Quick Guide to Bassoon Reed Tuning

This is a preliminary review since it will likely be years before I truly know how to feel about this book. I've known about ADR for a long time, but never really used it. If you're someone hoping for simplicity or "the magic answer," this book is NOT for you (but then again, bassoon reeds probably aren't for you either!)My initial impressions of this book are that it is literal genius. Some of the tests are remarkable. When I'm working with good cane, the tests seem to produce the advertised results fairly consistently. Most interesting for me, was taking reeds I was happy with and enjoyed and taking them through certain tests which they failed. Normally I would not have scraped any more on these "finished, good reeds," yet they had failed his test and I wanted to really test this book out. It turns out that I am so accustomed to overcoming shortcomings of reeds, that when I really got them locked in so they passed his test, these "great" reeds were actually MUCH easier to play.I also find that when you really have the reed in tune, you don't need to worry about tone as much. By simply being able to sing through the instrument, the range of tones each piece of cane produces really centers in to "your" sound. Very impressive so far.

The Bad: On content alone, it should be 5 stars. However, having used (and LOVED) "Advanced Reed Design" for over a decade, I find the new version a visual jumble that makes an accessible method almost unapproachable. With busy colors, instructions that refer to diagrams pages away, and references to visit the website instead of including in the booklet, it ends up feeling incomplete. Compared to ARD: More information, more confusing. I loved the simplicity of the ARD and didn't necessarily need the color. I feel like I'm looking at a modern band method book that's written for a bassoonist with ADD/ADHD. The information on the jackets is also a great wealth of information, but in a strange location. Overall, I would have preferred more pages (sequential, pages per test; material from website) at the cost of color and glossy pages.Now the good: The tests have been re-ordered in a fantastically helpful order that will save some reeds from going shorter and shorter, a problem for those new to the ARD tests and clipped to early. The harmonics and locations to find EVERY RANGE on the reed is outstanding. The tips on bocals, instruments, and extreme registers are also rich and a wealth of information (reminding me of the old Hugh Cooper articles I poured over in IDRS). Each test works VERY well to isolate and fix exactly what is described. It will take your reed making to another level. (NOTE TO NEW REED MAKERS: This guide if not for unbroken blanks that are thick as a board. This is a reed tuning guide, not a how-to scrape in a blank. Use common sense and a dial indicator to get your blank into a reed before beginning.)I'm not sure why this isn't a standard reed method for every bassoonist, even if the materials are a bit labyrinthine. Mark is a brilliant reed maker and applied scientist. All should add this to their library, and find ways to utilize the information in their scrapping, no matter the packaging!

This is an excellent self-help guide! I’ve been playing sax for years and have taken up bassoon. I’ve bought my reeds online and many didn’t play right. So, I bought more expensive reeds that didn’t work out either. Quick Guide suggests a “break in process” and that has really helped stabilize my new reeds. But more important is the step by step testing to tuning approach and the color-coded reed blade tuning zones. These are very helpful. I had been making mistakes doing the wrong approach in the wrong parts of the blade to get vibration with a new reed. It’s clear that all bassoon reeds need some adjustments, but often different notes are unstable or out of tune from one reed to the next. With this guide I am now able to adjust my reeds through new methods my teacher didn’t know existed. I was able make some of the needed tools on my own and identify inexpensive tool options on the author’s website. There I found Q&A subjects and helpful PDFs too. This guide is more than a reed book, it has lessons in understanding the instrument’s and player’s problems. To croak or not to croak??? That ugly question has been cleared up. I now have a new appreciation for the beast. And this booklet costs a fraction of a single bassoon lesson.

Professor Eubanks is a reed genius. Skeptical of his method? Buy this book and at least give it a try. It has really improved my reeds in so many ways. I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that many of the harmonic tests and scrapes seem to help with externally scraped baroque bassoon reeds as well.

A fascinating dive into reed design and theory. There is more here than meets the eye. I thought I knew a lot about making and adjusting bassoon reeds. This short guide contains enough ideas and details to keep me busy for a long time getting better and better at making reeds.

interesting and suggested aspects of reed tuning unfamiliar to me

product arrive it is fine, but it came in bad condition- corner was folded but not during a transport. Probably it was bad stored.

This is a "must have" book for all bassonist! That being said, the 4 stars goes to the seller. The cover came defective.