When I first get a reed it doesn`t play well (or at all sometimes). It is very hard to get a sound out of it and the sound I do get isn`t a good oboe sound for quite awhile. Also, a lot of them don`t get a good sound on all registers. High notes don`t come easily nor do the low notes always (without hitting a higher note first)

I`ve heard that store bought reeds just need to be adjusted to have a good sound and to easily sound good in all registers.

What is the best way to break them in and adjust them? What kind of tools do I need to adjust?

Thanks!

I`ve also heard that you can easily play without scraping shaving snipping reeds etc... but I do find some reeds better than others. I had one called emerald or something and one rico, and the rico was way better, but I got another rico and it was horrible. I soak it for a long time, and you probably soak it too anyways, but I`m still a newbie so I have more to figure out.

If you look at the linked image see that area that is called the "back". If you take a razor blade and scrape that area on a store bought reed (avoiding the heart, middle, side edges). You will make your reed softer and easier to play. Try it out on some junk reeds. It takes a little bit before you get a consistant pattern so you don`t over soften the reed.

You`ll find that sticking with harder reeds and adjusting them down is much nicer than buying mediums and finding them too soft. You can clip the tip a bit to instill some hardness, but then you may find you`ll need to adjust more than the just the backs.

http://www.public.asu.edu/~schuring/PageMill_Resources/image3.gif

Almost forgot... adjusting works best when the reed is soaked and a little wet.