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Re: why not make your own reeds?

Author: Phil Freihofner
Date: 2007-12-31 10:23

ohsuzan wrote:
...
> And finally, I understand that even some very fine oboists have
> had someone else make their reeds. It seems to me that I read
> that even Gillet did this -- can't find that reference now. But
> Leon Goosens and Heinz Holliger, to name two, generally did not
> make their own reeds, according to Burgess and Haynes.
>
> So, as they say, different strokes (pun intended) for different
> folks.
>
> Susan

I also recently heard from a pro bassoonist (who plays in Los Angeles for the film industry) that Goosens had a reedmaker. But he also said that when his reed-maker retired, Goosens was forced to do so also! I don't know if this is true or not. Does anyone else know?

I don't know what I'm going to do when my source for gouged cane retires. I've tried various brands with miserable results. I'll probably have to buy a gouger and try to pay or otherwise coax the current source to let me know what settings he uses. I pray he retires in good health, but he seems like the type to work until he drops, at which point it will be too late to learn his method. Maybe the settings can be reverse-engineered.

There are people who can make reeds in 15-20 minutes (from gouged cane). I've met several. But I don't particularly like to play on their reeds!

One "pro" who did make very good reeds (took him more like an hour) made me a few. I was paying him $35 an hour but he insisted on delivering one reed per $35. I did it because I was in the middle of a contract and working fulltime and more at that same rate (computer programming) and didn't have the time to both work on reeds and practice. He quit after about three reeds saying that it made him crazy to make me a really good reed and then have to give it up.

http://adonax.com

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why not make your own reeds? new

kroboe

2005-09-07 08:47