Clarinet reed

[Cyclops]

Near the tip of a fibracell hybrid reed, 40x

[rjlittlefield]

I used to play clarinet, long ago.

The fibrous structure of this reed looks like I might imagine, but I was having trouble understanding the small spherical things.

So of course I did a web search. One thing that turned up was https://www.straitmusic.com/p-79449-fib ... -reed.aspx , which says

Why does Fibracell sound so good?

Because it’s not plastic and it’s not cane. It’s the most highly developed composite structure ever engineered for woodwinds! Fibracell studied natural cane reed material under a microscope and used the most advanced fibers and composites from the aerospace industry to exactly duplicate the properties of natural cane reed material. Very stiff but sound absorbing Kevlar fibers are suspended in a lightweight resin formulation. It took the inventor, David W. Shaffer, over a decade of research to get the numbers of fibers, spacing, density of matrix, position of voids and other variables just right, but it was worth it.

So I gather that we're not looking at a natural organic product in any sense, but rather a totally synthetic thing that is made to look and act organic.

Do I have that right?

[Edited to add...] I see that there are several manufacturers of similar items. Interesting review article HERE .

--Rik

[Cyclops]

Yea that's why I called it a hybrid reed. Its not full on synthetic like Légère's reeds but a combination of the two

[rjlittlefield]

Yea that's why I called it a hybrid reed. Its not full on synthetic like Légère's reeds but a combination of the two

Hhmm...

The manufacturer's website at https://www.fibracell.info/support-contact/ says

Fibracell studied natural cane reed material under a microscope and used the most advanced fibers and composites from the aerospace industry to exactly duplicate the properties of natural cane reed material. Very stiff but sound absorbing Kevlar fibers are suspended in a lightweight resin formulation. It took the inventor, David W. Shaffer, over a decade of research to get the numbers of fibers, spacing, density of matrix, position of voids and other variables just right, but it was worth it.

I'm not seeing anything in there about non-synthetic components.

What else have you seen?

--Rik

[Cyclops]

Hhmm...

The manufacturer's website at https://www.fibracell.info/support-contact/ says

Fibracell studied natural cane reed material under a microscope and used the most advanced fibers and composites from the aerospace industry to exactly duplicate the properties of natural cane reed material. Very stiff but sound absorbing Kevlar fibers are suspended in a lightweight resin formulation. It took the inventor, David W. Shaffer, over a decade of research to get the numbers of fibers, spacing, density of matrix, position of voids and other variables just right, but it was worth it.

I'm not seeing anything in there about non-synthetic components.

What else have you seen?

--Rik

Oh I just assumed it was a mix of natural fibers and synthetic material. Never had one before, it was sent to me along with a mouthpiece. It was far too soft for me, (strength 1.5), practically useless in fact.
I've had a full on synthetic reed by Légère , made of what looks like grey transparent plastic. Quite expensive .I need to get that under the microscope.

[rjlittlefield]

I've had a full on synthetic reed by Légère , made of what looks like grey transparent plastic. Quite expensive .I need to get that under the microscope.

I expect that reed will be visually boring in comparison with Fibracell. From https://www.legere.com/need-to-know/why-they-work/ :

Légère uses polypropylene to make both single and double reeds. Polypropylene is a common, non-toxic polymer with applications in food containers, packaging, rugs, and many other products. Unfortunately, ordinary polypropylene is not nearly stiff enough to make saxophone and clarinet reeds. They just wouldn’t vibrate. To make the plastic much stiffer Légère puts it through a process called orientation. This is the secret to creating Légère reeds.

So yeah, I'm thinking gray plastic with maybe some visible striation.

--Rik