| Location: Watertown, MA |
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| Web Site: stuart-dunkel.com |
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Variant Reeds Sold: Unknown |
| Will not use again | Not so hot | OK | Pretty good | Great! | |
| TOTALS | 10 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 24 |
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EH OD EH EH OD EH BO 
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....
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.Support open education with the Neoclassical Theme.
20 comments
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.
These reeds really have been terrible lately. I used them for most of 09 and they started out fine, a little flat but easily fixable, and towards the end of that year they steadily declined. The last three I bought were basically unplayable. They’re so flat, and no matter what you do to adjust them they still become closed and impossible to create music with. They barely vibrate at all at some points and have a thin puny sound. I’ve had some really great reeds come from SD earlier in the year, but I won’t buy from them again because the quality really suffers now, maybe the cane they use isn’t the best anymore? The reeds aren’t reliable AT ALL, but maybe you can get a decent one once every 6 months, if you’re lucky. SD used to be good but now it’s just extremely frustrating.
This reed gets too stiff to even play after a while. Then, when you fix it, it plays really well for a week or so, and then it gets really stiff again. When it’s fixed well, it plays so good and I sounded stupendous, but than it becomes impossable to play.
It’s too bad, theese used to be good reeds.
Don’t buy these, they become impossable
A good 10 years ago, I had a student who used SD reeds, so a number of my students began to use them, too. I always found that they needed some adjustment to play their best, not good for for one who doesn’t know how. I also figured out pretty early on that very few of them are made by Dunkel. He subcontracts to a number of oboists in his area, requiring them to be made to his standards. However, as everyone’s handwriting is different, so is their knife technique. I found major quality control problems regardless of whether reeds were purchased through WWBW or directly from Dunkel. For a few years, I bought them for my students and adjusted them individually. However, too many reeds were unsalvageable, and it wasn’t worth the money, since I didn’t charge for my time spent re-making the reeds. Even after communication directly with Dunkel, I stopped purchasing them. I’m sure some are good for some players, but too inconsistent for me to deal with adjusting and re-selling them to my students.
When I began oboe, I thought that I didn’t sound well because I didn’t know what I was doing.
Then, I got a soft reed (can’t remember which brand) and realized I could play, but I sounded like a duck and I could not get it to be in tune with the rest of the band.
Then I bought two Jones reeds. One would stay in tune, the other wouldn’t. I still sounded like a duck (but, at least a duck that was in tune) .
Then I bought Stuart Dunkel. My band leader told me “Oh – you sound great. You must have really practiced.” I tried to tell her that it was the reed, but she didn’t think so (She did not know much about the oboe). I bought four of them so far, and only one seemed to have a little problem.
Maybe I could fix the problem if I scraped it – but I have no idea how to do that.
I will probably by these for a long time.
I find Stuart Dunkel reeds OKAY, but I usually have to scrape on them and only use them when I really need them.
I enjoyed Stuart’s reeds for about 5 years and over the past 6 months+ they have deteriorated. There are some that cannot even be played they are so flat. Some leak and the sound has become ducky. Very disappointing.
I do not know what has happend to SD reeds. I have used them for almost 18 years and have been recommending them to my students. They have been selling student reeds at a great price through WWBW.com. Recently the prices went up and the quality went down. I am sure Stuart must be outsourcing as the demand for his reeds went up. But I have seen at least 12 SD reeds recently that didn’t look like they were made with the same method much less the same person. Very dissapointing. Guess I’ll have to start looking elsewhere for good student and backup reeds
I usually order the medium reeds. These reeds are usually a little stiff the first time I play them. After that, they are really great, plus they usually last longer than most others I have used. After an hour of practicing, they seem to break in and have a NICE dark tone with a stable pitch in the high notes. Definitely recommend! (For my students, I ask them to made the reeds soft strength because the med-soft are too hard for them).
I agree with the statement that these reeds are terrible. I found that if I ordered them (a pro), I would get soso reeds (at best) since he knows I’m a pro. However, if I had some of my students order the same priced reeds, and he knows they’re for students, they were awful quality. Consistently 7 of 10 reeds were overwrapped past 47mm, lengths varied between 67-70.5mm, and tip lengths varied between 1-4mm. Made me wonder if they were made by the same reedmaker.
These reeds are Awful! I ordered a medium and either they messed up my order or the reed was really hard because it was really hard. I don’t think that I will ever use these again or recommend them to anyone!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!!
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.
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.
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.
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.