About reed quality

[Ventura]

maybe try and look at this from the perspective of the steel

in theory and process, certainly you should be able to make
damn close to identical spec wide and thin sheets of steel
including their temper

but in practice a coil that runs through an old-style rolling mill
designed and dedicated to coils has a finer ability to control
saturated temperatures and the timed control needed for closely
held tempering, as well as being able to offer many incremental
levels of thickness to reduce the need for sanding the steel to
control basic pitch for reeds using the same size aluminum plate

you also have to consider, from the point of the steel, whether
various methods of cutting the steel to size has an effect on the
steel itself.. does the grain get stretched along an edge that is cut
by a shear more than if a tongue is punched out, and does the
intensity of a punch cause microscopic fracturing in the steel
especially if the punch does not hit the entire piece of steel exactly
every time.. if you go whole hog and cut the tongues through a plazma
or lazer cutter process, you eliminate those types of distortion, but
induce intense heat along the edge which will affect the temper

in other words, the LESS you MESS with the steel the better, so a coil
source, i feel, will always produce a more pristine reed-tongue with less
changes induced in the steel through the final shape cutting process

also, the company cutting all reedtongues out of one thickness
steel sheet is at a huge disadvantage compared to a company that
purchases reed coils in many different thickness

and don't forget the quality of the aluminum plate, the duraluminum
type allowing for sharper cleaner edges and greater strength to receive
and work with the steel tongue in perfect harmony with optimum tolerance

these processes are largely fully automated at this point in time,
so first, after the huge pile of tongues have been cutout, you would
have some automated process that sorts them onto grades of
perfection, and the ones most perfectly to spec will get paired
with the best aluminum plates and then assembled..

again, there will be some assembled reedpairs more perfect than others,
so again some process to measure and sort.. when you get it down to
the best ones, now humans put hands on them and finesse them..
we all know the more time you put into the reeds and tuning the
better the result

so until humans put hands on them whatever category they fall into,
whatever name or term the company wants to theoretically assign
to them, there really isn't much physical difference between cheaper
reeds and the most expensive ones if all of them start with the
same sheet of steel

then what design is used ? we have all seen cheaper accordion reedblocks
where it looks like 8 or 9 reedplates next to each other the exact same
size, so obviously at least 7 of those reedpairs are LESS than optimally
sized regarding the steel reedtongue.. if you look inside the highest priced
model, how close will you get to 65 unique different treble size reedplates
and tongue pairs ? remember, the LESS you MESS with the steel the better

so if you figure out your specs exactly and can use a coil of steel the
exact thickness the reedtongue will end up being at pitch the human
can then spend their time finessing the exact position of the steel in
the plate and need a minimal removal of steel for the final tuning

 

[mselic]

From their description, it would appear that the only difference TODAY between the Voci Armoniche TAM and AM reeds is the shape of the reed. The TAM reed is more trapezoid, the AM reed is a little more rectangular. Otherwise, they are both hand-finished and cut from the same wide steel strip. No mention is made as to whether the AM reed is cut out in a different orientation.

Does the small shape difference make a difference in the sound?

VA Tipo a Mano Reed

VA A Mano Reed

Yes, the shape difference DOES make a difference in sound. I've had both VA's A-Mano reeds and their TAM reeds side-by-side as well as installed in the same instrument at different times to do a proper comparison. The TAM reeds have a thinner sound compared to their A-Mano counterparts, and I also found them a little quieter. They're still excellent reeds - nothing wrong with them at all - but there is certainly a difference between the two grades.

 

[SteveBox]

The TAM reeds have a thinner sound compared to their A-Mano counterparts, and I also found them a little quieter. They're still excellent reeds - nothing wrong with them at all - but there is certainly a difference between the two grades.

Do you notice a difference when you are playing fast jigs or reels? With fast music, the ear has little time to perceive the timbre of each note, compared to slower tunes. Which do you prefer?