How long to soak bassoon reeds

To initiate a return, please contact us for RMA instructions. For oboe reeds, soak only the cane portion of the reed. For bassoon reeds, the entire reed requires soaking. A good rule of thumb is to soak the reed while you are putting your instrument together. A reed can be over-soaked. Reeds should not be soaked in the mouth or under a water fountain. Reeds should NOT need to be soaked after playing and should be allowed to dry before putting them away.

Reeds should be stored in a well-ventilated reed case. Bassoon Reeds. For an economical beginner reed, the Oxford reed medium- soft strength is suitable. For a reed with better tone try the Britannia reed medium soft strength. How many reeds should I buy? I normally recommend buying at least 3 reeds so that when the first one is no longer usable, you still have a spare, and you can then order some more. Of course, we regularly have special offers which gain you extra discounts or free reeds if you buy more than this, so look out for these offers which may be on this website, or sent to you through the post or email.

The tips of my reeds seem to break or split after quite a short time. If you are a new player this may be because of accidental damage. The tip of the reed is only paper- thin, and very delicate. Just lightly touching the reed can cause damage. I recommend all players form two habits to help avoid this: 1.

Always keep the reed in your visual field within eye- sight. Many beginner players often look down at the instrument to see where their fingers are supposed to go. Stick your tongue out. Stick you tongue out, lay the reed on your tongue, and then let your tongue bring the reed into your mouth.

This way you will never hit your teeth. How can I best take care of my reeds? Firstly, keep them in a proper reedcase. Reedcases can seem expensive at first but a reedcase for three reeds only usually costs about the same as a couple of reeds and it can save damaging many reeds.

If you can, always soak the reed in clean water before playing it. If you always use your saliva alone to soak it whilst warming up, the many chemicals in your saliva will be absorbed into the cane, and the reed will thicken up more quickly. This can be done by running tap water through it whilst holding it upside down under a tap, or by carefully swishing the cane part in a small pot of water. This helps prevent the build- up of dried saliva which otherwise will occur on the surfaces of the cane.

If you have to store the reeds for a long time, try to ensure they are not in a humid or wet environment. Normal indoor room air is perfectly suitable within the. When you first recieve your reeds briefly submerge the blades of the reed in clean water and leave the reed on a flat surface to soak for 2 or 3 minutes before playing.

To avoid slippage in the blades observe how you form the reed, use the rubber bands or other wrapping material for forming and even how you put the reed on the bocal. The key is to avoid twisting the tube in one direction. If you must twist to get the forming mandrel or put the finished reed on the bocal do as little as possible and twist in both directions. Pushing with a little twisting is best. You can correct slippage after the fact by twisting the wrapped area of the tube while twisting the blade hold around the throat above the first wire in the opposite direction.

Alternatively, you can sand or file off any slippage. Slippage further dampens the reed making it less vibrant. It also changes the shape of the blade making it narrower because the overlap does not vibrate. It is sharper and more accurate in taper than any other reamer I know of. The collar is adjustable and allows you to ream to the same depth every time. Unlike other reamers with collars, it screws into the shaft and not the flutes of the reamer.

The flutes are not marred by the set screw. I usually ream the reed so it fits on my bocal between mm. More reaming makes the reed play with more depth and tends to darken and even the tone.

Less reaming keeps the reed brilliant. Because my reamer also reams the throat of the reed this also helps pull the pitch down and focus the low register. To raise the pitch of the reed without cutting the tip, open the first wire so the reamer does no work in the throat and ream more aggressively. Fitting farther on the bocal, the reed will play higher in pitch. Sharpness is essential for efficiency and accuracy in the scrape.

Technically, I could take a piece of tube cane, boil it for an hour and make a reed out of one of its parts in a half hour. However, for reasons explained above, I would never do that. From start to finish usually involves a few months with all the soaking and drying.

Yes, I sometimes do play on a reed on consecutive days. I can do this successfully with reeds that have been played in for a week or more. New reeds need more time to rest between playing.

If your standards are high, you will demand more of your reeds. The same holds true of your playing environment. The more demanding the environment, the higher your standards for your reeds will be. Our orchestra has a very specific type of sound a style of playing. Some reeds that would have been good for using in lessons, etc. My reeds need to fit into a much more specific, smaller category than before. Reedmaking FAQ How often do you purchase cane? Why do you use distilled water when soaking cane?

Can you soak cane too long when soaking cane pre-profiling? Do you use distilled water throughout the entire reed making process or only when soaking the cane? Why do you use Rigotti cane? What type of profiler do you use? How many reeds do you make at a time?

I usually make 10 at a time. How many do you recommend students at various levels make at a time? What does beveling do? How do you know how much to do? Do you purposely slip the blades of your reeds sometimes? Why do you use rubber bands when forming and drying the blank? When using the rubber band method as a way to form the blank, how can one be sure the blades have not slipped during the drying process?

What effect do the special forming pins have on the reed? How do you prevent a crack from going into the blade of a blank? Why do you let formed blanks dry for two weeks? Why do you use the crow as a diagnostic check of the reed? How important is accuracy in reed making? How important is it to follow reed making steps in the stated order?

Why do you advocate use of a dial indicator? Why do you advocate the use of your particular shaper? How much do you scrape the rails, and what effect does this have on the reed? Does the thickness of the wire used really matter? The blades of most my blanks tend to lay off center of each other side-slipped. What can I do to keep the blades aligned? Why did you create your reamer? How is it different from other reamers?

How much do you ream? How does more or less effect the reed? Is there a noticeable difference in playing using cotton verses nylon thread? How often do you sharpen your reed knife? I try to touch it up before a lengthy reed making session.