When we were developing our Hurri-Cane reeds, I tried to obtain samples of
everything on the market to see what I could learn. Some products I thought
were amazingly good. I bought and tried Bari, Legere, Fibracell, and
Hartman. Did I miss any? Please let me know if I did!

 

I thought the Hartman carbon fiber reed was very nice, and that the
Fibracell Premier series was a close second. I didn't care much for the
standard Fibracell, and pretty strongly disliked the Bari and the Legere.

 

We've sold a lot of our Hurri-Cane reeds, and are working to improve them.
We think we have found the right material and keep tweaking the profile to
get the response characteristics we want.

 

I'm quite interested in any opinions about synthetic reeds in general, and
any particular brands I should be evaluating. 

 

sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc

STEVE GOODSON

SAXOPHONE DESIGNER TO THE STARS         

 

our products are ALL rated 

 

cid:339191121@25022009-09F4

 

Steve is a member of

hd_logo NAMMbelieve2nasaconf_GIF

 

 

PLEASE VISIT MY WEBSITES
 <http://www.nationofmusic.com/> http://www.nationofmusic.com/ (retail sales
and discussion forum)
 <http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/SaxophoneRepair/>
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/SaxophoneRepair/  (discussion group)
 <http://www.saxgourmet.com/> http://www.saxgourmet.com/  (saxophone history
and information)
 <http://saxophonethoughts.blogspot.com/>
http://saxophonethoughts.blogspot.com/  (my personal saxophone blog)

 

READ MY ARTICLES ON SAXOPHONE DESIGN IN EACH ISSUE OF THE SAXOPHONE JOURNAL
The Music Business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic
hallway where thieves

BASIC SHOP RATE................$100/HR

IF YOU WATCH.....................$125/HR

IF YOU ASK QUESTIONS......$150/HR

IF I HAVE TO LISTEN TO A CONCERT 

LONGER THAN FIVE MINUTES WHEN

YOU PICK UP YOUR HORN....$250/HR

 

The Music Business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic
hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs. There's
also a negative side." Hunter S. Thompson

 

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is
for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential
and privileged information or otherwise protected by law. Any unauthorized
review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the
intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy
all copies of the original message.

 

Can any of those synthetics be adjusted - for example, with the Ridenour system?  Or do they shred into harmful Kevlar fibers or something?  I'd be much more likely to spring for some Fibracells again if I knew I could balance it and adjust the hardness a little.

Dan

--- On Tue, 3/2/10, STEVE GOODSON <saxgourmet@...> wrote:

From: STEVE GOODSON <saxgourmet@cox.net>
Subject: [MouthpieceWork] 'bout those synthetic reeds........
To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, March 2, 2010, 10:35 AM







 



  


    
      
      
      







When we were developing our Hurri-Cane reeds, I tried to obtain
samples of everything on the market to see what I could learn. Some products I
thought were amazingly good. I bought and tried Bari, Legere, Fibracell, and
Hartman. Did I miss any? Please let me know if I did! 

   

I thought the Hartman carbon fiber reed was very nice, and that the
Fibracell Premier series was a close second. I didn’t care much for the
standard Fibracell, and pretty strongly disliked the Bari and the Legere. 

   

We’ve sold a lot of our Hurri-Cane reeds, and are working
to improve them. We think we have found the right material and keep tweaking
the profile to get the response characteristics we want. 

   

I’m quite interested in any opinions about synthetic reeds
in general, and any particular brands I should be evaluating.  

   

sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc 

STEVE GOODSON 

SAXOPHONE DESIGNER TO THE
STARS          

   

our products are ALL rated  

   

 

   

Steve is a member of 

  

   

  

PLEASE VISIT MY WEBSITES

http://www.nationof music.com/
(retail sales and discussion forum)

http://launch. groups.yahoo. com/group/ SaxophoneRepair/ 
(discussion group)

http://www.saxgourm et.com/ 
(saxophone history and information)

http://saxophonetho ughts.blogspot. com/ 
(my personal saxophone blog) 

   

READ MY ARTICLES ON SAXOPHONE DESIGN IN EACH ISSUE OF THE
SAXOPHONE JOURNAL

The Music Business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long
plastic hallway where thieves 

BASIC SHOP RATE........ ........$ 100/HR 

IF YOU WATCH....... ......... .....$125/ HR 

IF YOU ASK QUESTIONS... ...$150/HR 

IF I HAVE TO LISTEN TO A CONCERT  

LONGER THAN FIVE MINUTES WHEN 

YOU PICK UP YOUR HORN....$250/ HR 

   

The Music Business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long
plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs.
There's also a negative side." Hunter S. Thompson 

  

CONFIDENTIALITY
NOTICE: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of
the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged
information or otherwise protected by law. Any unauthorized review, use,
disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended
recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of
the original message. 

   








    
     

    
    


 



  

Steve,
 
There's a fairly new synthetic reed available from Forestone in Japan, but
as of now, only for clarinet and alto sax.  It's touted as being better than
anything else on the market.  Link follows -
 
http://www.forestone-japan.com/eg/home.html
 
Jeff Chan

  _____  

From: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com [mailto:MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of STEVE GOODSON
Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 8:35 AM
To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [MouthpieceWork] 'bout those synthetic reeds........





When we were developing our Hurri-Cane reeds, I tried to obtain samples of
everything on the market to see what I could learn. Some products I thought
were amazingly good. I bought and tried Bari, Legere, Fibracell, and
Hartman. Did I miss any? Please let me know if I did!

 

I thought the Hartman carbon fiber reed was very nice, and that the
Fibracell Premier series was a close second. I didn't care much for the
standard Fibracell, and pretty strongly disliked the Bari and the Legere.

 

We've sold a lot of our Hurri-Cane reeds, and are working to improve them.
We think we have found the right material and keep tweaking the profile to
get the response characteristics we want.

 

I'm quite interested in any opinions about synthetic reeds in general, and
any particular brands I should be evaluating. 

 

sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc

STEVE GOODSON

SAXOPHONE DESIGNER TO THE STARS         

 

our products are ALL rated 

 

cid:339191121@25022009-09F4

 

Steve is a member of

hd_logo NAMMbelieve2nasaconf_GIF

 

 

PLEASE VISIT MY WEBSITES
 <http://www.nationofmusic.com/> http://www.nationofmusic.com/ (retail sales
and discussion forum)
 <http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/SaxophoneRepair/>
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/SaxophoneRepair/  (discussion group)
 <http://www.saxgourmet.com/> http://www.saxgourmet.com/  (saxophone history
and information)
 <http://saxophonethoughts.blogspot.com/>
http://saxophonethoughts.blogspot.com/  (my personal saxophone blog)

 

READ MY ARTICLES ON SAXOPHONE DESIGN IN EACH ISSUE OF THE SAXOPHONE JOURNAL
The Music Business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic
hallway where thieves

BASIC SHOP RATE................$100/HR

IF YOU WATCH.....................$125/HR

IF YOU ASK QUESTIONS......$150/HR

IF I HAVE TO LISTEN TO A CONCERT 

LONGER THAN FIVE MINUTES WHEN

YOU PICK UP YOUR HORN....$250/HR

 

The Music Business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic
hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs. There's
also a negative side." Hunter S. Thompson

 

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is
for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential
and privileged information or otherwise protected by law. Any unauthorized
review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the
intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy
all copies of the original message.

 

Thanks! I look forward to trying it!

 

From: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com [mailto:MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of Jeff Chan
Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 12:12 PM
To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [MouthpieceWork] 'bout those synthetic reeds........

 

  

Steve,

 

There's a fairly new synthetic reed available from Forestone in Japan, but
as of now, only for clarinet and alto sax.  It's touted as being better than
anything else on the market.  Link follows -

 

http://www.forestone-japan.com/eg/home.html

 

Jeff Chan

 

  _____  

From: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com [mailto:MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of STEVE GOODSON
Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 8:35 AM
To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [MouthpieceWork] 'bout those synthetic reeds........

When we were developing our Hurri-Cane reeds, I tried to obtain samples of
everything on the market to see what I could learn. Some products I thought
were amazingly good. I bought and tried Bari, Legere, Fibracell, and
Hartman. Did I miss any? Please let me know if I did!

 

I thought the Hartman carbon fiber reed was very nice, and that the
Fibracell Premier series was a close second. I didn't care much for the
standard Fibracell, and pretty strongly disliked the Bari and the Legere.

 

We've sold a lot of our Hurri-Cane reeds, and are working to improve them.
We think we have found the right material and keep tweaking the profile to
get the response characteristics we want.

 

I'm quite interested in any opinions about synthetic reeds in general, and
any particular brands I should be evaluating. 

 

sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc

STEVE GOODSON

SAXOPHONE DESIGNER TO THE STARS         

 

our products are ALL rated 

 

cid:339191121@25022009-09F4

 

Steve is a member of

hd_logo NAMMbelieve2nasaconf_GIF

 

 

PLEASE VISIT MY WEBSITES
 <http://www.nationofmusic.com/> http://www.nationofmusic.com/ (retail sales
and discussion forum)
 <http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/SaxophoneRepair/>
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/SaxophoneRepair/  (discussion group)
 <http://www.saxgourmet.com/> http://www.saxgourmet.com/  (saxophone history
and information)
 <http://saxophonethoughts.blogspot.com/>
http://saxophonethoughts.blogspot.com/  (my personal saxophone blog)

 

READ MY ARTICLES ON SAXOPHONE DESIGN IN EACH ISSUE OF THE SAXOPHONE JOURNAL
The Music Business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic
hallway where thieves

BASIC SHOP RATE................$100/HR

IF YOU WATCH.....................$125/HR

IF YOU ASK QUESTIONS......$150/HR

IF I HAVE TO LISTEN TO A CONCERT 

LONGER THAN FIVE MINUTES WHEN

YOU PICK UP YOUR HORN....$250/HR

 

The Music Business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic
hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs. There's
also a negative side." Hunter S. Thompson

 

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is
for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential
and privileged information or otherwise protected by law. Any unauthorized
review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the
intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy
all copies of the original message.

 

This is very much a matter of personal taste.  And some reeds work better
with some mouthpieces than with others.

I've been quite pleased with the Hahn synthetic reeds - less buzzy and a
cleaner sound than Fibracells. Pricey, though.  And I don't need to be
reminded that I am going to Hell if I am not "saved", re the pamphlet
accompanying my last purchase of Hahn reeds.

Fibracells seem to have gone downhill. I used to like them, but in the past
few years I've yet to purchase a new one that played really well, even with
careful adjustment.

Re the Bari reeds, I don't like them much either.

But recently I came across one that I bought about 25 yrs ago for baritone
sax.  I was about to toss it, because I don't have a baritone any more, but
instead I sanded its rails, and tried it on my tenor.  Wow! Easy blowing,
responsive, clean attack, and a big ballsy sound. Best reed I have right
now.

The reed had been sanded a bit by me in the past as well. I don't know what
the magic combination was - the past adjustment; aging 25 yrs; the different
profile?

Barry



on 3/2/10 11:35 AM, STEVE GOODSON at saxgourmet@... wrote:

> When we were developing our Hurri-Cane reeds, I tried to obtain samples of
> everything on the market to see what I could learn. Some products I thought
> were amazingly good. I bought and tried Bari, Legere, Fibracell, and
> Hartman. Did I miss any? Please let me know if I did!
> 
> 
> 
> I thought the Hartman carbon fiber reed was very nice, and that the
> Fibracell Premier series was a close second. I didn't care much for the
> standard Fibracell, and pretty strongly disliked the Bari and the Legere.
> 
> 
> 
> We've sold a lot of our Hurri-Cane reeds, and are working to improve them.
> We think we have found the right material and keep tweaking the profile to
> get the response characteristics we want.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm quite interested in any opinions about synthetic reeds in general, and
> any particular brands I should be evaluating.
> 
> 
> 
> sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc
> 
> STEVE GOODSON
> 
> SAXOPHONE DESIGNER TO THE STARS
> 
> 
> 
> our products are ALL rated
> 
> 
> 
> cid:339191121@25022009-09F4
> 
> 
> 
> Steve is a member of
> 
> hd_logo NAMMbelieve2nasaconf_GIF
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> PLEASE VISIT MY WEBSITES
> <http://www.nationofmusic.com/> http://www.nationofmusic.com/ (retail sales
> and discussion forum)
> <http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/SaxophoneRepair/>
> http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/SaxophoneRepair/  (discussion group)
> <http://www.saxgourmet.com/> http://www.saxgourmet.com/  (saxophone history
> and information)
> <http://saxophonethoughts.blogspot.com/>
> http://saxophonethoughts.blogspot.com/  (my personal saxophone blog)
> 
> 
> 
> READ MY ARTICLES ON SAXOPHONE DESIGN IN EACH ISSUE OF THE SAXOPHONE JOURNAL
> The Music Business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic
> hallway where thieves
> 
> BASIC SHOP RATE................$100/HR
> 
> IF YOU WATCH.....................$125/HR
> 
> IF YOU ASK QUESTIONS......$150/HR
> 
> IF I HAVE TO LISTEN TO A CONCERT
> 
> LONGER THAN FIVE MINUTES WHEN
> 
> YOU PICK UP YOUR HORN....$250/HR
> 
> 
> 
> The Music Business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic
> hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs. There's
> also a negative side." Hunter S. Thompson
> 
> 
> 
> CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is
> for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential
> and privileged information or otherwise protected by law. Any unauthorized
> review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the
> intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy
> all copies of the original message.
> 
> 
> 
> 

I don’t think the Fibracells are designed for potential adjustment……..nor are the Hartman reeds……….I have adjusted the Legere and Bari reeds with pretty good results (better, but I still didn’t like them)………..our Hurri-Cane reeds can be adjusted using the very same tools and techniques used on cane reeds. That was a design requirement!

 

From: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com [mailto:MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of dtorosian@sbcglobal.net
Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 11:48 AM
To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [MouthpieceWork] 'bout those synthetic reeds........

 


Can any of those synthetics be adjusted - for example, with the Ridenour system?  Or do they shred into harmful Kevlar fibers or something?  I'd be much more likely to spring for some Fibracells again if I knew I could balance it and adjust the hardness a little.

Dan

--- On Tue, 3/2/10, STEVE GOODSON <saxgourmet@...> wrote:


From: STEVE GOODSON <saxgourmet@cox.net>
Subject: [MouthpieceWork] 'bout those synthetic reeds........
To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, March 2, 2010, 10:35 AM

  

When we were developing our Hurri-Cane reeds, I tried to obtain samples of everything on the market to see what I could learn. Some products I thought were amazingly good. I bought and tried Bari, Legere, Fibracell, and Hartman. Did I miss any? Please let me know if I did!

 

I thought the Hartman carbon fiber reed was very nice, and that the Fibracell Premier series was a close second. I didn’t care much for the standard Fibracell, and pretty strongly disliked the Bari and the Legere.

 

We’ve sold a lot of our Hurri-Cane reeds, and are working to improve them. We think we have found the right material and keep tweaking the profile to get the response characteristics we want.

 

I’m quite interested in any opinions about synthetic reeds in general, and any particular brands I should be evaluating. 

 

sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc

STEVE GOODSON

SAXOPHONE DESIGNER TO THE STARS         

 

our products are ALL rated 

 

cid:339191121@25022009-09F4

 

Steve is a member of

hd_logo NAMMbelieve2nasaconf_GIF

 

 

PLEASE VISIT MY WEBSITES
 <http://www.nationofmusic.com/> http://www.nationof music.com/ (retail sales and discussion forum)
 <http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/SaxophoneRepair/> http://launch. groups.yahoo. com/group/ SaxophoneRepair/  (discussion group)
 <http://www.saxgourmet.com/> http://www.saxgourm et.com/  (saxophone history and information)
 <http://saxophonethoughts.blogspot.com/> http://saxophonetho ughts.blogspot. com/  (my personal saxophone blog)

 

READ MY ARTICLES ON SAXOPHONE DESIGN IN EACH ISSUE OF THE SAXOPHONE JOURNAL
The Music Business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves

BASIC SHOP RATE........ ........$ 100/HR

IF YOU WATCH....... ......... .....$125/ HR

IF YOU ASK QUESTIONS... ...$150/HR

IF I HAVE TO LISTEN TO A CONCERT 

LONGER THAN FIVE MINUTES WHEN

YOU PICK UP YOUR HORN....$250/ HR

 

The Music Business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." Hunter S. Thompson

 

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information or otherwise protected by law. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.

 

 

Forestone from Japan.
Tony F.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: STEVE GOODSON 
  To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2010 3:35 AM
  Subject: [MouthpieceWork] 'bout those synthetic reeds........


    

  When we were developing our Hurri-Cane reeds, I tried to obtain samples of everything on the market to see what I could learn. Some products I thought were amazingly good. I bought and tried Bari, Legere, Fibracell, and Hartman. Did I miss any? Please let me know if I did!



  I thought the Hartman carbon fiber reed was very nice, and that the Fibracell Premier series was a close second. I didn't care much for the standard Fibracell, and pretty strongly disliked the Bari and the Legere.



  We've sold a lot of our Hurri-Cane reeds, and are working to improve them. We think we have found the right material and keep tweaking the profile to get the response characteristics we want.



  I'm quite interested in any opinions about synthetic reeds in general, and any particular brands I should be evaluating. 



  sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc

  STEVE GOODSON

  SAXOPHONE DESIGNER TO THE STARS         



  our products are ALL rated 







  Steve is a member of

   





  PLEASE VISIT MY WEBSITES
  http://www.nationofmusic.com/ (retail sales and discussion forum)
  http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/SaxophoneRepair/  (discussion group)
  http://www.saxgourmet.com/  (saxophone history and information)
  http://saxophonethoughts.blogspot.com/  (my personal saxophone blog)



  READ MY ARTICLES ON SAXOPHONE DESIGN IN EACH ISSUE OF THE SAXOPHONE JOURNAL
  The Music Business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves

  BASIC SHOP RATE................$100/HR

  IF YOU WATCH.....................$125/HR

  IF YOU ASK QUESTIONS......$150/HR

  IF I HAVE TO LISTEN TO A CONCERT 

  LONGER THAN FIVE MINUTES WHEN

  YOU PICK UP YOUR HORN....$250/HR



  The Music Business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." Hunter S. Thompson



  CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information or otherwise protected by law. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.




  

--- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, dtorosian@... wrote:
>
> Can any of those synthetics be adjusted - for example, with the Ridenour system?  Or do they shred into harmful Kevlar fibers or something?  I'd be much more likely to spring for some Fibracells again if I knew I could balance it and adjust the hardness a little.
> 
> Dan

Legere and Bari can be trimmed with an ordinary reed trimmer.  You can also sand these reeds a bit to soften or recontour.

I don't know about Hahn.

Fibracell, absolutely not.  It will ruin trimmers and leave a mangled, unplayable tip.

Paul

You can also dip the Legere in hot water.  This will make them a bit softer.

-----Original Message-----
From: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com [mailto:MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of tenorman1952
Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 5:12 PM
To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [MouthpieceWork] Re: 'bout those synthetic reeds........



--- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, dtorosian@... wrote:
>
> Can any of those synthetics be adjusted - for example, with the Ridenour
system?  Or do they shred into harmful Kevlar fibers or something?  I'd be
much more likely to spring for some Fibracells again if I knew I could
balance it and adjust the hardness a little.
> 
> Dan

Legere and Bari can be trimmed with an ordinary reed trimmer.  You can also
sand these reeds a bit to soften or recontour.

I don't know about Hahn.

Fibracell, absolutely not.  It will ruin trimmers and leave a mangled,
unplayable tip.

Paul

I trim Fibracell reeds with a Rigotti trimmer when needed. But it requires a
special method.

A sharp new trimmer may be necessary. I invested in a new Rigotti because my
older Cordier trimmer did not work on Fibracells.

Pinch the reed under the trimmer blade using the little lever to hold
everything in position, but don't force the lever, it can't make the cut.

I lay the trimmer plus reed flat on my bench, put a 3/8" steel rod against
the business end of the trimmer and give it a quick little whack with a
small hammer to make the cut. Works fine.

It does occasionally leave some small fibers uncut at the tip - they can be
trimmed manually with a small sharp scissors - although mostly they don't
seem to cause a problem.

After trimming,  the Fibracell reeds benefit from a bit of against-the-grain
smoothing at the tip to even out any irregularities left by the trimming.
This is what Tom Ridenour recommends after trimming cane reeds, and it also
applies to Fibracells.

Barry


> From: "tenorman1952" <tenorman1952@...>
> Reply-To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:12:18 -0000
> To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [MouthpieceWork] Re: 'bout those synthetic reeds........
> 
> 
> Fibracell, absolutely not.  It will ruin trimmers and leave a mangled,
> unplayable tip.
> 
> Paul
> 

More accurately, the rod is placed against the business end of the trimmer
blade, to whack it down.

> From: Barry Levine <barrylevine@...>
> Reply-To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:07:14 -0500
> To: <MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: Re: [MouthpieceWork] Re: 'bout those synthetic reeds........
> 
> I lay the trimmer plus reed flat on my bench, put a 3/8" steel rod against the
> business end of the trimmer and give it a quick little whack with a small
> hammer to make the cut. Works fine.
> 

Can someone describe the "Ridenour system" or process?  It is quite possible that I know and practice this but without knowing the process by name.  Perhaps someone descibes this in a web site?


Bill Daleiden
A NEW Tune, LLC
(920) 264-5827

--- On Tue, 3/2/10, tenorman1952 <tenorman1952@...> wrote:


From: tenorman1952 <tenorman1952@...>
Subject: [MouthpieceWork] Re: 'bout those synthetic reeds........
To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, March 2, 2010, 7:12 PM


  





--- In MouthpieceWork@ yahoogroups. com, dtorosian@.. . wrote:
>
> Can any of those synthetics be adjusted - for example, with the Ridenour system?  Or do they shred into harmful Kevlar fibers or something?  I'd be much more likely to spring for some Fibracells again if I knew I could balance it and adjust the hardness a little.
> 
> Dan

Legere and Bari can be trimmed with an ordinary reed trimmer. You can also sand these reeds a bit to soften or recontour.

I don't know about Hahn.

Fibracell, absolutely not. It will ruin trimmers and leave a mangled, unplayable tip.

Paul









      

Hi Bill,

Tom Ridenour developed a reed-finishing system using a special sanding block
and method of sanding.

He sells a kit with a DVD wherein he demonstrates his method, a piece of
thick glass to work on, his sanding block and extra sheets, and an
instructional booklet.  This for about $70.

A bit pricey, but it pays for itself. The method works very well,  is not
hard to learn, and should be part of basic woodwind instruction.

It's assumed you start off with your favorite reed brand - in other words,
the profile is such that at least some are good players for you. Tom's
method gets rid of minor imperfections that make a major difference in
playability.

After I bought his kit, I started working on a backlog of mediocre Fibracell
reeds I had kept (I always hoped I'd figure out how to fix them, but was
stymied), and I was able to turn most of them into good players.

Barry







on 3/3/10 10:09 AM, William Daleiden at wdaleiden@... wrote:

> Can someone describe the "Ridenour system" or process?  It is quite possible
> that I know and practice this but without knowing the process by name. 
> Perhaps someone descibes this in a web site?
> 
> 
> Bill Daleiden
> A NEW Tune, LLC
> (920) 264-5827
> 
> --- On Tue, 3/2/10, tenorman1952 <tenorman1952@...> wrote:
> 
> 
> From: tenorman1952 <tenorman1952@...>
> Subject: [MouthpieceWork] Re: 'bout those synthetic reeds........
> To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Tuesday, March 2, 2010, 7:12 PM
> 
> 
>   
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> --- In MouthpieceWork@ yahoogroups. com, dtorosian@.. . wrote:
>> 
>> Can any of those synthetics be adjusted - for example, with the Ridenour
>> system?  Or do they shred into harmful Kevlar fibers or something?  I'd be
>> much more likely to spring for some Fibracells again if I knew I could
>> balance it and adjust the hardness a little.
>> 
>> Dan
> 
> Legere and Bari can be trimmed with an ordinary reed trimmer. You can also
> sand these reeds a bit to soften or recontour.
> 
> I don't know about Hahn.
> 
> Fibracell, absolutely not. It will ruin trimmers and leave a mangled,
> unplayable tip.
> 
> Paul
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 

Tom has lots of videos available on youtube.  It is unlikely you are already doing what he does.   His sanding block is bevelled at the edges and he only sands tip to butt end of the reed.  His testing side to side is common...but he checks it with little puffs of air.  In any case look at his videos.  

--- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, William Daleiden <wdaleiden@...> wrote:
>
> Can someone describe the "Ridenour system" or process?  It is quite possible that I know and practice this but without knowing the process by name.  Perhaps someone descibes this in a web site?
> 
> 
> Bill Daleiden
> A NEW Tune, LLC
> (920) 264-5827
> 
> --- On Tue, 3/2/10, tenorman1952 <tenorman1952@...> wrote:
> 
> 
> From: tenorman1952 <tenorman1952@...>
> Subject: [MouthpieceWork] Re: 'bout those synthetic reeds........
> To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Tuesday, March 2, 2010, 7:12 PM
> 
> 
>   
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> --- In MouthpieceWork@ yahoogroups. com, dtorosian@ . wrote:
> >
> > Can any of those synthetics be adjusted - for example, with the Ridenour system?  Or do they shred into harmful Kevlar fibers or something?  I'd be much more likely to spring for some Fibracells again if I knew I could balance it and adjust the hardness a little.
> > 
> > Dan
> 
> Legere and Bari can be trimmed with an ordinary reed trimmer. You can also sand these reeds a bit to soften or recontour.
> 
> I don't know about Hahn.
> 
> Fibracell, absolutely not. It will ruin trimmers and leave a mangled, unplayable tip.
> 
> Paul
>