Hi everyone. Could you please tell me whether clarinet players trim the reeds they buy to fit the mouthpiece exactly. I have a saxophone handbook which shows a dutch knife (it's really a side mill) being used to trim a sax reed. I also remember my friend using one for his alto. How much difference does successful trimming make?

OK then. From the deafening silence I guess nobody trims the reeds for a clarinet.

It's over 50 years since I played the clarinet other than testing while repairing them. I used to trim reeds if they went a bit soft & have never heard of shaping them exactly to the tip of of the mouthpiece. This applies to sax as well.

Most clarinet reeds purchased from a reputable company like Vandoren or D'Addario (Rico) are cut to perfectly match modern clarinet mouthpieces. Most of the time, if a professional trims a clarinet reed, it is accomplished with a "reed trimmer", not a knife, freehand.

Try Cordier (what I use) or Rigotti (choose "with regulator").

Hope that helps!
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Thank you, it does.