I read recently on some other Clarinet Forum (Can't rem the name) a report by a musician who stated he played 32 gigs on tour with the same reed?? Have any of you had a similar experience. I seem to be buying reeds every other week and I'm only learning. (grade 2 1/2)

i've been using the same four for several months... are you going through them so fast because you break them, or because they stop sounding good? you may not be breaking them in properly if it's the latter. if you take a new reed and play on it for a long time right away, it'l not last very long.

Thanks. It's obvious I'm not breaking them in properly. Any help would be appreciated.

also for the guy on tour, he might just be usuing the same reed while he performs but not for practising, I tend to do that if i have alot of performing going on, and i really like one reed

He could be using an ugly plastic/sythectic reed.

i go through reed quickly too. it drives my parents crazy. i've probably gone through over 4 boxes of reeds this school year alone. as for the guy who used the same reed for that long, he probably had reed conditioner or a synthetic reed (or he faked playing). you probably just go through them quickly because your using a thinner reed thats mainly for beginners. i would suggest moving up to a 3 or 3.5 depending on what grade and level band your in.