Abstract: A reed enhancing device is provided which is adapted for use with a musical instrument including a hollow mouthpiece, a reed, and a ligature removably secured about the mouthpiece and the reed. The device includes a piece of material adapted for being positioned between the ligature and the reed.

Abstract: Tone production by a vibratable reed having a plurality of separated edges disposed in a slot extending between opposed surfaces, with the edges conjoined beyond one end of the slot and extending into and above the opposed end of the slot allowing vibration during bi-directional air flow and alterations in timbre.

Abstract: A synthetic reed for use in reed-blown wind instruments such as the clarinets, saxophones, oboes and bassoons may be made from an oriented thermoplastic material such as uniaxially or biaxially oriented polypropylene. The reed may be machined from an oriented-polymer blank which in turn has been cut or stamped from an oriented-polymer sheet of the appropriate thickness.

Abstract: The invention is directed to a sound-producing reed for wind instruments which is made from fiber-reinforced plastic and is characterized in that the basic material of the plastic is stabilized by at least one unidirectional layer (27, 29) having fiber strands (31) extending in the longitudinal direction of the reed (7), some of these strands (33) having different material characteristics for the purpose of damping the vibrations of the reed (7).

Abstract: A reed for a musical instrument comprising a reed body having opposite ends. One end being adapted to be mounted in a mouthpiece of a musical instrument. The other end is tapered from a position remote of the one end toward the other end to give to the reed the required stiffness adjacent the other end. A flavoring is absorbed into the reed body. The flavoring being concentrated at the other end.

Abstract: A composition and method for treating reeds to prolong their useful life containing an oxidizing agent, such as hydrogen peroxide, a humectant, such as glycerol and water. Reeds are preferably routinely treated with the composition after each use or on a weekly basis by submerging the reeds in the composition at least up to the end of their playing surfaces until the bubbling action ceases. They are then removed from the solution, wiped off and stored.

Abstract: A titanium reed is formed by cutting a hardened sheet of high-grade titanium into a strip where length and width are determined by the standard sizes and lays of mouthpieces of various musical instruments in the woodwind family. The titanium sheet stock from which the strip is cut may be hardened prior to cutting, or hardening processes may be preformed on the cut strips after shaping has occurred. Where the sheet stock is prehardened, the techniques involve heating to a high temperature and thinning out a portion of the sheet to form a taper. Where hardening is required after the strip is cut and formed, heat treatment is applied to achieve a strength in the titanium corresponding to the desired tone of the reed. In all processes, material is removed from the bottom of the reed from the approximate center toward the tongue end to relieve stress in the metal at the tongue end.

Abstract: A machine for duplicating musical reeds comprises a force sensor supporting a drill bit, which acts both as a measuring contact, when stationary, or as a tool for removing material from the surface of a reed, when rotated. A flexural resistance map of a master reed, having desirable musical characteristics, is made initially, by moving the drill bit toward the reed surface a predetermined distance after initial contact is made, and storing the resultant reaction force in a computer. The master reed is then replaced with a new reed, at least as stiff as the master, and the process is repeated, comparing the readings with corresponding readings for the master. Where the reed is too stiff, material is removed from its surface by the drill bit; this is repeated over the entire reed surface, until the flexural resistance map of the new reed matches that of the master.

Abstract: A stainless steel reed is formed by cutting a strip of full-hard stainless. A rounded edge is formed at the tongue end of the strip which is then tapered toward the tongue end by friction extraction of material from the lower surface to form a wedge. Additional material is removed from the central portions of the lower side of the tongue end to create a generally concave depression. Material remaining around the perimeter of the depression acts as supports for the thin center section created by the concave depression, permitting harmonic vibration in the center section while maintaining adequate strength.A method of forming a stainless steel reed includes cutting strips of full-hard stainless steel to fit the mouthpiece of the instrument. The tongue end of the strip is rounded and the lower surface is tapered toward the tongue end by friction extraction. A concave depression is created in the tongue end by friction extraction.

Abstract: A means and method for flavored wood reeds for woodwind instruments wherein a natural cane woodwind reed contains a non-toxic absorbable edible flavoring to give a pleasant taste to the reed. A method of imparting the flavoring to the reed includes saturating the pores of the cane with the flavoring.

Abstract: A device for adjusting a reed for a clarinet, or the like, said device having a reed guide base and an adjusting spatula having a curved end portion with a file bonded thereto for adjusting the thickness of the reed.

Abstract: A reed holding device for single-reed woodwind musical instruments constructed of a strip of knitted or woven material having a plurality of pile loops on one of its surfaces, and a plurality of hooks formed by cutting loops on the opposite surface. The strip is wound around the mouthpiece and reed of the musical instrument in a helical fashion with the surface having the uncut loops placed against the surface of the mouthpiece and reed. The free ends of the strip are secured in place by pressing the pile loops on the one surface into the formed hooks on the other surface on the wrapping placed immediately above or below.

Abstract: A reedmaking system is disclosed that includes a device for thickness sizing by sliding a cane segment along a guide surface past a cutting edge that is spaced apart from the guide surface a distance slightly greater than the thickness of a conventional finished reed. An adjacent length sizing tool on a common base member enables cutting to length with a blade spaced apart from a stop member a distance slightly greater than the length of a conventional finished reed. A separate hand held tapering tool includes a tapered bar on a handle for tapering by trimming to the taper of the bar as a rough reed blank is retained against the tapered bar with a single clamp member attached adjustably to the distal end of the tapered bar, while a duplicator mounted on a separate base member includes a cutting assembly with a follower that follows the shape of the pattern reed as a blade shaves the reed accordingly.

Abstract: A reed construction for a musical instrument fabricated from a plurality of fibers combined with a binding agent and a filler material of lower density than the binding agent, so as to produce an acoustic impedance comparable to that of the natural cane reed.

Abstract: A synthetic woodwind reed for use in woodwind instruments such as clarinets, oboes and bassoons. The reed is formed from a plurality of spaced longitudinal ribs fabricated of a graphite reinforced epoxy resin having a high modulus of elasticity and a low density. The spaces between the ribs are filled with a low density binder material such as a suitable epoxy resin preferably filled with small hollow plastic spheres, such as microballoons. A plastic film of a material such as Mylar is cemented to one or both sides of the reed to strengthen the structure. The width of the ribs, particularly at the tip portions thereof, and the number of ribs employed are chosen so that the finally formed and assembled reed has the proper modulus of elasticity and the proper density to provide an optimum natural vibration frequency for the reed, which should be 2000 Hz or higher.

Abstract: A musical instrument reed for woodwinds and the like comprises a cane matrix having top and bottom surfaces. A thin coating comprised of fine particulate matter such as metal powder suspended in a carrier is deposited on the tip section and along the marginal edges of the reed so as to penetrate into the porous matrix. The heart or main vibratory section is not coated.

Abstract: A synthetic woodwind reed comprising a root portion and a tapering vamp portion, each portion having a flat base surface and a curved surface. Located in both surfaces of the vamp portion are channels, whereby a transverse cross-section of the vamp region comprises a plurality of alternating thicker and thinner regions, the thinner regions being near but not necessarily on the center of gravity of the cross-section. The transverse cross-section of the read is thicker near the longitudinal centerline than at the edges. The synthetic material has a sufficiently high elastic limit to fully recover from longitudinal and transverse bending within each operating cycle. By forming a matched pair from two reeds as described above, but modified in that the base surface of each is concave rather than flat, a double reed is formed suitable for use with such instruments as an oboe or bassoon.