About Gouging Tails

This is the slip with the rough tail shapes cut in and a 2nd gouge running to the tail tips.I favour this for concert pitch reeds, but not so much with flat pitch reeds as the chamber created by the rnd gouge can create weakness at the shoulder when tying up the reed. As a flat reed would require a thinner and narrower slip, problems are more likely to occur.

Click on pics for larger images

Fig.1

The shadow should give a good idea of the shape I try to produce. I don't make a continuous gradient when gouging the tails, but almost levelling off so that the tails are of a fairly uniform thickness where the staple will lie (see Fig 1.2), leaving a definte chamber above the staple. When tying on, it allows a stronger and truer shape to form around the staple, with less warpingor twisting or breaking.

Fig 1.2

N.B. It is better to leave the tail gouge too thick than too thin. It is possible to make a reed that works very well without the tail gouge, but if you have not enough 'meat', the reed will weaken far too quickly.

Something else that is of importance, is the depth and width of the tail gouge at the 'shoulders' of the reed. if the gouge takes away too much cane at the sides, this will more than likely cause the cane to crush when tied, and the chamber to collapse.

Fig.2Part of getting your reed to speak easily and freely is to form the corners/sides correctly. This picture shows how, if you haven't matched your gouging as close as possible to the diameter of former that you would use for sanding, the corners will be blunt and will cause a reduction in the reedheads internal volume when the two sides are matched.. This can cause problems, particularly in the overall pitch (too sharp). It can also make the back D flat in relation to the rest of the tuning.

Fig.3

This picture (Fig.3) is an exaggeration of the slip if you do not remove enough pith when forming the curvature by gouge/sanding. In this example, the curve is not deep enough and the reed lips would most likely be too closed when the staple is inserted and the scrape formed. Should you gain the optimum depth of curvature, but still with that amount of pith at the sides, the reed eye would require too much effort/pressure to set the reed beating, making it tough blown. The tone would most likely be rather unmusical also.

Fig.4

This is the curvature formation I would be happy with. Just enough pith on the side of the reed to prevent it cracking/splitting or collapsing too much, but not so much pith as to have a big impact on the aperture of the reed eye.

Generally the slip will be between 1.3 - 1.6mm at its thickest point.

Fig. 5

When the staple is inserted into the reed head, the eye will close slightly. The process of tying up will re-open the eye a little as will forming the scrape, so don't be too alarmed if at first the eye aperture looks to narrow (if the cane closes on the insertion of the staple, think again!)

Fig.6

Here is an area in which I hesitate to venture with hard and fast observations, because a little 'tweak' can make a big difference, often without that physical change being too obvious. Uniformity is important in the staples design. Humps and twists in the staples 'flare' will be translated into the reed head so care should be taken to make the shape as symmeticral and smooth as possible. I have experimented with staple eyes over the years, and found the example( left) to be the one that is most reliable with my style of reed. I refrain from forming too much of an ellipse or eye, trying to retain some resemblance of an oblong. Some might refer to this as 'sausage shaped'. My thinking behind this, is that the curve allows the cane to wrap around the staple comfortably and help in the formation of the reeds eye. Also the 'square' element creates support to the inside chamber. This helps to shape the reed and to allow it to respond freely, it may help reduce the chances of the reed collapsing in stressful atmospheres.

The chamfering of the tails allows the thread to sit comfortably when tying on and imparts tension uniformally.


An important factor in producing a good reed, is to reduce the amount of unnecessary tension when tying the head to the staple. The staple can force the tails open too much when inserted, making the lips close too early. This also causes the blades to become rigid. It is important to avoid this in a reed if it is to perform easily. On the other end of the scale, if the staple is too slim or narrow, or the tails too wide apart, then the reedhead is crushed when tying on, causing deformities that are spread up through the blades, causing a an array of anomalies too many to mention!

Managing your Bridle

Fig.8

Pressure should be applied uniformally on the B and C points, making sure that the bridle is snug and that there are no gaps (do this with a pair of small long nose pliars). This obviously helps in setting the aperture of the reed lips so that the reeds playability can be controlled. I also think that the loop helps to draw in the sides of the bridle producing pressure that will open the reed lips, this is countered by closure of the actual bridle, but also means that the tension also helps prevent the reed from behaving erratically in some unwelcome atmospheres.