Bad Reeds and How to Fix Them – The ReedGeek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9e-bcORE8M&t=1s

The ReedGeek

Saxophone Reeds giving you trouble? I’m going to show you a tool to help make your lousy reeds playable, and your good reeds even better.

I’m using a simple tool called the ReedGeek. It has completely changed my sax life. I’m no longer frustrated with underperforming reeds. In a minute or two I can improve any reed and get right back to making music.

With the ReedGeek, my reeds last longer, and I find that I can get more playable reeds out of each box.

I met up with ReedGeek creator Mauro DeGioia and he gave me a fantastic demo on how to properly use the ReedGeek in order to improve my reeds.

If you’ve watched my “3 Best Accessories in My Saxophone Case” video, you’ll already know how much I love this tool. Now it’s time to show you how to use it.

Flattening the Table

For me, I mostly use the ReedGeek to flatten the table of my reeds. I do this before every playing session and on every reed. By gently rubbing the ReedGeek back and forth on the back of the reed, this return the cane to a more perfectly flat shape.

By smoothing out the back, we are helping to create a better surface to seal against the the mouthpiece.

Just flattening the table will make a significant difference in the performance of your reeds. I do this before every playing session on every reed.

There are other adjustments that can be made to further improve performance and I walk you through some of those in the video.

Adjusting saxophone reed diagram BetterSax Geeklet
Adjusting saxophone reed diagram BetterSax Geeklet

Final Thoughts

While the ReedGeek is a little expensive, I think it is a worthwhile investment for any serious saxophone player. It’s absolutely extended the life and improved the performance of my reeds.

Have you used the ReedGeek before? Let me know how you like to use it in the comments below!

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7 Comments

Am I right in thinking you make all the adjustments to the Reed when it’s dry and moisten it afterwards? Sorry if that’s a dumb question. Just want to be completely clear.

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