[Dixielandjazz] Reeds for woodwind instruments

[Edgerton, Paul A]

Robert Smith wrote:
> Does anyone know if [making aluminum reeds] has ever been tried, or,
> for that matter, if any other materials have been tried?

There are a few different synthetic reeds available:

Legere: <http://www.legere.com/>
Bari: <http://www.bari-assoc.com>
Fibracell: <http://www.Fibracell.com>

There have been a few experiments with metal reeds, but these were mostly
aimed at studying instrument acoustics and were intended to be used in an
apparatus (i.e. no player) I can find very little research into a metallic
replacement for cane. Here are a couple of links to get you started:
<http://www.auditory.org/asamtgs/asa93dnv/4aMU/4aMU4.html>
<http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=JASMAN
000114000004002253000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=yes> 

-- Paul Edgerton