Handcrafted baroque oboe reeds (for bocal+staple setup), made with 14-15mm diameter,
carefully selected French Vic cane, tied on Chiarugi EH no.3 staples, shaped and scraped by hand,
tried and adjusted on a Stanesby Junior copy by M&F Ponseele.
- Total length
- 49.5-50mm
- Width at tip point
- 9.3-9.5mm
- Scrape
- long
- Gouging thickness
- 0.63-.67mm in the middle, when dry
- Staple used
- Chiarugi EH, no.3, 27mm
- Thread used
- Serafil 40, 100% polyester
- Pitch
- A=415Hz
Medium soft has a rather open sound and more vibration, as well as less resistance, speaking particularly well in the medium-lower register.
Medium hard reeds have a darker sound, enough resistance and still have enough material on to allow for more adjustment.
In making the reeds, I've been trying to obtain good speaking and full-bodied fork-fingered notes (especially the low f), as well as a g# that allows a fair diminuendo.
In shaping the cane I used the following measurements: 9,5mm at the tip and 6,8mm at tying closing point. As all shaping is done by hand and the cane is not all the same, please understand that there might be small variations between the shapes of different reeds. I've been looking for an elegant and good-looking shape that gives a compromise between lower and higher register notes.
The reeds still need some time for playing in, and I recommend closing the opening of the reed between the thumb and forefinger after being soaked in water until reed seems ready to be played with ease. The cane I use is rather hard, so the playing in requires some patience, as well as maybe some readjusting (for the medium-hard reeds particularly).
The thread is sealed with natural bees wax, but if one feels that is not enough, nail polish or other material should be applied as desired (cling foil, goldbeaters skin, etc.). I do not use brass wire to control the opening of my baroque oboe reeds.
