Robert DiLutis on Adjusting Reeds

Figure 1

Some issues you may encounter are below, along with some ways to remedy them.

Stuffiness - The tip of the reed (Zone 1) is too thick.

Brittle, Buzzy - The tip of the reed is too thick (zone 1, figure 1). This is opposite what the initial thought would be. The buzziness comes from the heavy tip slapping into the mouthpiece.

Heavy, Dull - There is too much heart. Be careful when working on the heart. Only take away in small bits. Once it's gone, it's gone.

Stiff - Taking some material away for zone 2 (figure 1) can make it easier to blow.

Figure 2

Working on the Tip - Zone 1
Take a piece of 600-grit sandpaper and fold it in half and then in half again to create a square with a stiff corner. Next, wet the sandpaper and reed with saliva then proceed to to scrape away at the tip. Use very little pressure and push towards the tip and off onto the glass. Do this about 20 times across the tip. (Figure 2)


A good reed should have a tip thickness somewhere in the range of .003 - .005 inches. Unfortunately most commercial reeds have tip thickness from .005 - .009 inches.

When working on the tip, it's important to get the shaving right. You don't want to sharpen your reed into a knife (figure 3), rather create a thinner tip, while maintaining                                       the slope. (figure 4)

Figure 3

Figure 4

Mr. DiLutis suggests to have a reed case with 8 reeds that are concert ready. The reeds you just broke in will go into a “dry bag," once again, case-less. These are reeds that will take the place of your select 8 as they slowly die away. Be sure to play on each of the select 8 every day in order to keep them conditioned and ready for a performance. Mr. DiLutis says that commercial reeds seem to last an average of 30 hours of playing.