I was just wondering, (also thinking of making more posts on this bassoon page) because oboes soak their reeds in cases with water before playing, do bassoons need to soak their reeds too? Also, I heard in these posts that the commercial reeds don`t last long... Is it true?

soaking your reed before playing is great. once you start you can`t go back. its almost addictive. it just makes it not only leagues easier to play on that reed but will give you better tone quality. also you will be able to hold notes longer because you wont have to blow as hard. the best of course being if any string player asks you what it is just tell them that is liquid rasin. <not sure if thats how you spell it. and the thing about store bought reeds is that because they make strenghts like medium soft, medium, medium-hard etc. they kinda have to make them general as opposed to making them yourself they are customized. and yes they are made cheaper than when you make them yourself.

bassoon reeds are so much more expensive than clarinet reeds T___T but then again, bassoons aren`t clarinets. but my jaw dropped when my teacher said $13.75 =O wtf? aren`t reeds supposed to cost $2 ahahaha...

soaking is nice.. =) i barely ever do it but it helps a lot. i just don`t get time to soak reeds b/c we start to fast. just remember not to leave your reed drenched. suck the reed a bit to get some water out, that way when you play it won`t sound spitty.

So... like I asked up there ^, How long does a bassoon reed last? I heard that it only last about 1~2 months! Omg! Hm, let me get a calculator... OMG it can easily cost $100 if I add up for the year! Wow...

lol, i buy em from my school... so they`re more expensive. i`ve seen reeds for $9 before. don`t know exactly how great they are. pro bassoonists make their own reeds. of course, i don`t know any pro bassoonists... =/

and, i`ve bought 3 reeds since september. one is my very good reed, another one was my first reed that now i need to blow so hard to get a sound out of, and another one is one that didn`t work since the moment i bought it -_______-`. so far i`ve spent $40. by june, i think i`ll need 2 or 3 more depending on how careful i am with my reeds. there must be cheaper solutions.. taylor probably knows.

my first reed i used for almost 3 months i believe. i was really careful with it. second one was a stupid reed, and the third i`ve had for almost 3 months and counting. just keep in mind you`ll probably chip your first few really quick (i played clarinet previously so i know not to get your reed too close to your clothes and stuff)

no doubt my reeds sound worse since they`re older than they should be but i don`t really want to buy anymore... maybe i can figure out how to get that 2nd reed to work,

if you locate a bassoonist who makes their own reeds they generaly sell them. profesionaly made ones will last longer and usually dont cost anymore than store bought. also if you wanted you could have them adjust your reed to squeeze out about 2 weeks to a month of decent playing.

wtf!?!!? today my reed split right downt he middle! now that you can only get on a double reed ¬_¬ can you believe... now i can`t hit the high notes and i have to buy a new one... it only lasted a month and a half =(

Sad... still waiting to get the bassoon... 5 months...

my reeds for $26 dollars each and last me 3 weeks.

wow, i started with a reed about a year ago and was anoyed when i bonked it and chipped it a few months back. It still plays good, but i have a new one now.

Please note, this reed had been dropped on the floor and been generally mistreated for a long time before it broke, how do people manage to break their reeds in three weeks?

I`ve used 3 brands since I started.

No-name plastic (supplied with rental which is about to end)
-absolutely despicable quality: you could whisper into it and it would make a sound it was so soft, sounded like a dying elephant, and anyways it only lasted a month, when it cracked on the front.

Rico M-S
-OK at first, but when I squeeze the air entrance either larger or smaller to fit my needs, they are absolutely beautiful-sounding reeds. They become practically flawless. Just be careful to dry them after. They can REALLY retain water, and turn dark-brown within a day even if I dry them afterwards. I usually use a heated lamp up close for a couple minutes after home-usage.

Jones M-S.
-Everyone sais they`re good. They`re not. I took a risk and bought 5, I regret it. They are very open, so that low notes are really easy and high notes suffer. Then, even if you dont squeeze it to the right-sized opening, the practically collapse after a few minutes of play, and then have trouble playing the 1st octave and middle Eflat. I have a beautiful vibrato, but the Eflat begins to crack so badly I just try to keep my breath steady to keep it in tune (however ugly it sounds). Average store-bought reed. Get Rico, they`re 10x better.

I generally soak for 2-minutes each time I play, so I literally depend on soaking. I absolutely hate that dry wood grainy texture.

I don`t soak my reed, i soak it for 1/2 hour when it`s new. Once i soaked it and it hadn`t dried properly, so it was permanently damp, well it went mouldy. not good for how much they are. Well that`s just stupid old me.

i soak my reeds before I play and usually have other reeds soaking as I play - I make my own, so I`m always fiddling/replaying reeds. Anyway, reeds should last months. I`m still playing reeds that I made in the middle of summer and they still sound great. It takes about 2-3 months just to figure out if a reed is good. As long as you know how to work on the reeds, then they should last a long time.