The Duduk

[Timmy_G]

I've really been digging the sound of the duduk lately.
I was thinking of buying one, but i'm worried about the availability of the reeds. does anyone own or play one and are the reeds hard to purchase. (Except for in Armenia).

Thanks

[RS]

What exactly is a duduk? Some type of shawm?

[SAXISMYAXE]

Oddly enough, as a Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish Uilleann Piper I became interested in playing the Duduk and learned quite a bit during my own search. This is what I have to say concerning this instrument:
First to answer RS' question, the Armenian Duduk is a double reed instrument with a Recorder like fingering made of Apricot wood. Anyone who has heard the sound track for Xena (sic?) Warrior Princess, The Last Temptation of Christ etc. has heard the dark, flute like, ethereal sound of the Duduk.
There are PLENTY of cheap, souvenir grade instruments floating around from places like Song of the Sea, Ebay, and Lark in the Morning. STAY AWAY from them as they are cheap, poorly tuned junk, with wholly inadequate reeds.

As Timmy alluded to in his post, the major bug-a-boo of buying a playable quality instrument is the handmade and fitted/tuned reed. For pro quality instruments/reeds available in North America, I recommend that you check out the premier source for handmade Armenian Duduks at:
www.duduk.com
They are actually fairly easy for the woodwind instrumentalist to play, and have a wonderful sound to them.
Best of luck.

[Merlin]

Anyone wanting to hear a lot of duduk in a soundtrack should also check out "Ronin". It's a John Frankenheimer film with Robert DeNiro and Jean Reno.

[Timmy_G]

Saxismyaxe, what is the life of the reeds, when played properly. Does it have a shorter a longer life than the average saxophone reed?

[SAXISMYAXE]

Hi Timmy,
I've only been playing this instrument for about 6 months now, but I understand that (with proper care) they can keep their strength and last a year or more with normal playtime. These reeds are huge, and built well when made properly, so I have little trouble believing it to be true. So far so good with the two I have.