Hi everyone I have been plating bassoon for seven years, and I consider myself pretty good. I have decided that I need to make my own reeds. I figure it can only make me better and more dedicated to the bassoon. So I`m wonder, when the reed is being formed around the mandrel how patient does one need to be when forming it. Does anyone have any hints on how to get it to not crack too much. The process I used for my first reed was to wrap shoelace around the folded, wet, and once wired, reed, and to slip in the long mandrel and slowly pinch the edges to get the end to form around the mandrel. Was I just unlucky and pinched once to hard/fast?

Does anyone have any good websites that have pictures of the process of making reeds? I have 1 book, but more information is always better.

Play on.

Score the back of the reed with your knife to make a number of small splits giving the reed more room to bend around the mandrel. Also, get your private teacher to help you out, if they make reeds. Otherwise, you might be able to find a reed making class somewhere.

definitely use an exacto knife to score the smooth outer side of the base. Be careful not to cut all the way through. Then if you put your top wire on and then slid it onto the mandrel, add the other two wires and then tighten them slowly. Make sure you soak the cane thoroughly before starting. Good luck!