Geeky Oboe Guy

I just wanted to share some oboe info. One thing was this: I just have to brag about my new oboe reed guillotine invention. You can buy one of these Reiger Tools for $150. Or you can spend a few hours with a router, drill, etc…

Also, the other day I bought some english horn reed supplies. English horn reeds are pretty similar to oboe reeds, but the guy at the store (Wes, who plays with the Metropolitan Symphony) gave me some info on the differences. I recopied it on a napkin during knitting yesterday:

I forgot to show on the diagram that the bottom of the tip begins at 51.5mm and probably goes up about a mm to 52.5. That leaves 3.5 mm or so for the tip. He also indicated that he prefers to rough in the back first, then let it dry over night. Then the next day work on the tip *dry* (is this crazy?) and then wet it, clip it open at 57mm, and tie on the wire. I’ve never consciously made a “front” and a “back” to my reeds before, but he said since the lower lip provides more cushion that the window should therefore be bigger (46mm instead of 45mm).
I’ll try my hand at English Horn reeds sometime soon, I’m sure. As if I didn’t have enough to do with my oboe and Brahms’ 4th, hee hee hee.