i know this might be a stupid question but how far do u put the reed in the oboe? Do u put the cork all the way inside? I`m scared i might break it b/c it`s delegate

I put my reed in as far as it will go. Hold the reed by the cork while inserting with a slight twisting, back-&-forth movement.

You could compress the cork a bit, if it`s really too tight.

It should go all the way in. Some people say to adjust your tuning by pulling the reed in/out, but it`s better to leave that up to your embouchure. If it`s a tight fit, you could try putting some cork grease on the cork of the reed.

*grimace*
NEVER pull the reed out when tuneing.... *shudder* It killes your tone too... The air pocket from pulling out the reed messes up your tone...
*goes into oboe horror story*
I was at a district festival - 9 oboes other than myself, I was sharing first chair position, 8 other oboes (not my fellow first chair) ALL ajusting their tuning by pulling out their reeds. It was terrible... I didn`t have enough bullets. *shudder* the torture...
Ok I`m done.

yea, it should go all the way in or near all the way. I admit i`m one of those people that sometimes pull it out just a bit, BUT that is because I make my reeds that way. I find that if i put it ENTIRELY in, I am like a half a step sharp, but I need to work on that. If it is hard to put it, I used to get a small piece of sandpaper and sand the cork down all around, that works like a charm.