Tips and Troubleshooting

How can I make my reeds last longer?

• Initially the cane will absorb too much water. As you break in a reed, the cane absorbs less and less water until, eventually, it will no longer absorb enough water to vibrate correctly--cane is a vegetable and it has a life cycle. You can help preserve your reeds, however, by always brushing your teeth before you play your bassoon. Also, never store your reeds in an airtight container or they will mold.
• With older reeds, you can insert a piece of very fine wet or dry sandpaper between the blades and sand LIGHTLY on each blade. Too much sanding, however, will reduce the overtones and projection of the reed.

What wire adjustments can I make to improve the performance of my reed?

• Remember that a round tube will be dark and a flat tube will be bright. Thus, squeezing (with pliers) the top and middle wires from the sides will darken the sound and squeezing the wires from top to bottom will brighten the sound.
• (As noted in Popkin manual): Squeezing the top wire from the sides will open the tip, make a darker sound, sharpen the pitch and will make the low register easier. Squeezing the first wire from top to bottom will close the tip, make attacks easier, brighten the sound, and flatten the pitch.
• Squeezing the middle wire from the sides will close the tip, make attacks easier, and will sharpen the pitch. Squeezing the middle wire from top to bottom will open the tip, make the low register easier, and will flatten the pitch.
• With older reeds, the top and middle wires may be replaced. The new wires will fit the tube more perfectly and will increase the support.
• If reed is sharp, make sure the top wire isn't too tight. If the reed is flat, make sure the top wire isn't too loose.

My reed is too sharp/flat/bright/dark--what do I do?

• Refer to the wire adjustments above.
• If reed is sharp check that your blade length isn't too short. If reed is too flat, check that your blade length isn't too long. If too long, you may re-cut the tip.
• If reed is too sharp, check to make sure you have established a triple crow. If not, take out more material in the areas in which the crow is not responding.
• If reed is too dark, the spine may be too hard--carefully trim cane in this area.
• If reed is too bright, the spine may be too weak--trim the sides (channels and edges) to rebalance spine. You may also need to re-cut the tip and rebalance the entire blade.