I use Alexandar Superials and the instructions to break them in seem to work pretty good on most reeds I play. I think these are them: 1. Soak reeds in warm water for 5-8 minutes 2. Take reeds out and put in a flat (prefably glass) surface 3. Stroke the reed from the back to the tip 10-15 times I don't know how it all works to break it in, but it works pretty good for a quick break in. It all so suggests to only play for 10 minutes at a time 3 or 4 times before you start using them for a while to build up the reeds tolerance.