I just started the oboe. When should i start worrying about making reeds? What brands do you suggest to buy if i have to buy them?

When you can play well enough to test the reed, and have a teacher to show you how to make reeds.

what does it mean to test a reed and how do u do it?

I think he means to ensure it works...and you can tell by crowing it...listening to the resulting sound...if you`ve make it correctly (more or less)...

Yes, that`s what I meant by testing.

You can check the following web page for testing & crowing.

http://www.yefchak.com/reed/process_page.htm

Reedmaking.... I would wait untill you are a bit more experienced in oboe, so you can listen to tone and such and figure out what style when making your reeds you want. Like, if you want a certain quality out of your oboe`s sound, you can adjust your reeds to do so. Before you even start to make the reeds, you can get someone to show you how to adjust your reeds, so you can get a feel for the knife. brands... not sure. I have never had any favorites.

HA! Wait until youre sure that you LIKE the oboe. And I don`t mean like it now, I mean like it in a year. Reed making is the bane of most oboe players existance.