Learn how to make oboe reeds step past step.

At that place are many steps  while making oboe reeds, I will outline the procedure but information technology tin take years to larn to brand oboe reeds from start to finish. Certain steps in themselves accept years to learn and master. This is not meant to discourage anyone from learning to make oboe reeds, but as a sort of disclaimer that it is not possible to learn to brand reeds past simply reading nearly the process. This is  also meant as a bit of encouragement to those learning how to make oboe reeds who may experience they are non making headway. It takes time, practice and patience to develop the skills needed to make oboe reeds just as with playing the oboe. Each department presented below is a topic to be discussed on its ain, merely this is a very broad overview of oboe reed making.

Step i: Choose the Pikestaff

Oboe cane can exist purchased in different stages from tube cane upwards to gouged shaped and folded. Oboe tube cane is sold by weight, either grams, pounds or kilograms and is sorted by diameter. Near American reed makers use cane with a diameter of ten.0mm to eleven.0mm. The smaller diameter will create a reed with a larger opening, a larger bore will create a reed with a smaller bore.

The opening size is related to the curve of the outside of the pikestaff, so larger diameter oboe pikestaff will have slightly less curvature which corresponds to a smaller opening when the two blades meet. I recall that the wider the shaper tip selected, the larger the bore that the tube cane should be. Small bore cane used with a broad shaper will result in reeds that are too open up, and large diameter pikestaff used with a narrow shaper will consequence in reeds that are too closed. I would suggest using oboe tube pikestaff that is around ten.5mm when you are first learning to brand oboe reeds. The internal dimension of the oboe reed is going to bear on"The Large Three" (oboe reed intonation, response and resistance) to varying degrees.

In that location are several other factors besides the diameter of the pikestaff that volition determine the opening, so you may utilise  every bit small bore cane and nevertheless get reeds that are as well closed due to gouge,  staples, or other variables. One must residual all variables to detect something that works for the individual's style of playing and setup. That is a common theme you will hear from me in this website. I take played on a lot of different reeds fabricated by some fine oboists and they all play a bit differently.

Footstep 2: Split the tube cane

The oboe tube cane is beginning separate into thirds using a cane splitter. Some people use a razor blade to dissever the tubes, I would non advise that unless you are more advanced at making oboe reeds.

Step 3: Cut the cane segments to length

The three sections are then examined for straightness and curvature. The nigh promising section of oboe pikestaff will be cut to length by a device called a guillotine. These cut to length pieces of oboe cane can be referred to as "oboe cane segments" by oboe cane sellers.  Cane that is not straight or has a curve should be discarded. I suggest being picky with the oboe pikestaff y'all choose to use at every step to not waste time or energy, a curved slice of cane will cause leaky oboe reeds one time information technology is gouged, shaped, and tied onto the staple.

Yous may feel you lot need to become equally many reeds as possible out of a batch of oboe tube cane due to the high prices involved. I would advise non trying to relieve money over your fourth dimension. Every piece of cane that is pushed through a slice of machinery is ultimately a price of time fidgeting with sub-par oboe reeds, and time and financial price of maintenance on the machines.  The young reed maker may need to gain feel with picking usable cane, so they may make up one's mind to split every piece of tube pikestaff to proceeds a better agreement of the process and what to discard.

Step 4: Pre-gouge the oboe cane

The excess cane must be removed with a pre-gouging auto or planing lath and planer. The more cane that tin be removed at this point the less gouging that will need to be done in the adjacent pace. More than pre-gouging means less gouging, words of wisdom to remember when making oboe reeds. This will salve your absconder blade and maintenance on your gouging car over time. I use both a planing lath and Reeds n Stuff pre-absconder before I gouge oboe pikestaff, this allows me to apply my gouger for just a few passes on the cane. The planing board narrows the oboe cane to the dimension I want, and the pre-gouger scoops out the eye of the cane to 1mm equally I have information technology prepare so less fourth dimension and energy is spent sharpening and setting upward my gouging machines. Pre-gouged oboe segments are available for sale through some oboe supply shops and will save reed makers fourth dimension and vesture on their machines.

The pre-gouging process has the potential to change the gouge of the oboe reeds. A piece of pikestaff that is not pre-gouged properly will alter the gouge dimensions of the cane. Let me try to explain this; allow's say we apply the same gouging motorcar consistently and it is set upwardly to have a sure center and side thickness and bend. If you do not use oboe pikestaff that is consistently pre-gouged to have a sure width it may alter the dimensions of the gouge depending on the gouging auto involved. I find this to exist near important on double-radius machines. This is due to the side of the blade catching the oboe pikestaff at a slightly different bending related to the cane width.  You may want to ask what the gouging car technician or maker suggests for pre -gouging if you are non able to maintain your ain machines. I suggest using pre-gouged oboe cane with a width of around 8mm

Pace 5: Gouge the oboe cane

The pre-gouged oboe cane is now set up to be gouged using a gouging machine. The gouge is very important when making reeds, ane of, if not the most important step in reed making (though every step affects the side by side and then they are all important). A gouging motorcar is basically a curved blade which moves along a guide. The bract scoops out the heart section of the cane thinning it at a specific curve and to specific dimensions. Different machines volition have different curves to the blade, and provide more or less control to the finished dimensions of the pikestaff. This is another topic birthday, though, one worthy of its own word. Whatsoever oboist that wants to be self-sufficient as a reed maker must larn the basics of gouging machine set-upwardly, only then will they always truly learn how to make oboe reeds.

The piece of pre-gouged oboe cane is placed into the machine and the bract is moved back and forth in a polish motion. Shavings are progressively taken away from the cane until no more than can be removed (assuming the gouger is set upwardly properly). Learning how to brand oboe reeds with a gouging auto that is not working properly will cause many frustrations.

A gouging auto must be properly gear up-upwardly to produce a piece of oboe cane with a center thickness of .57mm-.62mm and a side thickness of .45mm-.50mm for the American "long scrape" reed . There are probable oboists out in that location that will have success with a gouge exterior of these dimensions, these numbers are a good identify to beginning. These measurements are referring to the measurement of the curving role of the cane (the half moon) .60mm in the center and .47mm on the sides. The oboe reeds will lack depth and pitch stability if the center gouge is too thin. They will exist "mushy" and dull if the gouge is too thick because likewise much pikestaff will need to exist scraped off later in the procedure. If the sides are too sparse the tied reed volition have loose sides, and sound breakable and be flat, if it is besides thick the reed will audio tubby and exist overly resistant unless over-scrapped.

These are general observations and tin can alter with factors such as the shape of the finished oboe reed, the hardness of the cane, and the cellular structure of the cane ( thickness of each layer of cane). Each piece of gouged oboe cane should be measured with a micrometer to ensure consistency. The oboe cane can exist gouged slightly differently depending on factors such every bit the shaper tip that will be used as mentioned earlier.

Gouge related to shape

A wider shape should have slightly thicker sides in relation to the center in my opinion. When I use a wide shape such as the Westwind Delancie shape I gouge pikestaff with a eye of .59 and a side measurement of .49. I feel this helps the pitch to be high plenty without also much resistance. I suggest going with something standard and finding a shape that works well with the gouge unless you are comfy adjusting machines and already competent at making oboe reeds. Learning to residual gouge to shape is an advanced topic in oboe reed making. That is again a topic for an oboe reed making book in itself.

Stride six: Shape the oboe cane.

The Gouged oboe cane is at present set up to be shaped. A piece of gouged cane is either scored using an easel and bract and so folded, or it can be folded over a bract or folded free paw between the fingers. I propose using an easel and knife for those merely starting their journey of making oboe reeds. The folded oboe cane is now placed over a shaper tip and clamped onto the shaper handle. A razor blade is used to take the cane off the sides until it has the same curve as the shaper tip. Nosotros would not consider the peice of oboe cane to exist "gouged, shaped, and folded"

In that location are a lot of different shaper tips/templates bachelor to endeavor. I have many shaper tips options bachelor that I use to make shaped oboe cane, which is bachelor at ALakotareeds.com. The wider a shape the easier it will be to articulate in the lower register, the more air it tin can accept without being overblown, the more low overtones that tin can exist produced within the audio, simply besides the flatter the reed will play, and the more difficult information technology volition be to play in the higher registers.

wide vs narrow oboe reed shape

A broad shaped oboe reed can promote biting if too piffling air and support are used, some people like to bite, I practise not encourage it. A narrow shaper will provide an oboe reed that has more than pitch stability throughout the entire range. It will promote a loose embouchure but will lack some depth in the lower partials of the sound (for me at to the lowest degree). As I personally become more than advanced every bit an oboist and reed maker I tend to move toward a more narrow shape. Possibly this is due to developing a greater agreement of support related to air volume, and striving for efficiency in my ain playing.  This data is based on my ain observations, so a reed maker/oboist with a different concrete build and set up-up may take a deep rich sound using a very narrow shape. The oboist will larn to brand oboe reeds to arrange their specific needs with time.

The gouge of the oboe cane must also be considered when speaking of tone and pitch, then shape alone determines only tendencies, not absolutes. Like with other aspects of learning how to make oboe reeds, it is a rather complicated balancing game. I suggest starting with a shape that is not too broad or also narrow, and residue the shape to the gouge when starting and not gouge to shape. I spent a lot of fourth dimension early in my studies playing with different gouges and shapes and ultimately came to the conclusion that there is a reason that sure things are considered "standard", information technology is considering it works well. I was stubborn and needed to learn to make oboe reeds in my own fashion, fifty-fifty while my teacher was shaking his head.

Step 7: Necktie the oboe reed blank

The shaped oboe cane is now set to be tied onto the staple (tube). The standard oboe staple is 47mm long and comes in a variety of styles and materials. Longer staples will brand flatter reeds, shorter staples will make sharper oboe reeds. Staples tin can exist used to compensate/balance the qualities of shape and gouge. A broad shape may be tied onto a short staple to compensate for the lower pitch of the wide shaped oboe reed, though I again propose to start with the standards and become skilful in that. Learn to make oboe reeds that work well in all registers before feeling you demand to look for the perfect tone. Chiarugi makes an adjustable length oboe staple that can allow the length of the finished oboe reed to exist adapted. They are worth a try for the curious oboe reed maker looking to try different length oboe staples.

The oboe staple is placed on a mandrel for the tying process so the metal does not become deformed due to the string tension effectually it. The mandrel should come only to the edge of the oboe staple.

The shaped oboe cane is placed onto the staple and thread is wrapped around the cane and staple until it is knotted at the end several times. Swell intendance must be taken to ensure the sides of the cane do not leak, that the oboe reed is not over-wrapped past the end of the staple (47mm), that the cane is straight and non tilted to one side or the other, and that the thread tension is tight throughout the unabridged tying process to ensure the wrap is tight and does non become unraveled. The tied oboe reed at this point is called a "bare". Some oboe reed makers will sell reed blanks that are gear up to exist scraped. I suggest students learning to make oboe reeds tie their own reeds and not purchase blanks. Every step is important to learn, particularly learning to tie the oboe reed.

oboe reed tie on length

The length of the oboe reed blank will be 71mm–74mm dependent on the shaper dimensions. A Wider shape will ordinarily be tied on longer than a more narrow shape, though this is not universally true. The length of an oboe reed blank will be determined past the personal preference of the oboist, the gouge of the pikestaff, the thickness, and shape of the staple besides as the shape of the cane.

I suggest trying to tie the oboe reed as long equally possible and then the cane just closes at the edge of the oboe staple. This will ordinarily exist a piffling shorter on a thick-wall staple and a fiddling longer on a thin-wall staple, though I have come up beyond staples that do non follow that logic due to the opening dimensions of the staples. A staple with a narrow opening may allow a reed to be tied on slightly longer, where an oboe staple with a larger opening will require more cane exist tied onto the staple.

Footstep 8: Scrape the oboe reed.

The oboe reed blank is ready to have the ears removed. The ears are the small protrusions at the tip of the blank that were left from the shaping process. I suggest these be removed with a sharp beveled knife with great care to remove them in their entirety. Ears that are non removed properly will cause the tip of the reed to leak. If the reed does leak a footling at the tip information technology can often be fixed by rubbing fine grit sandpaper along the sides of the tip of the reed. I utilize 2000 dust sandpaper found in the automotive bodywork section of a store. The shiny bawl of the cane is now removed, and pikestaff is progressively removed to make the oboe reed vibrate properly. I remove cane over a menstruum of several days of soaking and drying periods to provide greater stability in the finished oboe reed. The following is not a rule for how oboe reeds must exist made, only information technology is my own method and may provide some insight.

The shiny bark of the cane is now removed, and cane is progressively removed to make the oboe reed vibrate properly. I remove cane over a period of several days of soaking and drying periods to provide greater stability in the finished oboe reed. The following is non a rule for how oboe reeds must exist fabricated, but information technology is my own method and may provide some insight.

Oboe reed making schedule

This breakdown is by no means the dominion, only information technology may provide students with a framework for learning how to make oboe reeds. I make reeds in batches, so I may exist doing each step to 20-40 reeds at a time and have 5-10 batches of reeds moving through the process at any given time.  Sometimes some reeds will be finished earlier than others fifty-fifty though I am doing roughly the same affair to each reed.  That merely goes to further show that every reed is slightly different.

Day 1-

The bawl is removed from the tip and heart of oboe reed starting at the tip and moving back to the center always moving through the tip. I try to get the reed vibrating freely with a harsh crow, with no business concern for overall pitch or the pitches within the rattle.

Day 2-

I remove the bark from the window area and proceed to sparse the tip of the reed and integrate the tip into the heart. The oboe reed will exist crowing with less rattle though usually flat and long. I start to define the "V" tip slightly, removing cane from the sides of the reed and staying away from the centre.

Day 3-

I clip the tip of the oboe reed until it is crowing around a "C", unremarkably a trivial apartment. I continue to define the tip and integrate the tip to the center. I may scrape more than from the windows and balance the overall reed of it feels tight (tip vibrating without the back). I clip and sparse the tip and then the reed is stable and not overly resistant. The oboe reed could be played at this point but volition lack certain tonal qualities that I desire and exist flat without biting.

Day iv-

I clip the oboe reed to crow a apartment C (10-xx cents flat).  I define the windows and then residue the tip and heart to the alter from taking out the window cane. Sometimes the oboe reed will go a little sharper from this aligning, sometimes a little flatter. I attribute this inconsistency to the fact that as pikestaff is removed the pitch goes down, simply as the internal dimensions get smaller the pitch will go up. When cane is removed from the back the oboe reed has a trend to close up slightly due to the change in the skeleton keeping the reed rigid. Be conscientious to go out a spine then the oboe reed does not collapse in the heart. The spine does non need to be overly thick, but it should be nowadays to provide plenty structural integrity for the oboe reed to stay open and have a long life. I volition usually crow the oboe  reed at this indicate and scrape the back and clip the tip to hear ii–3 octave "Cs". Scraping behind the heart volition ordinarily bring out the 2nd "C" and scraping a few Millimeters  (5–viii) above the thread oftentimes brings out the 3rd "C". This is again not a universal but is common in my own experience when reed making.

Solar day 5-

I balance the oboe reed from tip to back and clip the reed to crow at my desired pitch (a slightly flat C natural five-10 cents).  At this bespeak, I decide if the reed is ready to be sold, or be adjusted 1 more time for some reason or another. I try to get out the reeds I sell e'er so slightly flat for my crow  so the individual has some flexibility in their playing. The individual can either squeeze the back of the reed slightly to make the pitch sit down upwards, or they can employ slightly more embouchure pressure. I personally want to open my embouchure with very footling force per unit area on the reed, play right on the tip of the reed, and apply a lot of support to create a very high-pressure stream of air.  Read Adjusting oboe reed pitch without any tools, and the internal dimensions of the double reed,  for more data on these topics.

Days 6-365

 for the reeds I make for myself I go on to thin the very tip of the reed and the sides of the tip. oboe reed making does not end at the reed desk. I continue to thin directly behind the center and residual to that adjustment by clipping the tip and again thinning the sides of the tip. I may balance the reed this manner several more times before I consider the reed finished and stable. These are very small adjustments where very little cane comes off each time.

I have been chosen "the Anti-oboist" because I tend to be pretty laid dorsum and relaxed by nature, but internally I consider myself a long-term perfectionist. I am a perfectionist about processes and making them as efficient as possible. I run into reed making and oboe playing as a process that can always exist improved upon. When it comes to reeds I have no problem working on a reed for several hours only to throw it away or give it to a student. I am willing to settle less and less for something that is non but right for a given situation equally I improve my skills. I wish you the aforementioned adept fortune in your reed making.

I hope to provide a lot more information to students that want to learn how to make oboe reeds. My goal is to let this blog become a resource for my own oboe students and oboe reed making students. I likewise want to share my knowledge with everyone interested in making oboe reeds.

Please feel free to comment with your insights into learning how to brand oboe reeds, I dearest talking shop with other oboe reed makers. I am besides happy to respond the questions of those oboe students just learning how to make oboe reeds.  Happy obo(eastward)ing