/T for about 6 years - I've 
  never had one that separated like this. And I leave the reed on the 
  mthpc all the time (occasionally removing the lig & reed to clean the 
  mthpc - but only every 2 months or so)

  It's a little unclear in your post - are you saying that they 
  recommend that you remove the reed, wipe the mouthpiece, then replace 
  the reed? Or is that what you're currently doing?

  --- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, "Fred Gruenebaum" 
  <fgruenebaum@...> wrote:
  >
  > Hi there,
  > 
  > I thought I'd give you all a tiny bit of info regarding the 
  Fibracell reeds.
  > 
  > I use them for tenor and bari.  I love them.  However.....I've had 
  to return 3 to the manufacturer because after playing on them for a 
  few hours, the lay of the reed starts to peel off.  Yup, that's right.
  > 
  > I've exchanged numerous emails with the Fibracell manufacturers and 
  what I've ended up with....it's not a manufacturing or product 
  default.....but my fault!  They made me wrong so they could be right.
  > 
  > They say, after I get done playing, wipe the reed off and dry the 
  mpc, then replace the reed on the mpc is what's causing the reed to 
  peel.....so my question to all of you is....?
  > 
  > Have any of you had that problem?
  > 
  > Thanks for your time,
  > 
  > Fred Gruenebaum
  >







  Got a Mouthpiece Work question?  Send it to MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com

  Visit the site at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MouthpieceWork to see the Files, Photos and Bookmarks relating to Mouthpiece Work.

  To see and modify your groups, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/mygroups 
  Yahoo! Groups Links



   

Ouch! Fred, you're paying too much. You should be paying under $10 
per reed. www.wwbw.com has them listed for $9.99 (they've gone up, 
but still under $10). Hope that will ease your pain a little bit!

good luck,
Pete

--- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, "Fred Gruenebaum" 
<fgruenebaum@...> wrote:
>
> Hi there,
> 
> Well....it was simply a no-win situation for me to get through to 
the folks at Fibracell.....
> 
> All that I said was exactly what I do....i.e., take the reed off, 
wipe it dry, dry the mpc, put the reed back on, and that's it.
> 
> To make me wrong....Fibracell said....."oh no, you've got to put 
the reed back into the little plastic case...that's why the reed 
started to peel....."
> 
> Peter....if I had told them that....when I'm done playing, I take 
the reed off and wipe it dry, then put it into the little plastic 
case....they would've said...."oh no....once you've dried the reed 
off, you need to put it back on the mpc."  So you see, they were 
completely closed to the fact that the reeds have a serious 
manufacturing defect....upgrades and improvements notwithstanding.
> 
> Get it?  This is after returning 2 tenor and 1 bari reed, which 
they replaced on their good side.  But, it is a problem.
> 
> I do play a metal mouthpiece, which I mentioned, but that didn't 
matter.  So....go know?
> 
> Still love the reeds, but at $12-15 a pop, I've started to use the 
bari reeds, which are a bit brighter, but I don't have to worry about 
the cessation of sound in the middle of a solo.
> 
> Thanks for asking,
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Fred Gruenebaum
> 

> Ouch! Fred, you're paying too much. You should be paying under $10 
> per reed. www.wwbw.com has them listed for $9.99 (they've gone up,
> but still under $10). Hope that will ease your pain a little bit!
>
> good luck,
> Pete

The last 2 times I ordered Fibracells from wwbw.com, the reeds were
back-ordered and it took weeks for the order to be filled.

Better service is obtainable from the late Charlie A's website, whose widow
now runs the business.  < http://www.gigdust.com > They ship promptly,
reasonable prices.

Barry

Thanks for the Tip, Barry.

They're also available from 
http://www.junkdude.com/saxes/fibracellreeds.htm,
shipping is only $1.50, though I've never ordered from dave so I 
don't know what the service is like.

--- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, "Barry Levine" 
<barrylevine@...> wrote:
>
> > Ouch! Fred, you're paying too much. You should be paying under 
$10 
> > per reed. www.wwbw.com has them listed for $9.99 (they've gone up,
> > but still under $10). Hope that will ease your pain a little bit!
> >
> > good luck,
> > Pete
> 
> The last 2 times I ordered Fibracells from wwbw.com, the reeds were
> back-ordered and it took weeks for the order to be filled.
> 
> Better service is obtainable from the late Charlie A's website, 
whose widow
> now runs the business.  < http://www.gigdust.com > They ship 
promptly,
> reasonable prices.
> 
> Barry
>

You are not the first.
I have a tenor playing customer that had the same
problem.
Granted, he blows the stuffing out of the horn, but he
had the same problem with the same response.

David Schottle

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I usually use a 2.5 Fibracell on sax.  Sometimes a 3 or an older MS or M.
 
The 3 has a darker sound and is easier to get high altissimo on.  The 2.5 is more vibrant to my tastes and it picks up a little edge.  A 2 is downright buzzy which some players hear in the 2.5 and harder Fibracells.
 
I can get an octave of altissimo out of them fairly easily (up to G4).  I can eek out a C5 most of the time.  It is part of my play testing to try it.  If the G4 does not respond, I adjust the tip rail to help.  I usually let the C5 go unless the client specifically states they use a lot of altissimo.  I think a good cane reed is needed to play above G4.  So if I get C5 with a Fibracell, a cane reed should be even better.