Synthetic Bassoon Reeds

[AbrahamFackle]

Any good ones out there? Or bad ones that can be adjusted into reasonably good ones? I know a lot of sax and clarinet players are using fibracells these days, and I like legeres a lot, and I was just curious as to whether there's anything comparable for the double-reed player. I'm using lavoz and they do for what I do (pit orchestra gigs, one or two a year), but if there's an alternative, I'd be happy to know about it...

[Merlin]

Legere is still working on a bassoon reed. I know of a few players who've tested prototypes, but I haven't held one in my hands yet.

[bpimentel]

I have a plastic bassoon reed from Leblanc that I found to be surprisingly usable. Certainly not as good as a cane reed, but I can play it pretty well in tune and through a reasonable dynamic range. It has wires, so you can adjust it like a cane reed. Woodwind and the Brasswind has them for under twelve dollars. (WWBW also has their own plastic reed for under eight bucks, so it might be worth a shot, too.)

The Legere single reeds are much closer to cane single reeds than the Leblanc plastic bassoon reed is to a cane bassoon reed. Cane is still best!

Good luck,
Bret

[Tim Price]

I have a plastic bassoon reed from Leblanc that I found to be surprisingly usable. Certainly not as good as a cane reed, but I can play it pretty well in tune and through a reasonable dynamic range. It has wires, so you can adjust it like a cane reed. Woodwind and the Brasswind has them for under twelve dollars. (WWBW also has their own plastic reed for under eight bucks, so it might be worth a shot, too.)

The Legere single reeds are much closer to cane single reeds than the Leblanc plastic bassoon reed is to a cane bassoon reed. Cane is still best!

Good luck,
Bret


The bassoon reed that LeBlanc carrys in plastic is a " Stevens & Son" plastic bassoon reed.
At a point in my bassoon beginnings, I used those reeds to practice and use on certain gigs via projection. They are very very good.Pontys Music, in NY used to carry them.( used to carry Charpen sax reeds to, remember those? excellent reeds ;) )
Matter of fact..RAY PIZZI uses them all the time. He sounds fantastiic on them and even works on them, a bit.
A good plastic reed, its STILL plastic, but pretty darm useful n' good. :)