Which is better? I have played on both and well, sometimes, it turns out that the hand-made ones play like crap.(It could be my instructor though[No offense, but his reeds have gone down the drain].) I just don`t know which is better. Store-boughts can get out some notes better than hand-made, and if you have a tight embochure(spelling is crap, past midnight) you can get them to sound quite grand. I`m not saying that some people can`t play worth their lives(There are some exceptions at my school), it`s just, I find store-bought better. Is it my instructor`s reeds that he makes me, or is it the fact that I`m just plain strange? (Feel free to call me strange, for I am) PLEASE REPLY!

I make my own reeds... in Italy we don`t buy reeds, I think it`s because if you make your reeeds (and you`re good at it) they will play as you want them to play, they will be Your reeds and no one else`s so they`ll be perfect for your playing way

Thank you Ember for telling me that. The sad thing is, I cannot make my own reeds due to the fact I don`t have the right equipment stuff... I`ll keep that in mind though.

The equipment is a little bit expensive (I spent almost 400 euro), anyway if your teacher is ok in teaching you also the way to make a reed, I can help you in ordering it good luck!