From: HinotesInc@aol.com
Subject: Re: Zonda Reeds Hello
everyone-
Thanks to all of you who had good things to say
about Zonda Reeds over the last week or so. There is one comment (a concern)
that I have seen repeated over and over, the issue of longevity, and I would
like to offer my advice on that subject.
We grade our clarinet reeds to 20 different
levels (actually with the proprietary strength grading machine we developed we
can grade even finer than that, but we feel 20 levels is sufficient). Within
the conventional half-strength system, which we use on the outside of the
boxes, we have our "sub-strength" grading. This is an optional method
which lets you really fine-tune your strength preferences. On the label on the
back of the box you will find a 7 digit lot number. The right hand digit is a
letter from A-T, and this represents the actual sub-strength of all the reeds
in that box. This results in our being able to offer you a soft, medium, or
hard in almost every conventional half-strength. This chart will explain it, I
hope:
| Strength |
Soft |
Medium |
Hard |
| 2.0 |
A |
B |
C |
| 2.5 |
D |
|
E |
| 3.0 |
F |
G |
H |
| 3.5 |
I |
J |
K |
| 4.0 |
L |
M |
N |
| 4.5 |
O |
P |
Q |
| 5.0 |
R |
S |
T |
The differences between each
sub-strength are negligable, and most people find they are comfortable playing
more than one sub-strength. (They are already playing a range of strength that
is equal to 3 of our sub-strengths). If you find that the reeds are not lasting
as long as you would like, we have had very good success asking people to try
the next harder sub-strength. They may not play as well right out of the box,
but as the reed "settles" (as every reed does) it will still have the
body that you need, and should last longer. If you break your last reed, and in
an emergency need a reed to play immediately without break-in, play the lighter
sub-strength. We have been able to fix most of the longevity problems people
report to us by educating them about the sub-strength system, so I hope it
works for you.
It is possible that your local dealer may have
some reeds from before we began the sub-strength process. These reeds will only
have a 6 digit lot number. They're still good reeds, but they will have a range
of strength like a conventional reed. Ask them to get some sub-strength graded
reeds for you to try.
We also offer a Ready To Finish (RTF) reed that
has most of the manufacturing done to it. This is for the player who has the
skills to make their own reeds, but not the time or the inclination. It's left
a little strong so you can adjust it to your liking, and the tip is not cut so
you can shape it to precisely fit your mouthpiece.
Good luck!
Mike Abbott
President
HiNotes, Inc. (a sister company of Verne Q. Powell Flutes, Inc.)
