Eric Arbiter
"I discuss the history of this pattern in my book, The Way of Cane. Here are page numbers for other shadow photographs of this particular trim type, similar to these except they are in black and white.
Pages xxv, p. 22, p.73, 92, 111, 172-173, 235 (with thickness measurements), p. 305, Bernard Garfield’s reed.
There are so many different ways to trim the bassoon reed. This particular style is the one that works best for me and my bassoon. It’s also one of the reasons that I wrote The Way of Cane: to sketch out some of the major types of trim styles to try if looking for alternatives for directions for possible improvement.
For anyone more interested in the development and history of this pattern I outline it below.
I found the reed style that made a big difference for me with my month of lessons with Bernard Garfield during my winter term in 1969, my first year at Oberlin Conservatory. I immediately took to his reeds and began to model mine after this style. In those days, reed machines were much simpler so most of the work had to be done by hand.
Fast-forward several years later to 1974 when I started my position of Associate Principal in the Houston Symphony. During my first year, I was having problems playing 3rd bassoon (low and very softly) when the repertory required it. My bassoon was leaking a lot— or my reed making just wasn’t up to the task– but for whatever the reason, I needed help.
I read in To The World’s Bassoonists by Gerald Corey, a recommendation for reeds made by Walter Urbach, who performed in the Berlin and Nuremberg Philharmonic Orchestras, and I ordered four reeds from him, which ended up working very well for me. Coincidentally these reeds were constructed along similar lines to Mr. Garfield’s so it was a win-win for me and solved my problems until I could get my bassoon sealed properly.
I continued to use both the Urbach and Garfield reeds as models for my own since that time. This new Reeds ’n Stuff template— ARB— is based on my adaptation of Mr. Garfield’s and Herr Urbach’s reed designs."
The following table provides the most crucial measurements for setting up the templates on the tip profiling machine.
The position and thickness measurements given are guidelines used by the factory, and are meant to help you reset your machine or find a starting point after having changed templates.
The given Length of Scrape is the factory setting, most templates allow for a longer scrape than how the machine is delivered. This allows for flexibility in finding an individualized setup for each user.
Generally it is only necessary to profile the first few millimeters of a sacrificial blank to set up a tip profiling machine. Utilizing this method, one blank can be clipped several times and used to set up several machines.
Machines delivered from the factory are set up with these measurements and the dial then calibrated to zero.
Template
|
Distance
to Line
(Gen1) |
Distance
to Line
(Gen2) |
Thickness
at Center
(Tip of Reed) |
Length
of
Scrape |
| FG1 |
61.20 mm |
61.10 mm |
0.31 - 0.32 mm |
15 mm |
| FG2 |
61.20 mm |
61.10 mm |
0.34 - 0.35 mm |
15 mm |
| FG3 |
|
61.10 mm |
0.34 - 0.35 mm |
15 mm |
| GR |
60.50 mm |
61.10 mm |
0.30 mm |
14 mm |
| GR5 |
61.50 mm |
61.10 mm |
0.30 mm |
14 mm |
| PM |
60.95 mm |
61.10 mm |
0.34 - 0.35 mm |
15 mm |
| LM3 |
60.30 mm |
61.10 mm |
0.30 mm |
19 mm |
| VZ |
61.20 mm |
61.10 mm |
0.34 - 0.35 mm |
18 mm |
| DJ |
61.50 mm |
61.10 mm |
0.32 - 0.33 mm |
18 mm |
| THOM |
61.20 mm |
61.10 mm |
0.34 - 0.35 mm |
15 mm |
| HER1 |
60.20 mm |
61.10 mm |
0.20 mm |
15 mm |
| BOSA |
|
61.10 mm |
0.21 mm |
15 mm |
| ARB |
|
61.10 mm |
0.38 mm |
15 mm |
| VR1 |
|
61.10 mm |
0.29 mm |
20 mm |
| TS1 |
|
61.10 mm |
0.18 mm |
18 mm |
| KFH1 |
61.20 mm |
61.10 mm |
0.40 mm |
17 mm |
| KFH2 |
61.20 mm |
61.10 mm |
0.43 mm |
17 mm |
