German-scrape Oboe d’Amore Reeds
These reeds are made with superior quality medium (M) to medium-hard (MH) density cane. They are tied on to Lorée staples and shaped with a RC OA 1 Reed Shaper. They are available in three différent gouge strengths, for which we use tube cane solely of 11-11.5 diameter. The Medium Soft (MS) cane is gouged to 0.58 – 0.60 mm (dry measurement). The gouge we generally use gives a differential between centre and sides of 0.13 – 0.15 mm. It provides a good aperture and thus allows for a thinner scrape. The Medium (M) reeds are made with cane gouged to 0.59 – 0.61mm (dry measurement). The differential between centre and sides with this gouge is generally between 0.13 – 0.15 mm. As for the Medium Hard reeds (MH), the cane is gouged to 0.61 – 0.63 mm, giving the same differential between centre and sides.
German-scrape reeds are stable and responsive, and provide a good balance between a round, dark sound, and suppleness and ease of playing. They have a standard U-scrape of between 11 and 12.5 mm in length. Compared with the French (W) scrape, they are more open and slightly more resistant. This is partially explained by the fact that the scrape is more convex (rounded) over all. The tip is scraped in an inverted U shape and can vary in length without ever being considered a ‘long’ tip as such. The central spine is rounded so as to ensure resistance and aperture stability. These reeds are approximately 51 mm long, and are amongst our best sellers!
