Author: Dutchy
Date: 2007-06-11 23:03
Well, speaking for myself, and bearing in mind that different reeds work better or worse for different people...
Those are Meg Cassell's reeds, and I LOVE them. So much so that I just received one of her 5-Signature-reeds-for-$65 packs, considering that even a big chunk of change like $65 (plus shipping) (gulp) was well worth it.
If you had bought them directly from her, she would have included an insert that explained that she finds that her reeds have a longer useful life with wire, but that if you don't like it, just push it down. Some folks have a rooted artistic objection to wired oboe reeds ("wire is for bassoon reeds" is they way I've heard it put), but I've found that wiring old reeds does indeed let you get a bit more life out of them, keeps them from collapsing.
Do they have the red thread? Then they're the Pro reeds, which I have not tried myself, having stuck to the Rookie and Signature reeds so far.
She also explains in her insert that her reeds tend to be a bit harder than other reeds, since she deliberately leaves more cane on so as to make the reed last longer. So yeah, I've found that they do take longer to break in, but once they're there, it's lovely.
Do your long tones on them every day for a week, and maybe some scales, and then put them away and switch to a broken-in reed for the rest of practice, is what I do.
And yes, they definitely have that darker clarinet/flute sound, rather than the brighter, more nasal sound. I've decided that it's not "better" or "worse", just "different".
I wasn't aware that she provided reeds to retail music stores. Interesting.
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