SMERf The Easiest To Use Reed Adjusting System - Simplest Method Easy Reed Fix.
A review in the Clarinet and Saxophone Society of Great Britain magazine “Clarinet & Saxophone” by Chuck Currie “This compact gem is stuffed with great stuff……this is one of the finest gifts that British Clarinettist Leslie Craven could have given single – reed newcomers and experienced pros alike…..one can make finer adjustments and it is easy to develop your skills. It fits nicely in your gig bag too”
This new system will radically change the way clarinet players approach adjusting reeds. It enables the player to take stuffy, unresponsive hard reeds and balance them with ease and also soft reeds can be trimmed and tip finished to bring soft reeds up to a perfect balance. I hope it proves to be popular as a great deal of thought has gone into it. It is easy to use and I think even beginners and young children could learn to use it very quickly
A good reed knife can cost at least as much as this new system if one buys a high quality blade. I would not entrust a young child with such a tool that can cause serious injury and of course one needs experience and skill to use these blades.
Sealing the end grain fibres is important as the reed will not become saturated with moisture. Sanding, (as opposed to cutting or scraping with a blade) also lengthens the life of the reed and creates much less abrasion on the lip. A finish similar to a plastic / polymer reed can easily be achieved. Smooth reeds feel more comfortable on the lip whereas rough cut or scraped grain, even if cut with a very fine, sharp tool, does leave microscopic raised fibres. These rough fibres can irritate sensitive skin and the minute hairs just below the lip causing inflammation and potentially, sores.
A great deal of thought and innovation:
I decided with the assistance of Dr. Robert Watson to design a comprehensive, easier to use, easily portable, reed system with all the necessary component tools in one place, incorporated into a small (14cm x 10 cm), neat zip case easily fitting into a clarinet case side pocket.
The conception:
One day I was playing duets in my studio with my friend Rob Watson, a fine amateur player (with whom I have spent time researching and writing about the harmonic structure of Silverstein ligatures in comparison to other brands).
Robert is a retired professor of electronic engineering. I commented to him that I liked Tom Ridenour’s ATG system as it was efficient but I also mentioned to him that I felt it was too expensive for students and few of my pupils had bought it. I also mentioned the other disadvantages: the size of the system, the plastic case and the elastic and neoprene degradation. So, we set about thinking of a new system that eliminated the drawbacks of Tom’s system and added innovative ideas of our own and put it all into a lovely, small zip case.
Version one:
A week later Robert and I were rehearsing again (for a recording of a duet CD Robert wants to make) and he brought in a prototype of an abrasive reed block he had made in his workshop at home. It had a “butterfly” nut on top and this held the abrasive sheet between two thin blocks in a kind of “sandwich” and had a bevelled edge to avoid damaging the reed tip when sanding over the tip.
We tried it and it worked very efficiently but it looked clumsy and it also had to use a soft cushioning material to protect the tip of the reed from the hard edges of the block when sanding over the tip. The soft material is another degradable item. I was not happy with the neoprene cushion so asked Robert if he could come up with some other design to eliminate any component that could degrade over time.
There was only one grade of abrasive attached to the block and we decided that ideally, a second, finer abrasive should be available for fine finishing without having to change the paper on the block.
Version two:
A couple of weeks later he returned with another prototype, this time a plastic block which incorporated two half blocks that had magnets embedded in them to close and firmly hold the two together as one block. Robert chose to use two colours for the blocks – one grey, one black so as to be able to identify the grade of abrasive being used.
Easy loading – line up the arrows
This double block magnetic system meant the system could have two different abrasive grades and easily attach them to the blocks without the need for elastic bands.
We decided to make it even easier for the end user by supplying pre-cut to size, pre-folded abrasive sheets to make loading absolutely simple. Each half of the magnetic block has arrow symbols which when lined up so that the tips of the arrows face each other, the magnetic poles attract each other and firmly lock the blocks together.
The secret is the perfect curve
The new system we had come up with had no need of any degradable cushioning material. Robert had spent a long time designing the perfect curve that would enable the block to glide over the tip of the reed without damaging the reed. Like most great inventions the method is simple if the instructions are clear.
Easy to load and simple to use, I fixed several reeds quickly and found the abrasive lasted a long time as it can be washed and re-used and is cut and folded to size to fit perfectly with no fuss. This enables the user to adjust to perfection hundreds of reeds before having to purchase more abrasive. Spare abrasives are available to order as are spare blocks and glass plates at a reasonable price.
Whether you are reducing the strength of a reed or finely “tuning” it to perfection this system is ideal and can be used by a child safely. No sharp blades or edges that could cause injury, provided one does not smash the glass plate.
The plate itself is thick enough to withstand pressure and has felt “feet” and is perfectly safe to use provided normal safety precautions are employed and it is used on a flat surface.
The instructions are totally easy to understand and many pictures clarify the method. A video is available online and is recommended to watch before starting to use the system.
EEZEE REED fix - SMERf includes inside the compact little zip case: A bevelled glass plate, two magnetic half blocks ready assembled and loaded with two grades of abrasive, spare abrasives; ten spare pre-cut and folded sheets, 5x 400 grade and 5 x 800. The abrasive is high quality washable and re-usable.
Also included is a reed-tip trimmer, two (unbalanced) reeds to practise both sanding and trimming plus a simple piece of sponge abrasive and a piece of stiff card in a wedge shape for fine - adjusting the reeds on the mouthpiece, using the protective plaque to protect the mouthpiece from scratches. This simple but effective abrasive and plaque is particularly useful in rehearsals or performances to rapidly fine tune the reed when a reed has slightly changed characteristic and become less responsive.
SMERf is born
One day in Cardiff having a coffee before teaching at the University I had a “light bulb moment” and had many ideas for the name of the system but the acronym S.M.E.R.f seemed to keep returning to my brain!
Question to self: What could I call the simplest method, easy reed fixing system???????????????? This name seemed too long so I decided on
EEZEE REED fix
Also known as: Simplest Method Eezee Reed fix………………………….S.M.E.R.f.
Having decided on the name I then wrote simple, concise, clear instructions with lots of pictures and made a video and uploaded it to my site www.lesliecraven.co.uk and theclarinetcompany.com Please visit and see for yourself how easy it is to use and get excellent results adjusting reeds you would normally discard.
For the price of approximately two boxes of mainstream brand reeds you could rejuvenate hundreds of discarded reeds and fix reeds that are too stuffy or hard to use.
Available in click & buy on this site
