Author: hautbois
Date: 2007-11-26 17:20
I wonder if you could send them back and ask that they be re-scraped to produce a lighter reed?
Yes, I would scrape those windows until they are more defined -- not as thin as the tip, but permitting light to come through significantly more than in the heart. There is a conflict of opinion about whether the transition to the heart from the window should be abrupt or blended; I recommend the latter. Except in the portion nearest to the thread, there should not be bark on the spine between the two windows, but there should also not be deliberate scraping over the spine other than to 'dust' off any bark remaining. Some American oboists use longer windows than others. I would try to keep the reed closer to the balance set up by the reedmaker in terms of proportions; if that does not produce a playable reed, then you could try lengthening the windows towards the thread, and also, as I think I wrote in an earlier post, shortening the heart by lengthening the windows into the former heart area. The rail of bark on the sides of the reed should be maintained all the way to the tip, though the rail narrows as it approaches the tip.
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