 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: huboboe
Date: 2011-03-24 18:11
Attachment: Hewitt EH reed.jpg (821k)
Hello, all -
I got sufficient interest in a set of measurements for an EH reed that I offered Robin that I thought I would post them as an attachment. If this works...
The history behind this is that for many years I have 'mapped' my best reeds and those of colleagues that I liked. The things that are in common with most of them provide a rough guide when I hit the occasional reed slump.
One of my students went on to study with Stevens Hewitt and the next time I saw her she had an EH reed he had made that I really liked. Attached is the 'map' complete with my cryptic notes. Feel free to ask me about what those notes mean if it's not obvious
I don't believe is slavishly adhering to fixed measurements, but I find that my best reeds, the ones I measure and archive, have very similar features. For instance, the thickest spot in center of the heart of my oboe reeds is between .48 and .50. Thicker and they are either too stiff or don't vibrate. Thinner than .46 and they tend to sag, and I've never had a working reed thinner than .42.
Of course that's only one point among the myriad of balancing spots, and it's the overall balance of the reed that dictates the success or lack of...
Anyway, it's a starting point from which you can adjust to the whims of a particular piece of cane.
I think the overall length is meaningless without knowing the length of your tube crook as well; I had to shorten the model quite a bit to play in tune, and you may need to tweak the length as well..
I don't know what shape Hewitt was using, but at 8mm wide at the top and 7mm in the middle it seems to be a middle of the road shape. Try with your current setup and see what happens. Good luck!
Robert Hubbard
WestwindDoubleReed.com
1-888-579-6020
bob@westwinddoublereed.com
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Author: GoodWinds ★2017
Date: 2011-03-24 23:40
Thanks for sharing your 'secret recipe'. I know many will benefit.
I wonder how the density of cane affects these measurements...
If one has a gauge then one can make reeds faster and more consistently, I get that. So all power to you, professional reed-makers out there.
For myself, I approach the task like knitting a sweater, following instructions as to the number of rows etc, but also by the dimensions of the one you knit for (I hope the analogy works, because I don't knit!).
I've never been able to make reeds by measurement numbers, only by how they respond. Therefore, the style of playing, the instrument itself, and the density of cane come into play.
GoodWinds
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Author: RobinDesHautbois
Date: 2011-03-25 12:49
Again, cane is a plant, not a high density polymer, not an engineered alloy, not a synthetic crystal with controlled cooling, pressure and chemical composition.
These maps are very useful for study, not so hot for reproduction. Reedmakers who use templated profilers must still finish them off by hand for exactly those reasons.
Cane density, vascular bundles (as one supplier used to put it), the age of the cane, its "health" and many more factors (including WEATHER) intervene.
This map is very useful but let no one be fooled that it will produce the same kind of reed that the original pro used to produce... no more than me buying a Ludwig Frank Albrecht Mayer model oboe will make me suddenly sound and play like Albrecht Mayer!
Robin Tropper
M.A.Sc., B.Mus., B.Ed.
http://RobinDesHautbois.blogspot.ca/music
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Author: GoodWinds ★2017
Date: 2011-03-25 16:42
Well, I think that measurements are VERY useful; my oboe guru in San Diego keeps meticulous notes on cane, shapes, etc; carries a little notebook with him and jots down EVERY detail.
Which helps him eliminate the 'bad' variables and keep consistent. He just does a lot more oboe-ing than I, and I have numbers dyslexia.
So I see that maps have their place. After all, even I can tell which parts of the reed are thicker than the others, and more or less by how much, and that could save a person (one just beginning to make EH reeds?) a LOT of time.
I appreciate huboboe sharing!
GoodWinds
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Author: Bryanwalker
Date: 2011-03-25 22:49
I am really surprised how long this reed is. Usually EH reeds coming out of Philadelphia are around 55-56mm.
I, however, like longer EH reeds. I feel I get a bigger and deeper sound.
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Author: huboboe
Date: 2011-03-26 01:19
Good comments. First, though, I'm not a reed maker, just an oboist. But I tend to approach things from an engineering point of view, and I think Goodwinds nailed the essence of it: the numbers promote Consistency, the magic concept. You can only know how a change affects your reed if everything else (or at least most everything else) stays the same, so keep all your tubes the same, use cane from the same batch, use the same shape, and use a set of measurements that puts you in the ball park. Sure, a reed made from softer cane will be a tad thicker, and harder cane will need to be scraped a bit thinner, but if you think back, didn't most of your best reeds look very similar? And don't you rough out a reed to a visual starting place before you start the finishing process?
Of course the weather is going to be another uncontrolled factor. My dry days reeds are different from my rainy days reeds and I can't really tell you what I do differently...
As for your observation, Bryan, all I can say is that it is what it is, but, like the length of an oboe reed is measured from the tip to the bottom of the tube, the EH reed is really measured from the tip to the bottom of the crook, and there's no knowing what crook Hewitt used.
Once again, these numbers are to put you in the ball park, after which you do all the usual finishing stuff. This just gets you in the ball park faster. And I feel, more accurately than a profiler.
And, hey, try it. If it works, great. If not, it's just one more piece of cane down the drain...
Robert Hubbard
WestwindDoubleReed.com
1-888-579-6020
bob@westwinddoublereed.com
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