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Re: "Hand Selected" Reeds

Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2015-11-27 03:38

I doubt that such reeds are even play tested, if for no other reasons than health ones, or that such a process would be too expensive to implement, too subjective, and too selective.

Best case: cane associated with what players have in the passed have deemed good reeds is chosen, with no guarantee that reeds (all cut the same way, which they are for a model and brand, even across different strengths) will have the right amount of mother nature given variability to match their cut and your taste. More likely best case scenario: a manufacturer's better cane is diverted to this product line.

"What does it mean?"

That maybe you paid too much for these reeds compared to ones not hand selected from that manufacturer given that their added cost may very well not be justified by added or longer performance life, either before or after user adjustment.

Perhaps not all reed brands are this way. Case in point, Tom Ridenour use to have a program (he may still) where you gave him samples of reeds you liked and he'd return to you (for a fee) new ones with similar characteristics.

Perhaps not all players agree with these sentiments. I'm certainly not claiming that all reed brands are equal, but on the other hand I'm not sure I have better success with a box of Vandoren V.12's, V21's or Rue Lepic, on average versus cheaper Vandoren Blue Box reeds on average; in fact the reverse may be true.

Maybe the winner in the V21 box is better the the Blue Box's winner. Maybe not. And is it worth the price differential?

Hand selected, IMHO, may very well be a method by which manufacturers do something us economists call "capturing the market"--which is the process of as closely charging for pretty much the same product as each segment of the market will pay, along as its above manufacturer cost, in an effort to maximize their profit.

Say a new sneaker is brought to market. It commands top dollar that only a few will pay. Over time its novelty and newness wears off, its price comes down, but is still substantially above manufacturer cost, and more people purchase it as a result of the price drop. This is capturing the market. To initiallly offer the sneaker at one middle of the road price has the manufacturer lose out on profit made by the few willing to pay much more for it that was asked, but don't, in addition to those willing to purchase it for less (but still at profit).

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(The best tool for a hand selected reed is an etude book.)

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