Black, purple, white, tan, green, blue, or red?  Which reed should I order? This might help.

Our bassoon reeds are hand made. The color identifies our reed maker. Your reed choice should be based upon your playing ability and your teacher’s recommendation.

Our BLACK and PURPLE bassoon reeds are recommended for beginning bassoon players. Each is made by a different person so they differ slightly from each other.

Our WHITE and TAN reeds are suitable for use by more advanced players. The white reed is slightly wider than our tan reeds and has a Reiger shape. We would suggest that you try one of each to decide which one best fits your individual needs.

Scot Vigder’s reeds are well known. While he has been making bassoon reeds for over twenty-five years, we have been selling his reeds for the last fifteen years. His “C” shape (GREEN reed) is slightly wider than his other reeds and performs well from low Bb to high B in the treble clef staff. His “B” shape (BLUE reed) is intended to work well from low F below the staff up to high Eb. His “A” shape (RED reed) is recommended for use from open F upwards. We stock these reeds in medium soft, medium, or medium hard. In addition, we stock some of his Kovar-Pheifer reeds in medium strength. These are slightly wider than his “C” shape.  We also carry this Meckler reed in medium.

Vigder reeds might need some individual adjustments. If requested, we can supply a sheet that will help you make these adjustments.

The “perfect” bassoon reed is hard to find, but we hope this will help.