Originally Posted By: MarioD
This is a real interesting thread.

I have one question about sax, or actually any reed instrument, and that is how does the amount of moisture in a reed affect the instrument? If it does have a influence on the sound how does one keep it at a constant moisture?

OK I guess I did have two questions.


Too dry makes the sound edgy and the reed less flexible. Too wet makes it more muddy and the reed too flexible.

Too dry makes it harder to control when playing soft, too wet makes it harder to control when playing loud.

It's hardly ever "just right" wink which is why we fuss with reeds all the time.

Moving the reed closer or farther from the edge of the mouthpiece can compensate a bit, so you will see players fiddling with reed placement as the evening goes on.

The worst thing for multi-instrumentalists is when the sax sits on the stand for a while the reed can warp as it dries out unevenly. The first 30 seconds or so of playing after that is frustrating as it won't do all you ask of it.

Some people soak their reeds in a glass of water or vodka before playing and spend a lot of time trying to make them perfect. I put the reed in my mouth while assembling the sax to wet it, and then put it on the mouthpiece and play. I use my embouchure to compensate for the irregularities.

Some folks go to synthetic reeds, and I tried every one of them and decided they aren't for me. First of all the tone isn't as complex. But worse than that, I can't change the tone and get all the variances of sound I'm used to getting from a cane reed.

I like to put a lot of vox humana into my playing, changing vowel sounds, brightness/mellowness, sub-tones, over-blowing, etc. The synthetic reeds limit that.

And if that isn't enough, each reed responds differently. Some are better than others.

As with any wind instrument embouchure makes a big difference as well; Where do you put your mouth on the reed, how much pressure, and a number of other things. We can adjust that while playing too.

Also: Where you put the ligature (the clamp that holds the reed against the mouthpiece) and how tight/loose you clamp it makes a difference as well. I tend to like it on the loose side and farther back on the mouthpiece.

Then, like strings, they go through their life. When the reed is new, it's too unflexible, it needs a break-in period. Then for a while it's perfect. Later it gets too soft, and it's time to put it in the compost bin.

Whenever you play an instrument for enough time you learn there is more than just playing notes.

Guitar is more than putting a finger on a fret and picking a string; fret finger pressure, pick angle, pick force, how firmly you are holding the pick, how close to the bridge and so on.

Piano players change the way they strike the keys to modify the sound.

Even drummers change the sound by where on the head they hit, how tightly/loosely they hold the stick, the angle the stick hits the head, and so on.

Of the instruments I play (sax, flute, wind synthesizer, guitar, bass, keyboards, & drums), I find the sax to have the most vox humana. But that might be because I've been playing it the longest and I play the others in various degrees of proficiency (or incompetence) wink

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