Doublereed Archive - Posting 000035.txt from 2008/03

From: Paul Hanson <paulbassoon@-----.net>
Subj: [DR-L] Bassoon Reed maker search
Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2008 19:17:24 -0400

Hello good people of the double reed digest. Thanks for the
opportunity for me to post this request.

My name is Paul Hanson; I'm a bassoonist from the field of jazz/fusion
and I have an interesting situation to post.
I am currently under contract with Cirque Du Soleil for their Cirque
Tokyo 2008 resident show which opens in August.
We will be rehearsing till then-once it opens we perform 380 shows a
year.
My situation: I am looking for a reedmaker that can keep up with my
requests for reeds. Cirque Du Soleil is the buyer
of all things necessary (repairs, reeds, strings, equipment) for the
band in a Cirque Du Soleil show. I'm waiting for
a particular double reed store in the San Francisco Bay Area to get
their order of a particular reed-they have been waiting a month
now and the back orders are piling up. I don't think that many
reedmakers will be able to keep up with my demand of 15-20 reeds a
month.
That may sound like a lot but remember we perform up to 10 shows a
week and the part requires I perform at my best with a reed that
does what I need.
So-I have an idea and I would appreciate feedback from the double reed
community. My idea is to post a message (either here or on
one of my websites) to all reedmakers private, small business and
bigger corporation: If I like your reeds-you will get a contract from
me or Cirque to produce 15-20 reeds a month for me to use. This goes
for the student making reeds and selling them in his spare time on
campus-or the
reed business by Danzi or Miller Select Reserve (my reed of choice
these days). When I worked for Cirque in the past on
the show SALTIMBANCO-all I had to do was request whatever I wanted in
terms of sax reeds (it was primarily a sax show) for alto, soprano,
tenor. I
though of the ratio of 1 reed a show; this meant they would buy on
average 8 boxes of tenor reeds a month (5 in a box), 4 boxes each for
alto and soprano.
What I want to do is put the word out and have sample reeds sent to me-
I can arrange for Cirque to pay for the samples. When I find the reed
makers
(there could be more than one) of the reed I like-that reed maker will
be under contract to make 15-20 reeds a month for me. Since bassoon
reeds last
longer than sax reeds-even though they are hit and miss I think the
minimum number of reeds I'll need a month is 15. My experience is that
this
is a lot of reeds to find at a double reed shop every month. I want to
open this up to anyone capable of making a great reed for sale.
What do you think of this idea?
Thank you-you can post this on the forum or email me at paulbassoon@-----.net
.
-Best,
Paul Hanson

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