Oboe Reed Recommendations Please

[Stretch]

I have borrowed a nice Yamaha 241 oboe and am enjoying my first few notes. I have a cheap stock reed and I suspect there are better reeds out there to purchase that will improve the sound. Can anyone make a reed recommendation please? At this point I am not interested in learning to make my own reeds.

Thanks

[danarsenault]

The only good oboe reeds are ones you make yourself, after years of trial, error, and failure. Lesher Pro and Fox make decent commercial reeds, sometimes. I gig on them.

[SpeckledLemon]

IMHO the best stock reeds w/o adjustment are the Fox reeds. The Leshers I have found and played on were ridiculously thick and hard. Just my 2 cents.

[bpimentel]

Even better than buying "stock" reeds, consider buying reeds from a real live oboist. Your info says you are "near Toronto," so you probably have quite a few fine oboists in your vicinity. A real oboist can get a feel for the kind of resistance, etc., that is appropriate for your level and make or adjust reeds accordingly.

I think an especially good option is to contact the oboe professor at a nearby university and ask if he or she has any students who are accomplished reedmakers. The college student will probably be flattered and delighted to make a few bucks selling you their second-best reeds. I think in most cases you will find these are better than store-bought reeds, and often as cheap or cheaper.

I sell the occasional handmade reed to young local oboists. They are usually reeds that don't play quite up to the standard I require, but are more than adequate for younger (and less picky) oboists. I sell them for about the same price as they pay for Jones reeds, plus I refund them a few dollars if they bring the reed back to me when it dies, so I can reuse the tube. Works great for everybody--I make a few dollars on reeds I won't use anyway, and the students get a good reed for the money.

As you get better, you may decide to seek out even more skilled (and expensive) reedmakers, and eventually learn to make your own.

Best,
Bret