Good Tone Guild

27 comments

1 Kelly Jones { 05.20.10 at 3:32 am }

Intermediate--Plays Most days--Used 6-10 reedmakers--Reedmaking: Buy and do not adjust

I ordered Pro, Signature, and Artists reeds, but the latter’s metal Chudnow staples’ (both E and S) diameter was larger than the reed-well of my pre-Loree Cabart. Meg replaced these with Pro reeds, which I prefer to the Signature reeds.

2 jenguyen { 04.27.10 at 6:36 pm }

Intermediate--Plays Most days--Used 6-10 reedmakers--Reedmaking: Buy but adjust

I recently ordered the gold artist reed from this site, it was ok, but it just didn’t quite suit my taste

3 Anonymous { 04.20.09 at 5:47 pm }

Plays most days--Buys and does not adjust

I have ordered both oboe and english horns from this site. The oboe reeds have not been quite to my liking, but the english horn reeds are great! I am pretty new to the english horn (I’ve played it for maybe 5 months) but I get compliments on my playing all the time! These are the best english horn reeds I’ve found so far.

4 Anonymous { 04.08.09 at 11:24 am }

Advanced--Used 6-10 reedmakers--Plays most days--Buys but adjusts

Reeds are extremely thick, and whenever you make the smallest adjustment, the sound is very thin. I will not buy from here again.

5 Melissa { 02.06.09 at 3:05 pm }

I am a high school student. My fellow oboist last year (before she graduated) highy recommended these to me and gave me two of them. I did like them quite a bit; they have good sound for intermediate-advanced players. They last two weeks at least, and could be made to last longer if scraped and adjusted after the two week period. I liked them a lot.

6 Grant J { 12.30.08 at 4:29 pm }

I’ve been using Meg’s reeds for almost 2 years. They are wonderful! I can always count on them playing for me, no guessing here! I like placing the order and knowing that my new reeds will be here before my old ones give out. What else can you ask for? Oh, not that I need to think about it but her reeds are guaranteed too! Meg is a rock solid reed souce with wonderful reeds and great prices too! Thanks Meg! I’ll remember you when I’m a pro!

7 Dan T { 12.24.08 at 4:33 pm }

These are really great reeds. The difference in my tone and stability now is like night and day. I ordered only one reed, their Signature Med. reed and it play just as good now as it did when I received it. Also Meg is very friendly and great to deal with. I am coming back for sure.

8 Serge De Saffel { 12.12.08 at 3:58 pm }

I’ve tried 2 reeds now. A medium and medium hard. After a week of regular playing on them my idea stays the same as on day one. These are very nice reeds. I like the tone (also when I listen to recordings), I like the dynamic range and the stability, low notes can be played very silent and easy, high notes need little embouchure correction, maybe some lack of brilliance starting at high A but nothing serious. I have to mention how easy and relaxed they play. After 1 hour study and 1 hour rehearsal I’ve managed to survive another 2 hours demanding rehearsal.
They also give a feeling of confidence and that is a very important aspect to me.
It’s to soon to tell for sure but I’ve got the impression they will play for a long time.

So, final conclusion: great reeds!

9 Sheldon Dearr { 10.29.08 at 10:09 am }

I have been buying reeds from Good Tone Guild for six years and Meg has always treated me well. she makes the reeds to my liking, and they have a fair resistance, beauty, lifetime, and stability in different conditions. Meg Cassel’s are the only reeds that I would trust to buy without testing first.

10 illwind { 09.14.08 at 10:41 pm }

These reeds make me bite the heck out of the opening, and blow like heck.

They do get a good tone, but that’s because the whole thing is too thick. The oboe is hard enough.

11 Foxie { 03.11.08 at 3:35 pm }

Meg has fantastic customer service, she was there every step of the way with my order. I think though after trying two reeds (exchange process was also easy) I don’t think the style is what I was looking for. Technically well executed and I will recommend everyone to give good tone guild a try, but personally I might try a few others before deciding these are truely a “fit.” I am an “adult amateur” player who was formerly very successful in my high school days.

These would be fantastic reeds for anyone in the 5th grade through high school level especially with parents who can’t believe how expensive the oboe habit gets!

Also worth noting that Meg states on the website that she tunes one type of reed sharp, keep this in mind if you already play sharp.

12 Ted H { 02.11.08 at 11:12 pm }

These are the most consistent reeds I have been able to find commercially available. There are other sources of very good reeds, but I typically find that out of five reeds, two will be great, two will be fine, and one will be marginal. This is NOT the case with Good Tone Guild. I have been very happy with all the reeds I have ordered from them. I was ordering the “Pro” reeds to supplement my own reed making and have recently given the “Artist” a try. In my opinion, the Artist reeds are worth the extra money.

13 Shar { 12.02.07 at 4:01 pm }

The single best reed I’ve ever played on came from Meg. It had incredible tone and response in all registers. I’ve never had a reed from her that was unsuitable for playing. Her customer service is great as well. She used to live in my area, and the first time I ordered reeds from her, she invited me to her studio so she could adjust the reeds specifically for me and give me some pointers. I recommend anyone looking for finished reeds to buy from Good Tone Guild.

14 Frank NYC { 10.09.07 at 6:14 pm }

After a bicycle accident two years ago left it almost impossible for me to hold a reed in my hand to scrape I had to look for a reed maker. After trying reeds from various makers I stumbled upon Meg’s web site. I have been using the Artist reeds ever since. The reeds are scraped to my specifications and I have never been disappointed. I plan on using Good Tone Guild reeds for many years to come.

15 alexbell (reposted by administrator) { 05.04.07 at 7:22 pm }

I share the opinions of the last group of users. Although I came to the oboe late in life and play only for fun Meg has been unfailingly helpful and supportive, and her reeds have been consistently excellent. I live in Tasmania, and it is certainly worth my while to order them from the US rather than buy locally.

For what it is worth I crow Meg’s reeds at the bottom of the reeds near the cork.

Alex Bell

16 AlexBell { 05.03.07 at 7:13 pm }

I share the opinions of the last group of users. Although I came to the oboe late in life and play only for fun Meg has been unfailingly helpful and supportive, and her reeds have been consistently excellent. I live in Tasmania, and it is certainly worth my while to order them from the US rather than buy locally.

For what it is worth I crow Meg’s reeds at the bottom of the reeds near the cork.

Alex Bell

17 AlexBell { 05.03.07 at 7:12 pm }

I share the opinions of the last group of users. Although I came to the oboe late in life and play only for fun Meg has been unfailingly helpful and supportive, and her reeds have been consistently excellent. I live in Tasmania, and it is certainly worth my while to order them from the US rather than buy locally.

Alex Bell

18 Anonymous { 04.26.07 at 6:22 pm }

reeds very thick and unresponsive. would not use again.

19 Anonymous { 02.15.07 at 4:14 pm }

Oh my gosh, these reeds are less than average. I have never felt so uncomfortable playing on these reeds. They look cheap and sound cheap.

20 Eric { 01.09.07 at 5:20 am }

My son started playing oboe in September 2005. I immediately did some internet searching and uncovered a couple of reedmakers, from whom I ordered a couple batches of reeds and while they sounded ok, I was never satisfied with the sound my son was making (the other oboists, all a year further along in their careers, always had a much richer tone).

In May 2006, I decided to find a new reed maker and stumbled upon reedreviews.net. I dug through all the listings here, identified a half dozen candidates and Meg’s Good Tone Guild ended up at the top of my list.

I ordered a batch of her “Rookie Reeds” and she immediately contacted me regarding my son’s skill level and playing traits in order to best fit his needs. Upon receiving the reeds, I had my son play them each for about five minutes (using Meg’s very thorough break-in instructions) and he immediately sounded better than he ever had before (this was especially surprising since the reeds were still “fresh”). His tone was much richer and smoother than he’d ever played before, and after a couple of weeks it just got better; from his perspective, my son said they were easier to play than any of the others we had tried.

Based upon our experiences with her, I would strongly recommend Meg as an oboe reed source. Her customer service is as good as it gets and the reeds are the best we’ve found for young players (from which I assume that they are just as good for more advanced oboists, too).

21 Anonymous { 08.27.06 at 7:30 pm }

I’ve been playing these reeds since I started the Oboe (about 2 years ago) and they’ve always been pretty good, most even better than that. I’ve never had one that didn’t give me a satisfactory sound right out of the packaging. They are awesome for learning to play the Oboe! I’m a mediocre player, but I constantly get compliments on my sound. Although I am currently looking for something even better (which I haven’t found yet…) I highly recomend these reeds. Also, Meg is very helpful. I broke my “good reed” three days before a solo contest, and she sent me a new, equally nice reed just in time. I am only a high school student, but I’m pretty picky about having a nice, fairly dark sound. I think these are the best reeds for beginners/students, and, if you’re looking for reeds, you should definitely try at least one from Good Tone Guild.

22 Anonymous { 05.12.06 at 8:48 pm }

I ordered reeds for my daughter, an aspiring young oboist. The reeds are consistent, easy to adjust, came promptly, and Meg is unbelievably helpful and generous with her time and consulting advice. These reeds are responsible for my daughter’s enthusiam about practicing the oboe. She feels successful every time and enjoys playing as a result of having a case full of good reeds. Thanks Meg!

23 ravenfar { 05.01.06 at 10:55 am }

I have my Master’s in performance. I bought reeds from GTG to trial as a backup when I was trialing from several different suppliers mainly as suggestions for students. I had to perform the Tchaikovsky 5th this past weekend. I had nothing in my reed farm that was up to the task so i pulled three from my Good Tone Guild supply. I could have used any of the three, but played on the best of the three. I just ordered more as backup. I told Meg that I could hang up my reed making tools… her reeds are that good!

24 Sidney from Los Angeles (Current USC Student) { 04.27.06 at 9:30 pm }

I have been using Good Tone Reed oboe reeds for nearly 2 years now, and I can’t possibly recommend them enough!!! I have never found a reed which was so consistent in multiple climates and performance settings. When I started using these reeds, I acheived a richer, darker sound on my instrument which I was never able to attain on other reeds. Both my private instructor and my performance ensemble directors at my university noticed great improvement in my overall sound after I switched to these reeds. Now, I refer all of my private students to good tone guild to buy their reeds. They are the absolute best reeds you can buy for a good price. I have never received anything but the best of service with every purchase I’ve made. I recommend Good Tone Guild reeds in the very highest!!!

25 Irene in Ashland OR { 04.26.06 at 7:15 pm }

I have been a satisfied customer of Good Tone Guild reeds for several years. Not long ago I performed Ibert’s Escales on a Good Tone reed, and while most of the orchestra was applauding my efforts, the first clarinet player exclaimed “What a reed”! She described my tone as dark, like chocolate”. I can depend on getting consistently good reeds from Good Tone Guild…definitely the best buy for my money.

26 Anonymous { 04.17.06 at 3:32 am }

Good Tone Guild reeds are great, especially for students who do not have a teacher who can adjust reeds for them. Most of my students use them for the first few years they play, and I can now spend much more time on playing and less on fixing reeds in their lessons. Almost all the reeds play right out of the “box” with good tone and response. The reeds come with a wire, which is a novelty (and usually makes me think of a crappy Rico or something) but it can be slid down if not needed and then pushed back up to get a bit more life out of an aging reed. Reeds come with lots of information from Meg, too. My only complaint at all is that the student reeds could be a little more resistant.

27 Administrator { 04.09.06 at 8:47 am }

A (revised) comment from Meg Cassell, the reed maker at Good Tone Guild:

As a professional reed maker, I’ve come to appreciate just how much diversity in reed preferences there are.
Two basic styles seem to be prevalent, as defined, at least in part, as to where the reed is crowed.

Does the player crow the reed near the bottom of the thread, with a very passive embouchure, or does the player crow at the bottom of the scrape at the top of the thread, with more of a normal embouchure (slightly looser)? Both kinds of crowing should be a double octave C but where and how the crow is executed seems to reflect an embouchure style. The two styles of reeds/embouchures are NOT compatible with each other, by and large.

Maybe those participating in this blog can give this idea some thought and determine what kind of player they are and what kind of reed they are reviewing!