French-scrape Oboe Reeds
These reeds are crafted with superior quality cane of medium density and flexibility. We never use hard cane for these reeds. They are shaped with a RC14 or RC 14* shaper tied onto a RC2 staple. This staple is our most conical of all our staples, which prevents an excessively wide aperture. These reeds are available in three different strengths: Medium Soft (MS), Medium (M), and Medium Hard (MH).
The Medium Soft (MS) reeds are made with cane of 10.75 – 11 mm diameter gouged to a thickness of approximately 0.55-0.57 mm (measurements taken on dry cane). We generally use a gouge giving a differential between centre and sides of approximately 0.14 – 0.16 mm. This, combined with more flexible cane, makes for a more open reed and allows, when balanced with careful finishing of the tip, for a thinner scrape.
The Medium (M) reeds are made with cane of 10.5-10.75 mm diameter gouged to 0.56-0.58 mm thick (measurements taken on dry cane). The ratio given by this gouge between the centre and sides of the cane lies generally between 0.15 – 0.17 mm.
As for the Medium Hard (MH) reeds, they are made with 10.25-10.5 mm cane gouged to a thickness of 0.58 – 0.60 mm. The ratio between centre and sides with this gouge lies between 0.17 – 0.19 mm.
These French-scrape reeds are flexible and responsive. Though well balanced, they speak easily in the second octave, as their vibration is richer in the high frequencies than the German-scrape reeds. In general, they are easier to play, vibrate freely, and require less physical effort. They are scraped with a W scrape with a length of approximately 10mm. Compared with the German-scrape reeds (U scrape) they are less open, as the scrape is flatter and the tip is longer and thins out very gradually. The central spine is well defined to maintain resistance and aperture stability. These reeds are slightly longer (c. 73 mm on a 47 mm staple).
