How to Make 2-Wire Reeds



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Six bassoons later: what I've learned, where I'm at.

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"Sometimes you do things in life just to figure out what you  don't  want to do in life."   - My Dad The same principle can obviously be applied to trying bassoons in the pursuit of finding  The One.   All of the instruments I have trialed have strengths and weaknesses.  For the price you would pay for each of them, my feeling is that they are all priced quite reasonably and all sit in the $17,000 - $24,000 range.   The Moosmann 222-CL, Leitzinger Model II, and Kronwalt are all solid instruments.  If you are in the market for a bassoon be sure to try these bassoons - they have a lot to offer!  However, they are not right for me and  the goals I have set for this process.   They are also all  thick wall  bassoons.   This has been the most important realization I have made during this process:   The instrument I need for the sound I desire and the type of playing I do falls within the  capabilities of a "thin wall" instrument: the Yamaha 8
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Légère Synthetic Bassoon Reed

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Légère bassoon reeds On May 22, 2014 I began trialing a Legere synthetic bassoon reed - a reed I have long been interested in.  I was originally piqued when I discovered youtube videos of the bassoonist with WindSync wind quintet using a Legere reed.  Like many, I assumed the Legere reed would be like the plastic Fox bassoon reeds we all have likely experienced at one time or another - hard, inflexible, unresponsive, and totally without color or finesse.  I was further piqued when Paul Hanson traveled through Montana to give a few performances (which I was unable to attend) and was informed by colleagues that he was using Legere reeds exclusively.  http://youtu.be/7s2eF_yaNpM Checking out his youtube videos, I was impressed with the obvious facility of the reeds.  To that end, myself and five of my Montana bassoon colleagues decided to jump in and give them a try.  Justin Miller was gracious enough to give us a discount since we bought them as a group.  We had to wait
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That "New Bassoon" Smell...

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