 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: JRC
Date: 2011-10-04 13:28
As I get older and growing lazier, making reeds became something of a chore that I wish to minimize spending time on. I want devote more time on playing and having fun with oboe. So I bought bunch of so called "German" style reeds from couple of Ebay sellers. It turned out costing about $6 - $10 per reed. I tried cheap to more expensive kind in medium soft and medium strength. I like the price.
They appeared to be just out of profiling machine without any touch up. Some were rough at the tip area. All came with thin wire around them. I am not sure it is for looks or serving any purpose. I take them all off. Some were air tight and some were not, but not something that I cannot fix with plumber's tape. Some came with some sort of waxy substance applied to the lower part of the reed. I guess they want to make them air tight in sort of industrial way. I simply scrape it away.
I usually finish the tip and sometimes reshape the tip especially the sides and the very tip for the tone and attack I want. I call all areas forward of heart tip area which consists of transition area, the very tip, and the area in between. Then touch up the back for low notes and general playability. I found I seldom need to touch the heart area for the strength and brightness with most medium-soft and a little more often for medium strength reeds. So far I could make every single of them to work for me with little work. I love the savings of my time spent fussing with reeds. I found little or no difference in more expensive (premium) kind from cheapest ones, so far. They all need work on the tip area and adjust for playability. Perhaps expensive one took a little less time to finish.
I could not find similar deals for long scrape American reeds. I wonder why. I see that some American style use abrupt bumps and deep gauging scrapes. I suppose it would be difficult to make profile templates for such style.
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Bought Reeds - My experience new |
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JRC |
2011-10-04 13:28 |
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Chris P |
2011-10-04 15:08 |
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JRC |
2011-10-04 20:31 |
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jhoyla |
2011-10-04 16:12 |
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HautboisJJ |
2011-10-05 17:28 |
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JRC |
2011-10-06 12:38 |
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The Clarinet Pages
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