residue or film built up on the table ?
Even if you can’t see it, the way your reed plays and how its hardness feels may be greatly affected if this film builds and hardens so that it goes out of flat. Also, is the table flat to begin with? Even brand new mouthpieces sometimes have tables that aren’t flat. If they are either concave or convex, this could cause all sorts of problems. Also, is the table pitted? This is a common problem with some metal mouthpieces, especially one in particular that is made of very soft material…the table seems to just wear out after some years… The same or even worse problems may be encountered if the mouthpiece table and/or rails are out of balance…and you can’t really see this…it has to be measured by an expert with gauges and without a doubt the lay of the mouthpiece plays a major part in how well the reed seats. The ligature too, can be a source of problems which may appear to be one of the reed…I’ve run tests where it was apparent that the ligature had a great deal to do with how
