Μέγεθος καλαμιού(reed number)

[chitowngreek]

when i first started playing , i went through a lot of reeds ,1. 1.5 ,2, 3., i would shave them ,in the middle ,on top ,the bottom , soak them ,
destroyed alot of them ,until i settled for a rico 1 or 1.5 . it is a trial and error prcedure. i always thought it was the clarinet , then i would let a seasoned player, play it and the clarinet sounded good . and they would always tell me (prepi na spithi to xili sou )
how would you tranlate it to english