Bassoon Reeds and Cane

Did you know?

Bassoon reeds are made from a common species of grass called Arundo  Donax, or giant cane. This strong, lightweight fibrous plant has been  used in a variety of applications to include furniture, bicycle  frames, fishing poles and scaffolding. Giant cane can grow to more  than 30 feet tall! For bassoon reeds, the cane is harvested from  plants at least 60 years old, with an outside diameter of about an  inch. The bassoon reed is made from a five inch long piece of tube cane,  which  is split into four sections. One of these pieces is then gouged,  shaped, profiled (or scraped) across the center to remove bark and  thin the reed, and folded end to end upon itself. The two ends of the  folded cane are formed together into a small tube using pliers and a bassoon reed mandrel.  The tube section of the reed is held together  using three brass wires, and is usually covered with a decorative and  airtight coating of thread or plastic. A tapered reamer is used to  assure the tube's snug fit onto a bocal and the fold at the end of the  profiled section is clipped off to create two opposing reeds. These  double reeds are then scraped even more until quite thin, using a reed  knife so that they will buzz against each other easily when air is  blown between them. The buzzing reeds vibrate the column of air within  the bassoon to produce a tone. The highest quality bassoon reeds are  hand made by experienced bassoonists using tools and practices passed  down over hundreds of years.

David Brundage, Brundage bassoon reeds

Return Policy: Items may be returned within 30 days if they are in new condition and in original packaging. No returns or refunds on cane or reeds unless damaged during shipping. Reeds damaged during shipping must be returned within 7 days.

Shipping Policy: Please allow 2-3 weeks delivery time for oboe and English horn reeds. Other items will normally be sent within 1-2 business days. Paying by echeck instead of credit or debit card will cause approximately a 5 day delay in shipping. We use US mail. It may take 7-10 days for items to arrive after they are sent. The average time is 3 days
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