 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: alanporter
Date: 2010-02-22 22:54
I am a clarinetist (sorry about that !) and I have become a big fan of synthetic clarinet reeds. I have recently acquired an oboe that I hope to learn, and I am wondering if there are any synthetic oboe reeds that might be suitable for me. Quality of sound is not that important at this stage. Many thanks for any response.
tiaroa@shaw.ca
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Author: cjwright
Date: 2010-02-22 23:32
Alan,
When you say "Quality of sound is not that important at this stage." be aware of just how little "quality of sound" there is regarding synthetic oboe reeds.
I recently played with the Phoenix Symphony and watched the principal clarinetist pull out his reed case full of synthetic reeds, slap one on and tie it down and he sounded great, so I know there are some good synthetic clarinet reeds which produce good tone. However, there are no good synthetic oboe reeds which produce any resemblance of an oboe tone.
I would never have a student play a synthetic oboe reed, mainly because there is virtually no resistance in the reed, which encourages the student to create tension points within to body to add resistance.
Cooper
Blog, An Oboe In Paradise
Solo Oboe, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra
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Author: mschmidt
Date: 2010-02-22 23:32
Such things do exist but I'd be very surprised if anyone here comes out in favor of them. If you are determined to used synthetics, it is a good thing that quality of sound is not important to you at this stage!
I myself have never played on a synthetic, as I don't think anyone ever recommended them, and I never sought them out on my own.
Mike
Still an Amateur, but not really middle-aged anymore
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Author: GoodWinds ★2017
Date: 2010-02-23 05:46
I played on a synthetic reed back in the late 70s and hated it. They may have improved them, but...
the ONLY instance where I think such a thing might be useful is when playing outdoors or when you have to pick up an oboe quickly to cover a part, as in a show. I knew a cabaret/pit orchestra doubler who used one, and he wasn't too bad on it. Tone, though... very marginal.
HOWEVER, like the pros who've already answered you, I would strongly recommend against using them as they do develop bad habits (biting, tension). Bamboo might be less predictable but you're much better with it in the long run.
GoodWinds
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Author: Dutchy
Date: 2010-02-23 12:44
This is me three years ago.
I still have the reed, I'm a more experienced oboist now, and I *still* can't make it sound good; it's still an absolutely appalling noise. Even the worst-quality factory reed I have, sounds better than this one. It is also quite difficult to bring it up to pitch, as it is extremely soft and "biting" it to bring it up only serves to close the aperture.
There is really no such thing as an "adequate" synthetic oboe reed. A clarinet reed is only a single piece, so it can be plastic, but a double reed needs to resonate not only with the mouthpiece but also with itself, and it just doesn't happen when it's made of plastic. Plastic doesn't have the "give", the subtlety, required.
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Author: JRJINSA
Date: 2010-02-23 14:19
Let's ask this question:
Does anybody think that a "decent" synthetic reed will ever be invented in the future? When you get right down to it and understand how an oboe reed works, it would seem there could be some likely solution to this age old problem. It's not exactly rocket science.
Imagine how good we all could be with a consistent reed, more hours practicing, and less hours futzing with reed issues. 
We can dream....
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Author: alanporter
Date: 2010-02-23 15:40
Thank you all for your comments. Dutchy's video with sound convinced me, as did the advice from all of you.
Alan
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Author: Chris J
Date: 2010-02-23 23:08
Legere make excellent single reed cane substitutes.
I understand their oboe reed is due out in the next few months. It will be interesting to see what they come up with.
Anybody here been involved in testing / development of these prior to marketing?
Chris
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Author: justme
Date: 2010-02-24 01:27
Double reeds are a whole different animal.
Being that they vibrate against each other and are a bit picky ( especially an oboe reed, you just look at an oboe reed the wrong way and it will give you a world of trouble!) it's much more difficult to come up with a good synthetic reed for them.
But... I believe that someone in the future will come up with a good one, although it's difficult.
Forestone seems to me would have a good shot at this if they would ever to decide to design some double reeds, as the proprietary composite material is a mixture of polypropylene resin and cellulose wood fibre, more than 50 percent of which is bamboo, where many of these synthetics are just plastic.
Let's hope that someone designs some good synthetic reeds in the near future for oboe, EH and bassoon!
The problem with reeds are what keep many from playing double reeds.
Justme
http://woodwindforum.ning.com/
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