9 Responses to “Stuart Dunkel”

1. Carole Says:
   March 5th, 2008 at 1:34 pm

   These were the worst reeds I have ever tried. They are poorly made, loose sides and all together, terrible scrapings. I would tell anyone who is trying to achieve a decent sound on a reed that has not been made for them, to NEVER buy one of these reeds.

2. LL Says:
   December 7th, 2007 at 11:23 am

   I highly recommend Stuart Dunkel reeds! I normally order 3 at a time and have *at least* one reed that is concert-worthy.

   I usually have to scrape most reeds down to my liking, which can be frustrating, but with Dunkel’s I only just have to work on the shoulder’s just a little and maybe the tip and I get a wonderfully balanced reed with a dark tone.

   This brand isn’t for beginners, but for people who have good reed-making skills and know how to balance reed vibrations.

3. Jessica Malone Says:
   September 5th, 2007 at 3:59 pm

   I definitely recommend these reeds…mine had beautiful, dark tones that really impressed my professors and me. Such a relief to finally get a good reed, I’ll definitely be buying from Stuart in the future.

4. Emily T Says:
   August 14th, 2007 at 8:20 pm

   I still think that the best bet is to make your reeds, but what most of my students do is buy this and then have me scrape it. It works a lot easier and is less of a hassle.

5. Anonymous Says:
   July 24th, 2007 at 10:17 am

   I have been ordering oboe and EH reeds from Stuart Dunkel (Pro and Custom) for years and are by far the best reeds I have found on the internet!

   I have tried the majority of the suppliers listed on this site and Stuart Dunkel is the most consistent at customer service (turnaround time, ordering system, etc.). The reeds are reliable and long-lasting.

   I find that if I order them ahead of time and let them aclimatize they are more stable during the adjustment and break-in period.

   I rarely try other reeds, I do for curiousity, but always end up coming back to Stuart Dunkel!!

6. Anonymous Says:
   April 3rd, 2007 at 8:57 am

   i have been playing for 5 years now and i had tried a custom reed. They are amazing. Although i love my teacher’s reeds, these are my second favorite. I told him the pitch, length, crow, buzz, and strength. Exactly what i needed.

7. Anonymous Says:
   March 3rd, 2007 at 7:32 am

   I ordered two student reeds (medium-soft) and they are pretty hard! They are much harder than the med-hard anonymous student reed I bought in NY! But now that my embouchure is supporting the reed, I can tell they have a nice tone, although it will still be awhile before I can use them full time! Not recommended for complete beginners, a good reed for doublers once embouchure has developed slightly.

8. bobodoboe Says:
   August 24th, 2006 at 7:24 am

   These are by far my favorite reeds for my beginning and intermediate students. I have those students buy Dunkels in the $10 range, and 85% of them are fabulous straight out of the box. My only problem with the remaining 15% is a tendency to be too hard. Because Dunkel is in New England and we are in the South, by the time the reeds get here they’re quite a bit harder than I think the strength rating implies — so I just have my kids order a strength softer than they think they need.

9. vboboe Says:
   March 27th, 2006 at 10:38 pm

   18 month newbie comment - tried some last year when embouchure weaker, too difficult to play medium. Recently tried medium hard, plays well, responsive. Hard still too difficult to play. Wouldn’t recommend this brand as a starter reed for newbies, need developed embouchure to play these reeds.

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