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RE: Contra Alto

Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2001-05-17 21:05

Cheryl,
Thanks for the congrats --- my Buescher contra is indeed a recent acquisition (about a month-and-a-half ago), an eBay special that cost me $700 (quite a bargain, given its generally good condition --- most of the pads and corks were fine, and after a good cleaning and polishing it even looks presentable).
Not to answer for Ken, but I frequently sand and/or scrape the bottom of reeds, where 'bottom' refers to the 'flat' side that sits on the mouthpiece table. Here's the secret: Start with reeds that are maybe a half-strength stronger (harder) than you will ultimately want to play on. Break in the reeds by wetting in a glass of water for about 10 minutes, then dry using your fingers and/or a towel, always squeezing from the back towards the tip. Then lay the reed on a countertop, flat side UP, and let dry overnight. Do this for a week or so before ever playing a note on the reed. Now, you may find that the bottom (flat side) of the reed is no longer perfectly flat --- this is to be expected! What you have done is allowed the residual stresses in the reed to be relieved by warping. So at this point, by scraping the bottom of the reed flat, you should end up with a reed that will be reliable and not tend to warp, because you will have taken most of the warpage out of it. This process has worked well for me over the years, naturally everyone has a different method or some variation on this that may work equally well or better.

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