Info

Reed wait time

  • I am a full time performer, who also likes to travel. (for weeks at a time)
  • I maintain a reed schedule for myself with my performance schedule in mind, and customer reeds as secondary.
  • By ordering from me you are putting yourself in the queue to receive reeds.
  • I do not keep an inventory of finished reeds in tubes ready to ship out, in my experience reeds play far better soon after being opened and not sitting "finished" for too long. 
  • It does not matter what you pay me. If you place an emergency order on Thursday for little Billy's school concert on Sunday, he will not have my reed for the concert.
  • Your reed case management is not my responsibility
  • I dont work for you
  • Orders can be refunded or denied at any time for any reason 
  • If you need more immediate access to reeds, shop the big double reed shops (Forrest's Music, Midwest Musical Imports, Miller Marketing, RDG)
  • You can contact me at any time to get an update on a reed order, I will give you an honest estimate of when I will be able to work on your order.  I am a full time bassoon player, not a full time reed maker.

Color variation in cane and reeds.

Natural deviation in color is common in the cane that I use. In fresh-cut green cane this shows as purple patches. After drying and aging, these patches are a darker brown than the lighter brown typical of bassoon cane. This is a variation in color only and has no effect on cane quality. This mostly affects the largest sizes of cane, especially contraforte cane.

 

Extending reed life.

Here are some tips to keep your reeds playing longer and more consistently.

-Dip reeds in water and allow 5 minutes resting in the open air. 

-Soak reeds 5 minutes in water after playing session is over

-Store in ventilated reed case. A well ventilated reed case will not dry reeds when stored inside of a bassoon case. Allow reed to completely dry before storing, or open reed case to air dry later.

Why naked reeds?

These reeds are sealed with a layer of Duco Cement which is air and water tight. Thread wrapping is a holdover of reed making before the advent of modern glues.