 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: mschmidt
Date: 2015-12-20 09:01
Is there a serious shortage of good cane in this world, or am I just not finding the right stuff? I have been trying cane from vendor after vendor, and I have taken up doing my own shaping so that at least I can have consistent shapes as I try different vendors. But I am having such a hard time making decent reeds like I used to be able to make with the cane I can no longer get. I am seriously considering becoming a cane farmer in my retirement. Anybody have suggestions about growing, harvesting, and curing good cane? With climate change, I expect that cane growing might have to move to new latitudes.
Mike
Still an Amateur, but not really middle-aged anymore
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Author: mjfoboe
Date: 2015-12-21 07:15
Finding good cane is quite frustrating. One has to adapt to what one has at the time. At the moment I bought cane that is advertised as medium to hard; well it isn't so. The cane has large vascular bundles and is a bit stringy - soft ... doesn't scrape smoothly. Can I make a reed from it .. well yes ... however, it is a real pain in the butt!. And I am not sure how it will perform over time.
Mark
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Author: Wufus
Date: 2015-12-29 07:25
Hello Mike
I have just sent you an email that may help address your cane issues. I just launched a new website that is all about cane. It not only give measured characteristics of a number of varieties of cane, it has new information on gouging and talks a bit about harvesting and curing cane.
Wufus
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Author: Wes
Date: 2015-12-29 08:29
Well, I once tried growing arundo donax in Gardena, CA. It grew well, but I never really used it. Actually, it grows in many places in CA and perhaps you can cut some without having to grow it, because it can be seen in some unlikely urban sites. A gouger would need to be used in processing it. It is a major weed in some wet places.
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Author: mschmidt
Date: 2015-12-29 21:48
I'm aware that arundo grows as a plentiful invasive weed throughout much of California, and I once talked to a local oboist who uses the wild stuff here in San Diego County. But he said the wild stuff he found was quite soft, and that he had to compensate by making his reeds quite short. He also says he never uses cane unless it has seen at least a bit of frost--apparently it frost makes it harder, somehow.
My interest, then, is a little larger than just securing a personal source of cane, or growing it locally, as the climate may be a bit too warm. I am rather wondering whether a more extensive research project is in order to figure out what the crucial climatic and processing factors are in growing really good cane. I get the impression that there is a lot of local, proprietary knowledge handed down through the generations in the traditional cane-growing regions, in much the same that wine-producing regions in France used to have a lock on terroir and processing secrets. Agricultural and enological science have greatly expanded the range over which truly excellent wines can be produced; could the same be done for cane?
I think with the huge increase in global population over the last century, it makes sense that cane should be grown in a wider variety of locations, just as the global expansion in wine growing regions has served to supply the global population with wine.
Wufus' email to me included a link to his new cane business, which advertises a "new approach" to the cane business. If you google "new approach oboe cane" you can find it, with an alliterative business name and a location in the U.S. capital city. I think it is a good start to thinking outside of the box on the cane business, albeit a bit further along in the cane-to-reed process that I am interested in.
I apologize for the longish post, but I've been thinking about this a lot, and, with my background as a scientist, I have a bit of a restless mind when it comes to overcoming technical difficulties. I have no concrete ideas as of yet as to how to embark on a cane research consortium, and maybe the IDRS is a more suitable venue for such a discussion. But I was interested in whether people here had the same impressions of a "cane crisis" as I.
Mike
Still an Amateur, but not really middle-aged anymore
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Author: Wufus
Date: 2015-12-29 22:14
Yes, Mike you are on the right track. I visited a number of the growers in Southern France in June. I was told the it is important that the cane goes through a freeze period. Here is a short write-up I have online online about how cane is grown and processed at the grower.
"Arundo Donax stalks are harvested only after 2 years of growth. Harvest time is mid-December through March and is said to take place on the new moon. Some cane is cultivated on plantations and some cane is harvested in the wild. The cane is then laid in the sun to dry out for short period and is then usually stacked in a seasoning barn to cure for up to two years. At this point the cane still has it’s leaves.
After curing, the leaves are mechanically removed from the stalks and the stalks are cut into sections for sorting (only the bottom portion or the stalks are generally used for reeds). The cane is inspected for straightness and sorted by diameter. The tubes are then usually set out in the sun again for 10 days or so to develop the golden color. Some producers place the tubes in machinery that essentially polished the bark at this point. At this point the cane is ready to ship."
Wufus
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Author: mschmidt
Date: 2016-01-14 10:19
Well, thanks to Wufus's new cane shop, I am no longer as pessimistic about global supply of cane. Wufus has cane from all over the globe--Turkey, Spain, China, and of course, France--and I've found some that makes me happy. He sells nice "mini-samplers" which allow you to try five pieces of gouged, or gouged & shaped, cane each from 3 different growers, and his cane diameters for all but tube cane are more precise than the half-mm range you usually find. The workmanship on the cane looks good, the service is fast, and questions (boy did I have questions) are answered promptly. Capitol Cane!
Mike
Still an Amateur, but not really middle-aged anymore
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Author: jhoyla
Date: 2016-01-17 11:36
Can somebody post the URL for Wufus' new cane shop?
Thanks,
J.
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Author: mschmidt
Date: 2016-01-18 04:30
http://www.capitolcane.com/
Mike
Still an Amateur, but not really middle-aged anymore
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Author: RobinDesHautbois
Date: 2016-02-14 21:28
I find the most popular canes (Agean, Alliaud - popular in my circle of acquaintances) are just not my favourites. When I get a good reed with them, the reed is outstanding (really!) but they are few in comparison to Rigotti or Marca and others that used to be scoffed at..... but this is for my style of reed making and to my taste in behaviour.
Robin Tropper
M.A.Sc., B.Mus., B.Ed.
http://RobinDesHautbois.blogspot.ca/music
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