 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: Midwifelynn
Date: 2015-03-08 01:40
I am relatively new at oboe playing and even newer at Reed making. I play a Bulgheroni Opera. Any suggestions as to what shaper tip and staples sound best for this oboe?
Midwifelynn@yahoo.com
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Author: jhoyla
Date: 2015-03-08 16:56
Hmm.. (seriously jealous) I wonder how good a player I would be today if I had started learning on a Bulgheroni Opera, and not a plastic B&H regent .. but I digress.
I assume that you have a teacher? If not - in the interest of saving a whole lot of time I strongly recommend you find one. And in that case I would use his/her shaper to begin with. If it suits you, buy an identical one yourself, and if not, experiment ..
As a beginning reed-maker in the US, I would recommend you go for a standard middle-of-the-road shape such as a RDG 1, or similar, and standard 47mm staples from any of the reputable suppliers. Initially it is unlikely that the niceties of shape will be critical. Bob Hubbard of westwind double reed is a frequent contributor on this bulletin board and his shapes are probably the most accurate on the market today, but they don't come cheap! You can compare shaper-tip dimensions here.
A lot of players like the "covered" and more focused sound that they get from narrower shapes, but I find these shapes more difficult to scrape and the reeds always seem to have a shorter playing life. The RDG 1 is about as narrow as I would go.
Once you have got the hang of making mostly playable reeds from your standard setup you can change one variable (e.g., either narrower/shorter staples or a different shape) and start all over again  Have you considered buying shaped cane to start with?
J.
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Author: Midwifelynn
Date: 2015-03-08 20:47
Jhoyla, thank you for your response. As to your digression, I started oboe about two years ago on a plastic Yamaha that I rented from my local music store...long ago, in my life BC (that's before children!) I played bassoon and made my own reeds. When I returned to the music world I picked oboe because as a kid playing clarinet I was always jealous of the oboe players, (should have gone with my instinct and switched right then and there, maybe today I would be playing for a living instead of delivering babies!), that is what my father originally played and is currently playing and I was hoping to just play on the reeds he is willing to make for me, but now I digress...unfortunately for me he lives on the other side of the U.S. And his reeds don't sound as lovely on my oboe as I would like or as they do on his.
I got my Bulgheroni last February, switched teachers and started my Reed making by buying gouged, shaped cane. All of that happily got me way ahead Of where I was. The gouged, shaped cane that has made the nicest sounding reeds so far was from Ann Hodge shaped on a Barr/Gillette shaper that does not seem to be available any more.
My teacher and I are currently trying several other different shapes from Ann. My teacher makes some of each shape, I make some and we both play all of them on her Fossati and on my Bulgheroni. So far, narrower is not better on the Bulgheroni (but sounds beautiful, rich and dark on her Fossati). I just spoke with Bob from Westwind yesterday and will be trying a couple of his shaper tips this week. He recommended I come on here to see if anyone has found what I term the "winning combination" of staple and shaper tip for the Bulgheroni.
Midwifelynn@yahoo.com
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Author: jhoyla
Date: 2015-03-09 10:51
I have a Pisoni #3 tip that makes easy reeds that have a lovely lower register. They don't quite come up to scratch in the OK2 range, though (but I haven't used that shape in 10 years so it may be different now). (seriously). Width-wise, I see from the Hodge Products website that this shape is off-the-charts wider than anything else!!
Perhaps you can ask Anne for half-a-dozen pieces shaped on this tip?
J.
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Author: Oboehotty
Date: 2015-03-11 06:00
An RDG -1 will,be too narrow on the Bulgheroni. I have two students with that tip and both have major pitch issues using a -1.
They have had success with a Joshua +4 on Sierra or Pisoni staples, although the Pisoni staples are much thicker and harder to get to close. This is especially problematic if you are wrapping at the +4 tie length of 72.5-73.5.
One student has had success on the Opera with a Mack+ tip but finds that pitch is an issue. Both have major pitch and depth of sound issues (lack of) with the RDG -1 tips on the Bulgheroni...it's too narrow.
Shawn
Professor of Oboe - Youngstown State University
Howland Local Schools - MS Dir. Of Bands/HS Asst. Dir (Marching, Symphonic)
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