Spot on Paul, great advice. I'm glad that you try to save people money rather than sell things like some "better sax" channels. SirValorSax's trick with the peroxide for old reeds really works well also.
Thanks Mark! I'll certainly always try to recomend money saving ways of doing things if I can. I've never tried the peroxide trick for old reeds. I'll have to check that video out. :)
Amazed that I haven't heard these things from others and I have been looking. Can't thank you enough for sharing your experiences. I haven't had any reed problems at all and am still on the first one....but then I have only had my sax for one day. ...lol. I like the vodka idea but don't know what my wife will think when I come home with a small bottle....gave up drinking....have to give that some preplanning....complete disclosure is probably best. Thanks again. Your videos give me confidence and I have only watched a few so far....looking forward to more.
I've had good luck with a UV sterilizer. You can get one for a toothbrush or cell phone for around $20-50. I live in the tropics and alcohol wasn't sufficient to prevent mold, but UV light worked.
Hi Andrew, thanks for the comment! Thats really interesting. :) The sterile"ness" of this technique is just a bonus for me really. The ability to use a reed straight out of the case with no warm up or dampening, and for a good reed to last so much longer has taken away so much stress and fiddling around for me. That's interesting that you still got mould in your hotter climate. What strength alcohol ratio did you use?
Yep, good ideas. I use Vandoren hygro reed cases. They have airflow holes which is beneficial as you get air changes rather than the reeds stewing in a hermetically sealed box. I fill the included sponge with 50% water and 50% listerine original ( ONLY original cos the other varieties have sugar in them which is definitely not good for reeds). Keeps my reeds sufficiently moist and sterile but not overly wet. Reeds last for ages longer than in a standard case plus the hydro case has an indicator to tell you when it needs refilling. My reeds last 4-6 months now. I know the hygro cases cost more than a hermetically sealed box but reeds are expensive and the longer you can keep them useable the better. The only thing that kills my reeds now is high usage (I play daily) and occasional damage by me. Reeds I play are Rigotti Gold and D’Addario Select Jazz. I have Légère Signatures but I feel they don’t quite have the same response as cane. Am looking forward to trying the new D’Addario Venn synthetics when they come out in April.
Hi Paul, I'll have a look into those hygro cases, very interesting. Isnt it great when you find a way of making good reeds last so much longer! It's such a weight off! I play D'Addario Select jazz too! Very pleased with them combined with this method. I have tried legere signature and actually played them for about a year on both alto and tenor, i felt i should give them a decent run. Glad to get back to can by doing this though. :)
@@PaulHaywood Another nice thing about the hygro cases are that they are more rigid than the small plastic holders you get with reeds (which are not always perfectly flat). Only thing about them is i wonder if they are wet enough. Your method above seem to be quite wet which seems a bonus. Great channel BTW
Hi Chris, I found if I wasnt careful to make sure i added enough alcohol i got a white spotty mould forming. Do you get any evidence of any microbes on your reeds? I expect it's good to kill anything if weve left small saliva or skin deposits on the reed while playing before "wet storage". :) Thanks very much for leaving a comment by the way! :D
I have used similar idea, Just placing my reed holder and reeds in zip lock plastic bag, Found just vodka on small sponge, ( one square inch) works well. tried various mouth wash , but some of them still went mildewy, or moldy over time. straight vodka still the best.
Thanks much for the video. I have been using a similar system. I am sure you have heard of the Reedjuvinate system. I took that concept made some adjustments to the idea and I have reeds that are playing well and almost three years old. What I did is much cheaper and hold more reeds and keeps them at the right humidity. My alterations have also mended warped reeds as well.
Hi Jason, ah great news! I'm amazed at how long some of my reeds are lasting, it's completely removed all the stress out of the "reed game". Is the reedjuvenate system the one which holds 3 reeds with inbuilt reed holders and sponge?
@@jasonandrews9058 yes I'd love to hear what you've found. I've found that as long as the sponge is wet enough that you can always squeeze at least a bit of liquid out of it then the case is damp enough, I havent found any negatives of reeds becoming too wet so far, even if the sponge is completely full. At least for me anyway. :)
@@PaulHaywood I also use the sponge as well. I have a square air tight sandwich container for the reeds. I use original listerine in the sponge and silica gell beads in a tea bags. Now before u laugh at me (and you can it is ok) hear me out. I cannot take any credit for these ideas they belong to other people but I have just brought these concepts together added my own ideas and married them. Cane grows in my country. Here we just have two seasons a wet season and a dry season. For optimum life and performance cane must not be too wet nor too dry. The silica gel pack (homemade) regulates this very well which can be recharged by putting the tea bag with the silica granules for three minutes in you microwave let the bag cool and then it can be reused again do this once a day
@@jasonandrews9058 hey thanks for the long description Jason, that's really interesting stuff. 3 years is an amazing length of time to have reeds lasting so it sounds like you're onto something. If I get any issues in the long run with my "stay wet" technique I'll certainly try out the humidity balancing techniques you've outlined there. :)
Hi Paul. Does it matter which way round you store the reeds in the container? Tip down or butt down? If it’s butt, should it be touching the sponge or a little way up the holder to avoid direct contact? Also, how often should I change the solution or only really when the sponge has dried out? Thanks.
Hi Rick, I've found it doesn't seem to matter which way up or how much in contact with the sponge the reeds are. I know some people prefer to keep their reeds "humid" so in that case i would look to have them so the wood of the reeds isn't touching the sponge, just have the reeds in their individual plastic reed guards then in the box, this should stop them from touching the sponge. I personally don't mind if the touch the sponge or not as i can't notice a difference in playability or longevity between when the reeds are kept humid or really quite wet. When i restock my plastic container with vodka/water mix it's pretty wet in there. I change the liquid every couple of weeks to a month. It quite quickly seems to smell of quite pungent alcohol (more so than the original mix). After a few weeks though the water has gone slightly cloudy beige. That's not too appetising to me so i switch it out when it gets like that. Hope that helps. Thanks for the question. and for watching! :)
Hey Paul, you think this might work on a metal box I got lying around that fits my sax case? This is great, this is basically a makeshift Vandoren Hyggro Case
Hi Joshua, I expect it would but theres perhaps two things to check first... 1.Is it airtight/watertight or could you seal it somehow to make it so. 2. Check to see what metal it is, although your obviously not drinking the contents so far less of a risk than if it was for storing drink, some tins could be soldered with solder containing lead. Might be worth checking, just in case. I'm no chemist or biologist so I cant give definitive guidance on that. Other than that I can imagine it could be a great hard wearing option. Otherwise try the links in the description, theres some options there for only a few £/$. :)
I use a similar system. My plastic box is about the same size, but opens horizontally from the top, so the reeds are laying flat. I have a little sponge which i dampened with Listerine. Is vodka better? Should the sponge be soaked? Thank you Paul.
From what i know, listerine is fine but it should be the original flavour as some of the more modern ones have sugers in? I guess just check the ingredients and avoid any with sugars in. (Sugars = food for critters) haha Also it seems damp or soaked is fine. Some people say damp for the "perfect" humidity. I know of pro players that keep their reds submerged. I think it's mostly the aviding the "wet / dry cycle" that protects reeds from fibre damage, and the alcohol keeps the germs and moulds at bay to reduce fibre weakening from them. I can't see much merit beytween the two choices. I start my sponge pretty soaking and it becomes less so over time. Then i clean it out and replace the liquid. :)
@@PaulHaywood Great advice! And yes, the yellow, original Listerine is the preferred variety. They should have TV ads with such. lol I wish you a jazzy day.
I have tried using brown listerine and the reeds did not mold but they play stuffy and dull. I have tried letting a reed dry out some if it is real real wet but it did not play well until it was dried out again. It does not help that I live at high altitude and low humidty. Reeds do not last for me. I know how to adjust reeds but they are not very reliable. I have tried some synth reeds but not with very good results. How are the harry hartman reeds? I might try those?
Yeah I get a white mold on them if theres not a high enough alcohol content. Did you use oxy white stuff for oxidized water. (Sodium percarbonate) or peroxide?
To be honest they can smell a bit strong in the box but there's so little liquid on/in the reeds that i don't really notice much of a taste. I guess it's there a little bit i don't notice it at all now, and even when i first started doing this i didn't notice any taste after justa couple of minutes of playing. water and alcohol both have low inherent taste levels. if you use mouthwash or a different spirit you might find the taste stronger. :) Thanks for the comment Phycho0oPig! :)
The reed game can be so frustrating cant it. What brand of reeds do you use? Also do they split when wet or dry? Aaaaalso... check out my reed position video to double check the fine tuning of the position in case the tip of the reed is getting over worked. :) Thanks for the comment and for watching! :)
Spot on Paul, great advice. I'm glad that you try to save people money rather than sell things like some "better sax" channels. SirValorSax's trick with the peroxide for old reeds really works well also.
Thanks Mark! I'll certainly always try to recomend money saving ways of doing things if I can.
I've never tried the peroxide trick for old reeds. I'll have to check that video out. :)
Amazed that I haven't heard these things from others and I have been looking. Can't thank you enough for sharing your experiences. I haven't had any reed problems at all and am still on the first one....but then I have only had my sax for one day. ...lol. I like the vodka idea but don't know what my wife will think when I come home with a small bottle....gave up drinking....have to give that some preplanning....complete disclosure is probably best. Thanks again. Your videos give me confidence and I have only watched a few so far....looking forward to more.
I've had good luck with a UV sterilizer. You can get one for a toothbrush or cell phone for around $20-50. I live in the tropics and alcohol wasn't sufficient to prevent mold, but UV light worked.
Hi Andrew, thanks for the comment! Thats really interesting. :) The sterile"ness" of this technique is just a bonus for me really. The ability to use a reed straight out of the case with no warm up or dampening, and for a good reed to last so much longer has taken away so much stress and fiddling around for me. That's interesting that you still got mould in your hotter climate. What strength alcohol ratio did you use?
Yep, good ideas. I use Vandoren hygro reed cases. They have airflow holes which is beneficial as you get air changes rather than the reeds stewing in a hermetically sealed box.
I fill the included sponge with 50% water and 50% listerine original ( ONLY original cos the other varieties have sugar in them which is definitely not good for reeds). Keeps my reeds sufficiently moist and sterile but not overly wet. Reeds last for ages longer than in a standard case plus the hydro case has an indicator to tell you when it needs refilling. My reeds last 4-6 months now.
I know the hygro cases cost more than a hermetically sealed box but reeds are expensive and the longer you can keep them useable the better.
The only thing that kills my reeds now is high usage (I play daily) and occasional damage by me.
Reeds I play are Rigotti Gold and D’Addario Select Jazz. I have Légère Signatures but I feel they don’t quite have the same response as cane. Am looking forward to trying the new D’Addario Venn synthetics when they come out in April.
Hi Paul, I'll have a look into those hygro cases, very interesting. Isnt it great when you find a way of making good reeds last so much longer! It's such a weight off!
I play D'Addario Select jazz too! Very pleased with them combined with this method. I have tried legere signature and actually played them for about a year on both alto and tenor, i felt i should give them a decent run. Glad to get back to can by doing this though. :)
@@PaulHaywood Another nice thing about the hygro cases are that they are more rigid than the small plastic holders you get with reeds (which are not always perfectly flat). Only thing about them is i wonder if they are wet enough. Your method above seem to be quite wet which seems a bonus.
Great channel BTW
Paul, Thanks - I keep reeds wet, in a small tupper-ware box, but I am very lucky if a reed lasts 40 hours, so adding vodka sounds worthwhile
Hi Chris, I found if I wasnt careful to make sure i added enough alcohol i got a white spotty mould forming. Do you get any evidence of any microbes on your reeds? I expect it's good to kill anything if weve left small saliva or skin deposits on the reed while playing before "wet storage". :)
Thanks very much for leaving a comment by the way! :D
I have used similar idea, Just placing my reed holder and reeds in zip lock plastic bag, Found just vodka on small sponge, ( one square inch) works well. tried various mouth wash , but some of them still went mildewy, or moldy over time. straight vodka still the best.
HI MFDWD, Excellent idea, thats probably even easier to fit into any sax case too! :)
Thanks much for the video. I have been using a similar system. I am sure you have heard of the Reedjuvinate system. I took that concept made some adjustments to the idea and I have reeds that are playing well and almost three years old. What I did is much cheaper and hold more reeds and keeps them at the right humidity. My alterations have also mended warped reeds as well.
Hi Jason, ah great news! I'm amazed at how long some of my reeds are lasting, it's completely removed all the stress out of the "reed game". Is the reedjuvenate system the one which holds 3 reeds with inbuilt reed holders and sponge?
@@PaulHaywood I follow you Sir I am a new player just about two years. I can share more of what I have found if you like.
@@jasonandrews9058 yes I'd love to hear what you've found. I've found that as long as the sponge is wet enough that you can always squeeze at least a bit of liquid out of it then the case is damp enough, I havent found any negatives of reeds becoming too wet so far, even if the sponge is completely full. At least for me anyway. :)
@@PaulHaywood I also use the sponge as well. I have a square air tight sandwich container for the reeds. I use original listerine in the sponge and silica gell beads in a tea bags. Now before u laugh at me (and you can it is ok) hear me out. I cannot take any credit for these ideas they belong to other people but I have just brought these concepts together added my own ideas and married them. Cane grows in my country. Here we just have two seasons a wet season and a dry season. For optimum life and performance cane must not be too wet nor too dry. The silica gel pack (homemade) regulates this very well which can be recharged by putting the tea bag with the silica granules for three minutes in you microwave let the bag cool and then it can be reused again do this once a day
@@jasonandrews9058 hey thanks for the long description Jason, that's really interesting stuff. 3 years is an amazing length of time to have reeds lasting so it sounds like you're onto something. If I get any issues in the long run with my "stay wet" technique I'll certainly try out the humidity balancing techniques you've outlined there. :)
Nice
Hi Paul. Does it matter which way round you store the reeds in the container? Tip down or butt down? If it’s butt, should it be touching the sponge or a little way up the holder to avoid direct contact? Also, how often should I change the solution or only really when the sponge has dried out? Thanks.
Hi Rick, I've found it doesn't seem to matter which way up or how much in contact with the sponge the reeds are. I know some people prefer to keep their reeds "humid" so in that case i would look to have them so the wood of the reeds isn't touching the sponge, just have the reeds in their individual plastic reed guards then in the box, this should stop them from touching the sponge. I personally don't mind if the touch the sponge or not as i can't notice a difference in playability or longevity between when the reeds are kept humid or really quite wet.
When i restock my plastic container with vodka/water mix it's pretty wet in there.
I change the liquid every couple of weeks to a month. It quite quickly seems to smell of quite pungent alcohol (more so than the original mix). After a few weeks though the water has gone slightly cloudy beige. That's not too appetising to me so i switch it out when it gets like that.
Hope that helps. Thanks for the question. and for watching! :)
Hey Paul, you think this might work on a metal box I got lying around that fits my sax case? This is great, this is basically a makeshift Vandoren Hyggro Case
Hi Joshua, I expect it would but theres perhaps two things to check first...
1.Is it airtight/watertight or could you seal it somehow to make it so.
2. Check to see what metal it is, although your obviously not drinking the contents so far less of a risk than if it was for storing drink, some tins could be soldered with solder containing lead. Might be worth checking, just in case. I'm no chemist or biologist so I cant give definitive guidance on that.
Other than that I can imagine it could be a great hard wearing option. Otherwise try the links in the description, theres some options there for only a few £/$. :)
I use a similar system. My plastic box is about the same size, but opens horizontally from the top, so the reeds are laying flat. I have a little sponge which i dampened with Listerine. Is vodka better? Should the sponge be soaked? Thank you Paul.
From what i know, listerine is fine but it should be the original flavour as some of the more modern ones have sugers in? I guess just check the ingredients and avoid any with sugars in. (Sugars = food for critters) haha
Also it seems damp or soaked is fine. Some people say damp for the "perfect" humidity. I know of pro players that keep their reds submerged. I think it's mostly the aviding the "wet / dry cycle" that protects reeds from fibre damage, and the alcohol keeps the germs and moulds at bay to reduce fibre weakening from them. I can't see much merit beytween the two choices.
I start my sponge pretty soaking and it becomes less so over time. Then i clean it out and replace the liquid. :)
@@PaulHaywood Great advice! And yes, the yellow, original Listerine is the preferred variety. They should have TV ads with such. lol
I wish you a jazzy day.
I have tried using brown listerine and the reeds did not mold but they play stuffy and dull. I have tried letting a reed dry out some if it is real real wet but it did not play well until it was dried out again. It does not help that I live at high altitude and low humidty. Reeds do not last for me. I know how to adjust reeds but they are not very reliable. I have tried some synth reeds but not with very good results. How are the harry hartman reeds? I might try those?
tried a similar thing reeds becane moldy, with only water .use oxidised water for cleaning reeds
Yeah I get a white mold on them if theres not a high enough alcohol content. Did you use oxy white stuff for oxidized water. (Sodium percarbonate) or peroxide?
@@PaulHaywood white oxidised water,
I will try it, but what about the taste of the reeds ?
To be honest they can smell a bit strong in the box but there's so little liquid on/in the reeds that i don't really notice much of a taste. I guess it's there a little bit i don't notice it at all now, and even when i first started doing this i didn't notice any taste after justa couple of minutes of playing. water and alcohol both have low inherent taste levels. if you use mouthwash or a different spirit you might find the taste stronger. :)
Thanks for the comment Phycho0oPig! :)
my tenor sax reeds split at the tip sometimes,out of a box 3 or 4 play well
The reed game can be so frustrating cant it. What brand of reeds do you use? Also do they split when wet or dry? Aaaaalso... check out my reed position video to double check the fine tuning of the position in case the tip of the reed is getting over worked. :)
Thanks for the comment and for watching! :)
@@PaulHaywood hi , use rico royal ,think they split when dry,have used other brands
Would a dry gin be okay in Nigeria?
That should be perfect. As long as it's around 40% alcohol or above.
Should add a nice juniper flavour to your reeds too! ;)