Oboe Reed Medium

UPDATE: I can no longer make my own reeds due to hand/wrist problems. I have now bought several Singin' Dog oboe reeds and had a couple of students use them as well. The quality still is inconsistent, which frustrated my beginning adult student to no end. For my own use they're fine because I can still work on reeds enough to modify them. Most often they have played flat and I've had to clip the tip a little, and sometimes do just a little scraping on the tip or the heart. Most of mine have played pretty well across the whole range of the oboe. The current two that I have don't do very well with a high G (4 ledger lines above the staff) and are giving me a little trouble in the low range as well. One young student, a first-year oboist, had been playing on medium soft Emerald and Jones reeds, and when she switched to the medium soft Singin' Dog reeds she thought they were quite a bit harder. Her mom and I made her continue with them though, because both her tone and pitch improved quite a bit. Overall conclusion: Now that I've had more experience with these reeds I still like them and will continue to buy them, but they do have their problems and may or may not be right for a student who does not have a private teacher.I normally make my own reeds, but I broke my wrist in a way that I could still play but not handle a reed knife. I bought two of these reeds to get me through. Many people think that students need harder reeds as they progress (medium hard is better than medium), but this is not usually true as long as the reed is balanced correctly. When I tried the first reed, the sound was a bit too thin and nasal for my liking, but that got better after I played it for a couple of days, which is not unusual. It turned out to be a nice easy-playing reed with a pretty good sound. I've been working on the Mozart oboe quartet, which has several jumps from high notes to low notes, and the reed did them very well, with great response in the low register. The pitch was a bit unstable, but it wasn't hard to keep it in tune. Overall I was very pleased, so I ordered another one. The second reed crows very low (crowing is when you put the reed in your mouth up to the binding and blow), around a Bb instead of the C that it should have been. The opening is very big, making it harder to play and potentially encouraging a student to bite down to play--a bad habit to get into. The sound isn't great, and the pitch is very unstable but tends to go flat. This reed would be disappointing and frustrating to an intermediate or advanced student. I would buy these again if I were ever to need them, and I will be recommending them to students--after all, both reeds are very playable, which is more than can be said for most factory-made reeds!

More than one professional Oboist recommended singin dog for beginning/intermediate students because it was a "reasonably" priced handmade oboe reed. The first one we bought(medium soft) was great--it crowed "C", had low resistance and played notes in tune. It was an immediate favorite of my daughter; however, every subsequent singin dog(medium and medium soft) reed we purchased (4 total now) has crowed incorrectly(A, E and F) and plays out of tune in the oboe. We pressed the tips of the reeds and scraped tips with only temporary improvement-they are just bad reeds. They are terribly inconsistent and a waste of money. Our recommendations are to purchase REAL handmade oboe reeds from professional oboists online. If financial constraints prevent buying handmade Oboe reeds, then purchase machine profiled ones from Chartier(American Scrape and Artiste).

I like how consistent these reeds are. Playable day 1. Great for beginners or those without time to make their own. Pitch is pretty stable and easy to adjust if needed. Plays well in all registers. I love that they come wrapped in different colors so I can keep track of which one is which. I really like the artificial cork staple, needs less cork grease and always sits well.

Have tried a couple other sources on Amazon, this one is best so far.

Does nut play.

Not as good as a handmade reed that is customized for you, but for the price and convenience, they're pretty great. I've ordered these on several occasions and they have been quite consistent. Reasonably good tone and response, and I've never gotten one that was not playable. Sometimes I'll do a little adjusting myself, but for they are the best store-bought reeds I've found so far.

We had previously purchased Emerald reeds, but the quality had become hit or miss. My son asked me to buy him this brand, and there was a huge difference in sound quality right from the get go. Before, we thought it was just because the oboe was so hard to play. With this reed, the sound was sharp and clear. Noticeable right from the time he used the reed.

It was super flimsy and soft and played very flat. The tone was not good. I am an intermediate adult player and this reed felt like it was designed for a player just starting out. Disappointed that I wasted my money.