Skip to content

reeDminder | Clarinetists, unite!

Clarinetists, unite!

Home › Forums › Reeds › Clarinet Reeds › Clarinetists, unite!

Viewing 2 reply threads
  • Author
    Posts
    • May 21, 2024 at 6:24 pm #1225
      kerrinet
      Participant

      I usually use a ten day cycle when breaking in reeds. I’ll open the entire box (or two) and soak them in a bowl of water for a minute. After that I take them out and lay them flat on a piece of plexiglass that I got from a hardware store. If I’m feeling up for it I will “seal” each reed by rubbing the vamp side of the reed, (mainly between the tip and heart) and test it every so often by blowing through the heel to see if any bubbles pop up on the vamp. If not, I’m finished, and if I still see bubbles I repeat the process until I don’t see any bubbles.

      On the first day I will rotate through all reeds and play them for one minute. Each day, (for ten days) I will increase the time spent playing on each reed.

      I store my reeds in an Earspasm humidor at home with a Boveda 58% inside. When I go out and about I select a few to bring with me in a heavy duty plastic bag and smaller Boveda 72% pack. I will eventually upgrade to one of Brad Behn’s small reed cases, but haven’t gotten there yet.

      Hope this helps someome, and as always feel free to add any comments!

    • May 23, 2024 at 1:11 am #1228
      Chris reeD
      Participant

      2Wow! That’s a very detailed and involved routine!

      I don’t think that I’ve ever seen a routine that blows through the heel, and I have often wondered (when I have the odd reed the leaks through the heal), without having an answer, what the actual difference is between a reed that’s leaking air out the back vs. one that’s not. It can’t be good, right? I haven’t stuck with one of those reeds long enough to find the answer (or the issue went away during training).

      Thanks for sharing! I love to hear how other people do things.

    • May 23, 2024 at 11:46 am #1231
      Chris reeD
      Participant

      This got me thinking.

      I first learned that a reed needs to be broken in long before YouTube, so my universe of available knowledge pretty much ended at my band teacher (who was a trumpet player, coincidentally).

      I’ve watched quite a few YouTube videos to see how others break-in their reeds, but the result is only a slightly elongated version of what I did in school. It seems that most YouTube videos on the subject cover a similar, simple technique, which involves only your spit and an increasing number of minutes for a differing number of days.

      Since most people searching YouTube for break-in routines are going to be newbies, those results are good, but I don’t recall seeing good videos of more complicated routines like yours. Do you know of any? I’d be curious to watch how a more advanced/professional system works and learn some of the “whys.”

  • Author
    Posts
Viewing 2 reply threads
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.