Delano Bassoon Reed

The Delano reed is a handmade American-style bassoon reed. It has great response with a comfortable level of resistance. It features an authentic Herzberg shape, profiled on a Herzberg profiler. These reeds use mostly Rigotti cane, gouged on a Sassenberg gouger with an eccentric gouge. Each reed is tested on a 10,000 series Heckel.

Limit 2.

Adjustment tips from the reed maker:

• If you don’t love the way that a reed plays, the first step is always to flip it over and try it on the other side. Most reeds play better on one side than the other!
• Your first line of defense when adjusting a reed is to adjust the wires. If you don’t like an adjustment that you have made with the wires, you can always put it back the way it was; that’s not true when you take off cane.
• If the reed is too weak and you want to add more resistance, round one (or both) of the wires. This will add resistance to the reed. It will also raise the pitch. Rounding the first wire (closest to the tip) will open the tip. Rounding the second wire will close the tip. If you like the tip opening that you already have but just want a little more to blow against, round both wires.
• If the reed is too resistant and you would like it to be more free-blowing, flatten one (or both) of the wires. This will weaken the reed and make it easier to blow through. It will also lower the pitch. If you flatten the first wire (closest to the tip) it will close the tip. If you flatten the second wire it will open the tip. If you like the tip opening that you already have but just want a little less resistance, flatten both wires.
• If you have tried the wire adjustments and still are not happy with the way the reed plays, you can take off a little cane.
• If you are having problems with response (starting and ending notes elegantly) you can take off a little cane near the tip. Try to avoid taking a lot of cane out of the center of the reed - this will weaken the reed and potentially make your E’s and C#’s uncontrollably flat.
• If response is okay but the reed just feels too stiff and hard to control, take cane out in the back third of the reed. Try to avoid scraping cane out of the center of the reed - instead scrape just to the side of the center.