Author: jhoyla
Date: 2009-01-04 08:40
I assume that support is not the problem? :-)
Is the reed consistently flat, or does it sag in places, especially in the upper register? Is low D in tune, with full support? This article about intonation, written 30 years ago, is still the benchmark as far as I am concerned:
http://idrs.org/publications/Journal/JNL4/oboe.html
Is your oboe new? As instruments age they tend to get a little sharper, so maybe you should just keep "aging" your oboe ..
Also - please buy some 46 mm staples and try these; it could be that for your oboe, gouge, shape and scraping style, 46 is a better length.
As an experiment, take a nice reed that is perfectly responsive but flat, and using either a nailfile or some wet-and-dry sandpaper, sand the bottom of the staple 1 mm. The best way to do this is to first put a 1mm slope on the cork all the way round, and then sand away the staple until the cork is level again.
Clean out all the gunge by flushing the reed with running water in both directions, and using a pipe-cleaner pulling clean through the reed (in through the staple and out through the reed). Finally, use your mandrel to check that the internal shape of the staple has not been warped.
If this works well, you may need shorter staples.
J.
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