Reed Adjustments
As a wise bassoon teacher once told me, “Cane is a vegetable.” Bassoon cane (arundo donax, if ya nerdy) grows all over the world, and the quality of each cane stalk can be affected by the plant’s access to nutrients, the amount precipitation, and fluctuations in temperature. Unfortunately, no two pieces of cane will ever be exactly the same, so no two reeds can ever be exactly the same (as much as I wish I could clone the near-perfect reed I once had in 2015!). Additionally, finished reeds are often sensitive to temperature, humidity, and altitude. Your new finished Student or Professional Jiffy reed may need small additional adjustments in order to suit your embouchure and playing style.
If you’re new to reed adjustment, ask your private lessons teacher to assist you. If you have reed tools at home and have some experience working on your reeds, pinpoint your reed issue and try out some of the tips below. My advice is to start with wire adjustments, as they are reversible! And, try only one adjustment at a time, and then test the reed again to gauge the improvement made. Making multiple changes at once can impair your ability to know what is actually happening to your reed as you work on it. If you need advice or guidance while working on your Jiffy Reed please don’t hesitate to email me at jiffyreeds@gmail.com!
Too sharp: Round first wire, flatten second wire. There might be too much cane on the blade, keep scraping to achieve collar-to-tip taper and side-to-side taper, use a dial indicator to check your work
Too flat: If it’s a new reed, practice on it! Flatten first wire, round second wire, tighten wires if loose. Last resort: clip the tip by 0.5 mm and retest
High register response: Improve the tip’s taper, smooth using sandpaper or file, scrape the rails in first 1/3 of the blade, tighten wires if loose
Low register response: Flatten first wire, improve the tip’s taper, check back 1/3 of the reed, scrape if too heavy, scrape the rails in middle 1/3 of the reed
Ease of moving between notes: Improve the tip taper, side-to-side and from the 6mm mark to the tip, check thickness of the back, scrape if too heavy, scrape in channels in middle 1/3 of the reed. Last resort - scrape spine lightly on entire blade to reduce the spine taper measurements by 2-4 micrometers, then play test
Dull/dark sound (when sharp or in tune): Flatten 2nd wire, check for balance in first 1/3 of the reed, scrape the channels and spine if they look thick or uneven.
Dull/dark sound (when flat): Flatten first wire, round second wire, clip tip and rescrape
Bright/buzzy sound (when sharp or in tune): Practice on it, even perform on it if in tune! Sand for balance, check thickness of the very tip, round second wire
Bright/buzzy sound (when flat): Practice on it! The pitch will likely improve after playing on the reed. Scrape the rails if they look thick or uneven. Tighten both wires. Clip tip by .5 mm and rescrape if no improvement
