SUGGESTION BOX
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Reedmakers
USA
- Advantage Oboe Reeds EH
- American Oboe Reed Company EH
- Arundo Reeds and Cane EH
- Back Bay Reeds EH OD
- Best Oboe Reeds EH
- Bill Roscoe Double Reeds
- Boston Double Reed EH
- BT Reeds
- Cascade Oboe Reeds EH OD
- Charles Double Reed Company EH
- Chicago Reed Company audio
EH OD - Cleveland Reed Company
- Colorado Reed Company--Jennifer Ownby audio EH
- Cooper Wright Reeds audio
- Currie Reeds EH
- Double Reed Girl EH
- Drew Keller audio
- Edmund Nielsen Woodwinds EH
- Emerald Oboe Reeds
- Forrests Music EH
- Fred Korman
- Good Tone Guild EH OD
- Graham Reeds
- HB Oboe Reeds
- Hodge Products, Inc. EH
- Infiniti Reeds
- Jennet Ingle Reeds audio EH OD
- Joe Halko Oboe Reeds EH
- Johnson Double Reeds
- Jones Double Reed Products
- Kestrel Reeds
- Lisa Hudson Oboe Reeds
- Lyn Davies EH
- Mark Chudnow Woodwinds
- Marlin Lesher Reed Company
- McFarland Double Reed Shop
- Michael Adduci
- MKL Reeds
- North Texas Oboe Reeds and Cane
- Oboe Stuff
- OboeWorks
- Oxford Reeds
- RDG Woodwinds
- Reed Daddy audio
- Reed Expression
- ReedMonster
- Reliable Reeds
- Richards Double Reeds
- Rob McManus
- ROM Double Reeds
- Singin Dog Double Reed Supplies
- Stellar Oboe Products
- Stuart Dunkel
- Tabby Toes Reeds
- The Reedmaker audio EH BO
- Weber Reeds
Australia
Canada
Europe
UK
Extras
Recent Comments
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midnightkat August 18, 2010: Lisa Hudson Oboe Reeds I had ordered Lisa’s “The Doubler” Package (Professional), 2 oboe and 2 EH reeds with med strength and dark tone. I needed the reeds quick due to a tour date and got them in time, I did pay extra for the expedited order,... -
Paul Hartl August 14, 2010: Stuart Dunkel Some good ones, but I have not seen much consistency from those that I have received from Dunkel in the last year – too many, more than half – have been junk. - Paul Hartl August 14, 2010: ReedMonster I ordered 3 sets of 3 over a year’s time. 2 were great performance reeds with nice dark tone, excellent pitch stability, and ease of playing. 3 were practically unplayable (very, very light) garbage, and the other 4 were pretty good...
- Paul Hartl August 14, 2010: Jeanne Oboe Reeds Jeanne is not making finished reeds anymore, as of 2009
- Paul Hartl August 14, 2010: American Oboe Reed Company I ordered 3 professional reeds and got 4! All are easy to play with excellent response, particularly in the low register. Very consistent from reed to reed with a very finished look and feel. One major complaint – they all play...
- midnightkat August 10, 2010: Reed Daddy My thoughts on these reeds. I ordered 3 “Principal Oboe Reeds” and did not care for any of them. I’ve been playing for about 16 years and found that they were too resistant and did not have the dynamic range I am used to with my reeds....
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JT August 9, 2010: Johnson Double Reeds Site has moved to http://www.gracejohnsonoboe.co m/. -
Administrator August 1, 2010: SUGGESTION BOX The site actually has on overview table. Click the “Collected Ratings” link, top right.
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116 comments
The site actually has on overview table. Click the “Collected Ratings” link, top right.
An overview table with the ratings would be very useful!
Thanks
The website http://www.bostondoublereed.com sells reeds made by Chikao Inomata. I usually make my own reeds but his reeds got me into a number of top conservatories. His reeds are probably one of the top few American scraped reeds publicly for sale. I would recommend adding it to your site!
I am professional maker reeds. In Spain I only have been a year working, but the oboistas ones already begin to know me. Sorry for my english. Thanks
http://www.goldensound.es
I find Peter Vandeburgt’s reeds to be excellent. I hope he returns from his summer break.
If a reed-makers’ page is taken down when they are on holidays, does this delete all their reviews? Perhaps reedmakers taking a break from sales can have a “not currently selling reeds” icon, and a “not selling” checkbox on their profile page.
Could you add Reed Expression to the list? They sell alot on E-bay and would love to hear some reviews.
Thanks!
Hi Roger,
Thanks for having me. I will be taking a break for the summer; please remove me from the site. Thanks and see you in September.
Peter VandeBurgt, Canada.
oh, and yes, Lyn Davies also makes English horn reeds. Also available through Rush’s.
can you change the info for Lyn Davies reeds? It still says they are available at Covey’s, but we (Rush’s Music, Knoxville TN) are now the ONLY place people can get Lyn’s reeds. Our contact info is: 2107 Chapman Hwy, Knoxville, TN 37920, phone 865-573-4138. Thanks.
Wow. I recently emailed Richard Rath, to order some of his Richards Double Reeds in MS and he told me he didn’t sell direct, only to retailers; the next day he emailed me back after calling all of the music retailers in my city and asking if they would carry his reeds, that’s what I call dedication and quality service.
I was wondering if you could add Richards Double Reeds to the list of oboe reedmakers, I have a review that might help with a previous comment some one posted
Hi Roger,
I am one of the 2 reedmakers in Canada and I do not make EH reeds.
Thanks for all your work.
Peter VandeBurgt
In response to a suggestion (thank you Wendy) I have tweaked the site add one more bit of info: does the reedmaker sell English Horn reeds? At the moment, the answer is “unknown” on nearly all of the pages. If you know whether particular reeedmakers supply EH reeds, please post a comment or email me. I will update the site as the info comes in.
Alan Greenlees from Hobart (Tasmania, Australia) is an oboe reedmaker: http://www.oboereedsatyecrossedhoboy.com.au/ German scrape, consistent quality, and recaning service.
His reeds are also available from http://www.windmiller.com.au who also sell Bernard Girard’s reeds, K.Ge Reeds, Berthelot, and Schweinfurter.
Several people have suggested a page for someone named Yuki Harding. As far as I can tell, she has no web presence as a reedmaker. If she ever sets up shop online, I will add a page on this site.
Yuki Harding is among the best reedmakers out there! I strongly agree she needs a page on here.
Perhaps you could write a small review for beginners so that they would know what strength reeds to try before spending a whole lot of money. Thanks!
Can you tell me how to contact Yuki Harding to order English Horn reeds?
Hi, I make by hand and sell reeds on Ebay. I am located in British Columbia Canada. Would I require a web site to qualify for your Review?
My Ebay site URL is;
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280458464368
Marzluf reeds, which has been the subject of some recent commments, is now out of business, except for the fulfillment of pending orders. His site has been disabled. I am taking his page offline.
you need a SEPERATE category for customer service. Jonathan Marzulf simply will not fulfill orders; he takes you money and gives nothing in return and will not reply to queries. People need to know if someone’s customer service is terrible, because, although Jonathan’s reeds are great, they don’t do you any good if you never get them.
Add a New site online now! http://www.americanoboereed.com
Mark makes great reeds and is a good friend!
MKL says they’re back selling reeds, btw.-kby
http://www.infinitireeds.com/
you don’t have…
The star rating system is back online (mostly). The display is still not quite right, and may be a little confusing to look at. Working on that.
That comment was deleted at the request of the user who posted it.
About two weeks ago, a negative review appeared for a certain reedmaker. The complaint was that the reeds had never arrived (after two months) and that the reedmaker had not responded to email. After a day or so, the review disappeared. The review was neither rude nor offensive, and there was no explanation for the disappearance. Suspicions are therefore raised. But there probably is a good explanation, and I wonder if it could be provided.
THE STAR RATING SYSTEM IS NOT FUNCTIONING AT THE MOMENT.
This site is excellent and it saves me tons of time from browsing where to buy my reeds. One small thing is that can the ratings of individual items be shown instead of just the overall score? This should greatly enhance our abiliy to see which is a suitable reed for us. Thanks!
I find this site excellent – given how much time and money oboe players invest, it is helpful to get feedback from others in regard to reeds. I was wondering if you could create an additional category of “oboe paraphenalia/stuff” where oboists can provide feedback about equipment such as oboe knives/sharpeningstones/ reed cleaning solutions/ etc. etc.
I think you should add Covey Oboes to your list. Lyn Davies’ Professional Reeds are consistent and beautifully made.
http://www.coveyoboes.com
The move to registration has caused a glitch in the star rating system, so that some old votes are not being counted in the totals. I am aware, and working on fixing. The breakdowns highlighted in yellow are accurate.
REGISTRATION NOW REQUIRED FOR VOTES AND COMMENTS
I think it’d be worth noting what kind of oboe people play on. Many reeds that work for some oboes don’t work well for others. For instance, Loree reeds might not work well with Howarth reeds, or other models.
I’d really like to see a separate section for comments about english horn reeds.
Look at customdoublereeds.com
Comment on ratings is not tied to Jones Reeds. Forgot which page I was on, but general comment still holds.
MKL Reeds is out of the reed business (although otherwise still in business), and so is no longer on the site.
NEW FEATURE: Find a reedmaker near you, with our Google map of reedmakers covered on this site. (Some are not listed because it’s not quite finished yet, and others because they do not give out a physical address).
Dear Administrator, you have been very fair and I’m sure David Blyth of Britannia Reeds would be pleased if he knows. It is a great picture though but probably synonymous with his brand. These are photos of all his reed styles with the differing identifying binding colours. Great graphic. Why don’t you ask him for permission to use the picture but without the credit. You could always try. Meanwhile I have ordered some of his reeds, which I have not had for years, and I will report to the list in due course. Geoff..
That picture is the nicest one I could find on a google image search, but I have to agree that the reedmaker should be credited. On the other hand, the premise of this site is to be neutral between reedmakers, and I’m afraid that carrying what would be– in effect– a banner ad for one of them is inconsistent with that premise. I will take down the image this evening, and we will just be a little graphics-poor until I can find a picture that doesn’t create this dilemma.
The heading picture of reeds on your site perhaps should have the name of the reed maker who uses it as his own header – Britannia Reeds in the UK. I note that he doesn’t have his reed company mentioned in the UK list.
Re the eBay sellers: I prefer to identify the reedmakers by their own location and web site, but if there is someone selling exclusively through eBay, I’ll be happy to put up a page if someone sends me their info.
Could you start pages for some the persistent dealers on ebay? Some of the cane and reeds are fine, but some are awful. I’m thinking that if people get a review here first they may think twice about ordering from some of those dealers. I’m not trying to put anyone out of business, but I hate to see some poor unassuming student or parent get stuck with some of the poor quality stuff being sold. Thanks for listening.
It seems that people are confused by terms like “stable” when I think most professionals wouldn’t have a difficult time recognizing an unstable reed.
The trouble is when you say “flexible/wild”. These are not synonymous. A good reed needs to be stable, i.e. stays in tune however hard/loud it is played and in any part of the range, high or low. But, it also needs flexibility to produce a flowing vibrato and to allow for variations in the pitch of the orchestra/group.
Resistance vs easy blowing; a reed could be resistant and easy to blow. The same issue of the stability of the reed is in play.
A reed which is too thin for a professional won’t produce a pleasant and deep sound but may be easy to play. But it will not be playable at the volumes needed in a professional or good college orchestra. It will work for an intermediate high school student without the necessary technique and support to play a more resistant reed.
Timbre: the reed has everything to do with the timbre. But, a good reed won’t make you sound good, only better than a bad reed. If you are a great player, you’ll sound better on a bad reed than an inexperienced player. If you’re inexperienced, you’ll sound better and it will be easier to learn on a good reed.
Bad reeds bad, good reeds good.
It;s strange that on “Pitch” and “Cracks”, there are no absolutes; there should be. Cracks or leaks shouldn’t happen ever on a professionally made and finished reed. If the reed is going to crack, it will crack during the making. I have not had one crack after it’s completed in about 25 years. If someone sends you a leaky reed, that should get the worst rating with no need for splitting hairs. Of course, if you give a good, stable reed to an inexperienced player, then they could make it sound terrible five ways to one, and then their rating is worthless.
In my experience, students with even just one year or less of good instruction will benefit from the same qualities that their teacher is looking for in a reed. The flimsy, buzzy, cheap, mass produced reeds are good for a few lessons, then it’s time to get serious if you are serious about wanting to improve. A well made reed with a range of dynamics, even and full sound, stable pitch(440 on center), and easy response to a well supported air column is what players need, new or seasoned.
In response to Oscar and Alex Lopov, As one of David Dutton’s former students, I believe he still maintains his reed business. However, the best way to find out would be to ask. if you google Master oboe reeds, you can find the Midwest Double Reed Society Website, which has a reed supplier list and the phone number is right there.
Hope it helps,
shane
I prefer the old system by which you showed the number of ratings in each category (1-5), rather than just the average. I like to see the distribution of ratings.
I understand the criticism of the reed properties: they are vague, subjective, etc. I think, however, that this is likely to be the case for any set of properties that one might select. The parameters that I chose seem reasonable to me, but I have no pride of authorship. If there is a well-accepted list of standard properties (maybe the IDRS has published something??) I would certainly consider implementing it.
The collected ratings page is now sortable.
I personally think your reed property rating system is flawed in almost every area.
1. Resistance – Resistance can mean a lot to many different people, and there are different kinds of resistance, such as air resistance and breath resistance. I associate air resistance as how much air it takes to get the reed vibrating, but then once the reed is moving, how much air does it take to maintain a mezzo forte? Do you have to keep blowing hard, or is there flexibility? Neither of these can be merely summarized in “easy blowing” and “resistant”. I can make reeds that response really quickly but require immense amount of air to be constantly blown, and reeds that have less response but have flexibility in the speed of the air that it requires.
2. Timbre – Most pro oboists will tell you it’s how you play the reed that determines the timbre rather than the reed itself. Dark/Bright and Covered/Bright are very subjective terms, and realistically, one reed that will sound bright in one oboe will sound dark in another and visa versa. I do think that the terms “focused” is more concise than “rounder”.
3. Max Dynamic may measure the dynamic level it can play, but it doesn’t measure the dynamic level a reed can play with a focused, stable, and even tone. Similar for #4. Again, I do think these two subjects are dependent upon the maturity of an oboist’s embouchure.
5. Stable: As a reedmaker, you wouldn’t believe the variance one would find in what people deem “stable”. I think you need to be more specific in what is defined as “stable”. Does “stable” require slight rolling in/rolling out of the reed? Absolutely no pushing in/pulling out of the reed? Biting in the reed? Often times, people more associate “stable” as “Even tone” rather than “stable pitch. This topic can also be very differently interpreted by short scrape reed players than long scrape reed players. (I was always told the test of a stable reed is to play it in the corner of your mouth, where you can’t bite it, and if it plays the upper register in tune, it’s stable.)
Other areas I think you should consider rating:
1. Shipping times
2. Evenness of tone (Many reeds sound full in the bottom, tiny up top)
3. Communication with Customer
I hope you’re able to specify your reed property rating survey more carefully.
Best,
Cooper
NEW FEATURE: REED PROPERTY RATINGS. The rating system has now been expanded to go beyond the simple thumbs-up/ thumbs-down scale that this site has been using. That scale remains, but now you can also rate particular reed attributes (timbre, pitch, etc.) on the star system. Of course for this kind of rating, more stars may not be better. The idea is to collect information that is more specific, and therefore more useful. I’m hoping that people will be willing to take a little extra time and contribute their detailed opinions.
I have the same question as does Oscar: how can one order reeds from David Dutton? I know a relative of his and that did not seem to help getting him to answer my request about reeds.
I do not like the star system. It only is some sort of average and you don’t say what method was used to get that average. Seeing how many people voted in each category can be more useful than an average, though also having the average is fine. But, if you are going to have a star system, then it would be useful to be able to sort your list by score.
The voting system has changed. The old Democracy polling plugin has been deactivated and replaced with a star rating plugin, of the kind commonly seen on rating sites. The old votes have been transferred to the star rating system.
You might consider starting review forums for gouged cane and gouged and shaped cane. People in the earlier stages of learning to make reeds (i.e. before they own gouging machines) or professionals who are looking to save time and agony may be interested in where they can purchase consistantly well prepared cane.
Someone commented on MKL on the Marlin Lescher, but they aren’t the same. I’m a little surprised MKL (www.mklreeds.com) isn’t listed as I thought it was one of the larger ones.
I’m sort of like you (the admin) in that I’m coming back to playing after a number of years, but have managed to recoup more of my reedmaking skills wih a little free advice from the local repair person (who also plays and sells reeds–www.oboefix.com).
I don’t plan on using pre-made reeds on a regular basis, but it’s always nice to know who’s good in a “reed emergency.” Also, since I am trying to improve some and also need to be able to gauge how hard or easy something should be to play on still, it’s nice to keep around some reference reeds to “recalibrate” my embouchure–I still find it too easy to creep up in resistance (oh, this is just a little hard…it’ll break in…repeat that a few times and I’m back to making boards like I used to).
Does anyone know how one would go about ordering reeds from David Dutton? Does he still sell reeds?
Changes to the site: the comment form now has a short (four question) survey, intended to gather a little information on the commenter (oboe-playing and reed use only, no personal identification). Is this an improvement? Feedback appreciated. Also, at the suggestion of one commenter, the collected polls page now displays the poll questions in best-to-worst order, rather than ordered by votes.
Hello Oboe Reed Reviews Administrator:
This seems to be the only spot on this site where you can ask questions of the general oboe reed buying public. Space for comments seem to be devoted to each reed maker but can’t address everyone, except to make a suggestion to the administrator. Oh well. That said, I have a general question, mostly for reed makers but also reed buyers. I noticed a web site for something called The Nissen Tube. The site is: http://www.oboetube.com/. I was wondering if anyone has tried to play reeds made with this tube and what did they think? It looks interesting but does it deliver? Thanks!
Hi Roger,
Thanks for the great site! I recently had a vintage oboe restored, planning to finally get back to playing after a nearly three and a half decade hiatus without a playable oboe since I graduated high school (Nixon era), and found myself facing the daunting task of finding a source for good reeds, so your site is just what I needed. I will contribute with reviews as I have anything arise that is appropriate to pass along. For now, I’ll make a suggestion for enhancing the ease of comparing the opinion poll results and of a way to gather more info.
As a base suggestion, I would recommend leaving the fields in the same order for each vendor on the “Collected Polls” page, rather than the way they are currently being mixed up by putting the highest percentage at the top. This would make comparison much smoother, with a quick scan through the list. The two things I primarily wanted to see were what percentage of voters said “great” and how many actually posted a rating for that vendor. In other words, I was looking for the vendors that had managed to please the majority of several customers, rather than say, two out of three. The rest of the ratings info from “good” and downward was helpful, but secondary, for further evaluation of the best ranked, with a visit to the vendor’s website primarily to get some price perspective as the final step. In my case, I had already read all of the reviews on each vendor, or that would have been the third step I would have taken prior to visiting their website. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice you had the “Collected Polls” page until I had already read every review on every vendor. It would have been much quicker to narrow the field down to the higher ranked vendors in the collected poll, then read their customer reviews specifically, followed with a visit to their websites for price comparison.
What would be really great is to actually have rankings on “Student Reeds” and “Professional Reeds” separately. I am guessing many of those who posted, might actually have some light they could shed on that, and frankly it would eliminate the potential of good student reed provider getting bad reviews when compared to professional reed expectations, for example. All things considered, it seems that three or more ranking categories are needed, which are the vendor details, student reeds and professional reeds. Respective price info would be icing on the cake to put comparison in the proper perspective.
Actually, I just read all of the prior suggestions, and I see that some of this has been touched on, such as the suggestion to include the experience level of the person posting, which is of course very pertinent and do-able with the comments, but difficult to represent in relation to the rankings. From your comments, I see that you mention the poll having limitations in the amount of info you can collect, so perhaps my suggestions are not do-able, either.
The solution is probably to simply do several different polls per vendor. You could then have folks give numerical or star (1-5) ratings for perhaps:
1. The consistent quality of the student reed.
2. The consistent quality of the professional reed.
3. The typical time frame from order to delivery could be rated in 1-5+ weeks.
4. The vendor’s accessibility.
5. The vendor’s guarantee/return policy.
Of course you would want to tell folks to only rank the details they are familiar with for that vendor. Each poll would then accurately reflect how many had posted for that detail, which would keep the perspective clear. In other words, if only one person has rated a vendor’s reed, a discerning reader should know that they still don’t know much about that reed.
You could then have a “Collected Polls” page for each of the poll categories, which would allow someone looking for a student reed, for example, to simply go to that page and quickly find the higher ranked ones and proceed from there.
Really, the way to paint the clearest picture would be to visit the site for each vendor and retrieve their respective price for each type of reed. A bit of work, I know, but it would sure contribute to the intent of your site, by helping folks make a closer to “apples to apples” comparison. If it would help, I would be glad to put that info together and relay it to you, and then you would only need to build the one polls templet page, and then add the specific pricing to each o the vendor pages.
As for maintaining the original poll data, you could leave the current Collected Polls page for that data up, titling it as “The Earlier Ranking System Data” or something to that effect, to help with the transition to accumulating enough of the new, more specific data. Eventually, you might want to remove that old data, as it might become counter-productive in not reflecting the same results as the more accurate/specific data. In some cases, where only one type of reed is offered by a vendor, that rankings data could be accurately transposed to the new poll.
Okay, that’s what you get for asking for suggestions. Let me know if I can help in any way. I am serious about offering to visit each site and then relay the pricing info, if you wanted to post it. Just say the word and I will get on it.
All the best to you!
Already there. Begins with “The…”
Could you please put reedmaker.com reeds on reed reviews?
A fantastic reed maker, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is Yuki Harding.
I make my own reeds as a rule, but you never know what can happen – I always keep a few of Yuki’s reeds for emergencies, and have NEVER had a problem – I know many professionals and students who swear by her reeds.
She should be added to this list!
Could you put Emerald Oboe Reeds on reed reviews?
I would be interested in knowing who uses “green” packaging for their products.
Heidi Brann makes excellent reeds. Her site is called hboboereeds.com. You should add her to your list.
New page up for Ars Nova Oboe Reeds.
New page now up for a UK site, Reedmaker, not to be confused with the US site The Reedmaker (although both do provide audio).
We’ve got nothing against commercialism here, craven or otherwise. Two new pages up, for Rob McManus and Drew Keller. The latter has audio, which reminds me to reiterate my longstanding invitation to any reedmakers who know about this site to send me a link to audio (or video) of your product in action. Hearing is believing!
Not at all trying to engage in craven commercialism here(well, maybe a little), but I have a limited production oboe reed business of my own. I live in MN so you may want to be from the upper midwest to order them. Just send me an email: roberthmcmanus@hotmail.com with your mailing address and how many reeds you’d like. I’ll send the reeds to you with a bill.
Do you have a similar site for bassoon reeds. I used to get lovely reeds from Cecil James but now I either make my own (they are awful) o0r get them from Brittannia. They are not at all bad, but they make so many different types it is hard to find one I really like.
Martin
You should add Cooper Wright Reeds of Oregon to your list (not to be confused with Wright Reeds of Indiana).
http://www.cooperwrightreeds.com/
Pages now up for Gary Armstrong and Bill Roscoe.
I think the suggestion for a cane site is a good one, though I am hesitant to take it on. Where would one find an intial list of suppliers?
This is a FANTASTIC resource. You have doubtless saved hundreds of $$ – not to mention needless frustration. Suggestion/Request: Is there any way you could do a similar thing for cane? Many of us buy reeds as a last resort (when we run out of time) or for students. But it’s getting much harder lately to find a source for consistent quality cane.
Pages coming soon for other suppliers recently mentioned here.
Page now up for Billerbeck Oboe Reeds, in UK section.
If you would like to add Billerbeck Oboe Reeds to your comments section, please do.
It’d be awesome if ‘Emerald’ and ‘Gary Armstrong Woodwinds Ltd.’ could both be added to the list.
So far my favorite reeds have come from Bill Roscoe at http://www.doublereeds.com but I don’t see him on your site. Maybe you could add it. This site has been very helpful. I used to make my own reeds but that was many years ago and I always hated it. I get frustrated with sites that say “if you want good reeds make them yourself”.
i’m not sure if it’s feasible, but could a reed compatibility scale work? i’ll give you an example.
i hate winfield reeds with a passion. this is not because they are bad reeds (many of my friends love them), they are just not for me. i do however love stray reeds. would it be possible to do a compatibility scales? i.e. stray reeds, then list the 5 closest reeds to them so that people experimenting with new reeds would know what to try in comparison to what they already know they like.
just a suggestion – i do very much like this site!
It would be helpful if the webmaster would put links to the individual pages on the collected polls so one doesn’t have to try and remember the name and go up to the list on the left hand side.
So, for instance, on the top of the collected polls, where it says “Please rate Back Bay Reeds”, it would be hugely helpful to have Back Bay Reeds be a link to that page.
I’d like to see Reed Monster (www.reedmonster.com) on the list. I really like those reeds!
The Reedmaker has example playing on his site:
http://www.reedmaker.com/5EXAMPLE_RECORDINGS_OF_THESE_REEDS.html
thought you might want to ask him if he wanted to have it linked or added. He plays very nicely and has many musical family members. And, although your site is quite lovely, I also wondered, why green as your website color? Green does not speak “oboe” to me. See you later : ) – W
Please list Advantage Oboe reeds. Thank you
Hi there,
Great site, I will be keeping an eye on it. One suggestion though: as you are now listing reedmakers from all over the world (mostly US, a few UK, one or two German/Australian), how about subdividing the list by geographical area? I am a UK player, so don’t really want to pay postage on reeds from the States – therefore it’s a bit of a waste of time for me to click through all those pages. Would be much clearer if I could see the UK reedmakers straight away.
Claire.
RDG page is up.
I really would like to see RDG Woodwinds on the list since they were just recommended to me and I would like to hear other’s opinions.
http://www.rdgwoodwinds.com
About Marlin Lesher Reeds:
I tried to order these reeds directly from the site and they e-mailed me back and said they don’t sell directly to individuals. So you might list another site that sells these. I used to order these from http://www.wwbw.com, but I heard they’re going out of business so I’ve found http://www.music123.com which is very similar. There are also more sites that sell these.
One thing I thing you could do is as well as having your polls is when someone goes to leave a comment you should make it so they give their rating at that time. It would ensure that people vote for one thing. Also it would make it so we don’t have to read their whole comment. Sometimes it can take a LONG time to read their whole comment.
Also you might add Chartier reeds. I’ve used them once and want to see if it’s just me or the reed that caused the problem. I know there are others but I just can’t remember..
Just to let you know…I love this site….it’s very helpful!!! I agree with one of those other comments that I wish it was more traversed!! People need to be told about this site!!! It’s awesome!!!
I found your website while looking for a vendor of double reed supplies on google. Do you think this would be as successful for bassoon reeds? I do and would be interested in helping to set it up. Do you want to contact me?
Elisabeth Romano
reedexpertise@juno.com
I am a “returning” player who was a promising reed-maker as a teen, but can’t possibly make my own now (well, not yet).
A few comments: I was searching for precisely this sort of site and am happy to find it, but am disappointed at the evident lack of participation. There must be a bit more that could be done to drum up some interest, such as posting an announcement on message boards, etc.
Secondly, as others have said, it is quite important that comments can be read in light of the experience and expertise of the person commenting. I have seen other feedback forums where there was (at least) a field in the comment box where one had to check off options like “beginner”, “intermediate student”, “teacher” etc. I am happy to read comments from other less-than-top-notch players, especially if they speak directly to the concerns of players at those levels, but I do want that degree of context.
Lastly, the “would not buy again” option in the poles reads as being an extremely negative rating, but realistically, there are many reasons why somebody might be unsatisfied with their choice of reed, but the reasons don’t necessarily speak to bad value. For example, I recently bought 3 reeds from a well-reviewed small-scale reed maker, but they simply felt so different from the reeds my old instructor used to make for me that I will not buy them again, even though they were obviously made with care and attention to detail, and they have met the approval of much better oboists than I. I don’t think it’s fair to make it so easy for reed makers to receive unflattering ratings without explanation. “Would not buy again” is far too ambiguous, and the industry of reed making is small enough that a site like this needs to recognise that it may have an appreciable influence on consumers.
Advantage seems to be a retailer that carries many brands, including several already listed on the site, so I don’t really see the need for a separate page. (I realize I’ve made that mistake with others in the past.)
Please list ADVANTAGE-USA.COM. ADVANTAGE reeds are great.
Can you add Richards Reeds by Richard Rath, and Marlin Lesher reeds? I am new and get them all finished. I use mediums. There’s no place to tell hardness or pitch or anything.
Is there any way you could bee more specific on WHICH reed from a particular maker? For example, I purchased three different reeds from Nielsen recently, had drastically different results with them, and therefore feel uncomfortable answering the poll about them. If you could specify “Nielsen silver” or “Graham Pro” you might get more accurate results.
I agree wholeheartedly with the reedmakers’ requests to have players’ abilities levels listed. It makes a difference whether a reed was good for a middle-school beginner on a Bundy or a person with more experience and muscle to their embouchure and playing a Loree or Covey.
Thanks for the site – it’s great reading as is, and did let me know about some makers that are new to me.
Pages now up for Torda, Stray and Fortay.
Hi
A fabulous idea for a site, as it’s so hard to tell what reeds are like from web pages and it’s easy to make some expensive mistakes! As a UK-based player, I’d like to see some more Brits listed to give the site some more international value. How about listing Torda, Stray and Fortay reeds, for example? I’ve been experimenting with all three and would like to know what other players think about them.
By the way, the menu bar looks a bit odd in Firefox. Worth checking, perhaps?
Thanks!!!
Please could you add Nick Winfield reeds to the list, I couldn’t see them anywhere. I like the idea of this site, it is very useful for oboe enthusiasts-like me!!!
Hi Roger!
Just a thought: How about adding a page from reed makers? Kerry has brought up a good point and I wrote a while back about some of the style differences in reeds. Others may have some input, too.
Thanks for thinking about it.
Glad you found the site, Luis. I hope you get some use out of it, and also find time to submit your own opinions.
By the way, I think you’re going to be the whole section tomorrow. Good luck on that Bartok!
This is Luis from UCB summer symphony. Great website! I’ll probably be using it soon, as my school schedule is going to be heavy next year (I’m applied math-economics, so I can’t spend too much time on oboe).
Kerry:
Thanks for the comments; I especially appreciate input from reedmakers.
Regarding anonymous comments, it would be possible to require all users to register, but that wouldn’t really prevent anyone from remaining anonymous if they wanted to. I’m doing this as part of my hobby, and I don’t want to be in the business of collecting people’s personal identifying information. As a reader, though, I would give more credibility to someone who was willing to post under their own name.
I agree with your point about beginners, etc. On the front page for the site, I ask people to describe their proficiency and experience, but if you look around the comments pages, you’ll see that most people just don’t do that, for whatever reason. The best solution I can think of would be to improve the polling function so that it captures more information, including information about the player. This would require a fancier polling plug-in than the one I am using. I know that one is in the works, and I would like to install it when it is released, if I can do so without losing all of the polling to date. Time will tell, I guess.
Comments from a Reed Maker -
The comments do no good for a reedmaker when the person giving the comments may be a beginning student that has no idea of oboe playing! I noticed this on my section and others also! Without some credibility, it is just not fair to the reedmaker. All of us are hardworking, and good professional oboe players. Is there anyway to not allow Anonymous responses? Or, any way to insist on number of years playing as one of the lines in the response? I think you have a great idea, but any reedmaker that makes great reeds has people that will not be able to PLAY their particular style of reed. That does not make bad reeds, but just a different type of reed!
Thanks for a great job.
Kerry Willingham
http://www.reedmaker.com
Laura–
I’m glad you like the site, and I certainly sympathize with your qualms about the polling feature. It’s there because I think some people would prefer to give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down type rating, rather than type a comment. But it’s hard to know what to make of those ratings without knowing more about the players who gave them, their preferences, etc.
My idea when I started this site in March was just to get something basic up and running. If the site continues to get traffic for a few more months (and I get less busy at my day job!) I would like to add poll that would capture a little more useful info.
Roger
I love using this site, but I would like to see more comments added, rather than the emphasis on the poll rating. I’ve gone through the listings and been frustrated when I see less-than-excellent rating but there are no comments to justify it. This doesn’t tell me anything about why the reed isn’t up-to-par or what sort of a player (beginner or advanced) rated it as such.
This is a great site, though. I make my own reeds now but when I need one in a pinch I still buy. It’s nice to find less expensive ones that require very little scraping!
Done.
Cascade reeds from Oregon should be added.
Katherine Needleman can be reached at needlemanreeds@yahoo.com. As far as I’m aware, she doesn’t have a website.
pages now up for katherine needleman and oboeworks.
A suggested addition: Oboeworks. Their website is http://www.oboeworks.com, and they make both student and more advanced reeds.
John, I’ll put up a page. Does she have a web site?
I am an amateur and use Katherine Needleman’s reeds- from the Baltimore Symphony. She sells her reeds at reasonable prices if you contact her directly- most are less than $30. I find that their tone is superior to most of the other manufacturers out there and though she markets them as her seconds, they are far better than much of what I have found on the market. I would like to see her name added to the list. Thanks, John
Wow! I didn’t realize there were so many reed makers…I’ll have to try some different names on the list. Thanks for the informative site. I’m looking forward to using it. I have previously tried about 5 on the list but always come back to Forrest’s. Weber, of course, is great but way more expensive on a regular schedule.
Thanks for the comments. I agree about the color scheme and some of the other design details. I’ll probably change that soon. The site was built with this blogging software called wordpress, which makes it very easy to change the overall look of the site, and there are all kinds of prepackaged themes available for download. I’ll add McFarland.
Also agree that it would be good to have more detailed info rather than just text comments, but it would be work to design that, and I’ll have to see if the site gets enough traffic to justify the effort.
Roger
Hello from the Fremont Area!
Thank you for the thought that you have put into this project.
Will the sight eventually have enough data to post an analysis link, where the potential shopper can look for the results, by either beginner, amatuer (Beg. Int. Advanced) , professional consumer?
I would suggests as well to list the make of instrument the consumer uses as a guidline in the Consumer profile or Comments box. This is helpful when either the reed maker or consumer is educating themselves. The key word of the web site should also be focused on “education”. This will be hard to monitor with your sight, but trying to monitor all of the responses will be difficult. The nature of the instrument is as you say quirky, and can lead to frustration, especially when one does not have a dedicated teacher and is still difficult when one does, as you know.
The request for “Polite” responses will need to emphasized and monitored somehow before they are sent to the product maker.
I am a teacher of the instrument, and some expereince on some humorous stories from un informed, begining, or youth expereinces, and have found that the response of some can produce a brittle relationship. For ex: I would buy reeds for the student that the parent would not take the time to do, or was trying to be cheap! and the student reported to the parent that the reeds werebroken. The (agressive-agressive) parent demanding return of the money and lesson fees! Needless to say, the student percieved the reed as cracked because there were two cracks down each side of each reed! Indeed there were, as I inspected each, exactly were they should be; where the two blades have been bound together to meet and to produce the lovely sound of a “double reed” instrument! The reeds were actually so good I offered to buy them for myself.
After I performed and excert of The Mozart Concerto, the parent and student refused to sell them back to me! I ordered three for my self, the next day. Thank you Mrs. Dustee!
I recommend a “response box” monitoring system if you can do this, before it reaches the reed maker. They sometimes decide that its just not worth the trouble to make reeds, especially when most do not know even where to start with feedback. One must be an educated consumerand user of reeds, and as learning to play the oboe, this too takes many, many years, and patience.
Sandra Moore
PS: My husband is Art Director, if you need Creative Visual Content for your Web. a440too@comcast.net
Hi, Roger. This is a great beginning. I like your basic site design, and your casual wit. I submitted reviews of two reed makers — see if you can find them.
Suggestions:
I think your color scheme needs improving, especially the hard-to-see gold-on-gray at the right. Gives me eyestrain.
Run your spell checker, and particularly change “scaping” to “scraping.”
I think I would put the suggestion box somewhere other than alphabetically in with the victims — er, reedmakers.
With further time and thought, I’m sure you’ll want to add some graphics.
Great job so far and looks potentially very useful. — Ron
What?? No McFarland?