Got some super-sweet regs in February (by Benedict’s fair hand), and they’ve been going great until about the last 3-4 weeks, when the Boston weather has been hot and humid. Now, the bottom two notes in both tenor & bari will jump the octave more often than not.
Does anyone have tips for non-descructive (i.e., reversible-when-winter-comes-back) means to stop that? Hegarty’s and Quinn’s books are fairly short on detailed solutions to this problem.
Thanks,
-Frank
You should really speak to BK before doing anything. I hear he know a thing or two about these pesky reeds.
Anyway, for what it’s worth, here’s my suggestion:
The humidity in the reed causes the lips to swell, reducing the size of the aperture. Try opening the lips a tiny bit.
You can try cutting a couple of scrape-shaped triangles of low-mast painter’s tape (the blue stuff) and sticking them on the scrape. It doesn’t do any favors to the tone, but it can (not to say that it will) help keep the reed from jumping. It is totally reversible (as long as you use the right kind of tape).
Good luck,
Larry
Is there a scrape on your reeds Frank? Bridles?If they are spruce, they may have neither scrape nor bridle. But try NoE’s tip and report back to us.
T
Indeed, Tommy, nary a scrape nor bridle to be found. I’d love to speak to BK about it, but I believe he’s in the Catskills this week, hence the post. I did try putting a little bit of poster putty (blu-tac), which had no effect. I’ll try the triangle though, and let you all know.
-F