 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: RobinDesHautbois
Date: 2012-02-04 15:32
Howard, you are asking one doozie of a question!
- A : cane factors -
* You already mentioned diameter (or I prefer to compare the arc).
* The gouge can influence the springy qualities: thinner sides provide less resistance: hence why it is so important for short scrape.
* Flatness of cane: see pictures on my blog http://robindeshautbois.blogspot.com/2011/03/pre-gouging-and-tooth-yanking.html
- chances are, I "inherited" from a stock of cane my predecessors simply rejected
- flat is best, but if the middle curves out, away from the gouger bed, then you'll have very open reeds: I have a number of these reeds that actually play really well, once you warm-them up! Sometimes, these open reed keep their elliptical opening (good), sometimes they flatten-up (trash).
- the opposite is murder, regardless of scraping technique, the reed will choke and refuse to respond: the longer you play in one session, the worse it gets
* Grain qualities: soft cane will loose its bounce faster than hard cane. Young "soapy" cane (if you can get it to vibrate) will also resist compaction better.
- B : hardware factors -
1.
Wire: others have much more experience and are better qualified to elaborate than I.
2.
Staples: opening AND conicity. Search this BBoard, because observed effects can be surprizing. Also, conicity (or flaring) is what makes the difference between Chiarugi, Gerico, Stevens and so on.
3.
Binding short vs. long. Here too, others will have to comment as I have not systematically put down any principles: the complexities of geometry and pivot-points could lead to surprising results.
- C : scraping factors -
Two ways:
1.
This is where I depart from standard-European to get a "hybrid" with Philly style.
My teacher taught me how to use the very tip of the knife to put in what might look like American "windows", but are just a removal of the bark almost all the way back. The purpose is explicitly to close the reed.
I don't have any pictures of those anywhere, but close to that would be the narrow wired reed (blue thread) at http://www.flickr.com/photos/marjan_tropper/6160971184/sizes/z/in/photostream/, except the gullies continue to about 1mm near the thread. A better depiction is sketch [6](A) in http://robin-hautbois.users.sourceforge.net/anches/index.html. Using thicker cane (0.60-2mm) with a gouge of thicker sides, [6](A) is usually how mine end up concert-grade.
2.
Sometimes, this is not enough. That's when scraping no more than the bark from the gullies is important, because I start reducing ALL the bark gradually, all the way to the thread. I have had excellent reeds with no bark at all (technique taught by Stewart Grant: soloist, composer and oboe teacher in Lethbridge, Alberta). You reduce the sides OR the centre line first depending on sound and performance characteristics..... I have not yet found any guiding principles for this other than experience.
See the reed bound in purple thread with 2 grey bands http://www.flickr.com/photos/marjan_tropper/6160970382/sizes/z/in/photostream/ .... but this reed has an ulterior motive: experiment with "buzzaphone" reed making.
Best of luck and keep us abreast!
Robin Tropper
M.A.Sc., B.Mus., B.Ed.
http://RobinDesHautbois.blogspot.ca/music
Post Edited (2012-02-04 15:42)
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HautboisJJ |
2012-02-04 14:38 |
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Re: collapsing a reed new |
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RobinDesHautbois |
2012-02-04 15:32 |
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WoodwindOz |
2012-02-04 21:08 |
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GoodWinds |
2012-02-05 05:48 |
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RobinDesHautbois |
2012-02-05 14:07 |
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Wes |
2012-02-05 05:14 |
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jhoyla |
2012-02-06 06:14 |
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Loree BF51 |
2012-02-06 23:59 |
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