American Scrape Oboe

Great for doubling

I bought this because I am playing a show where I have to switch often and quickly between oboe and other instruments. Not having to soak the reed is a lifesaver, and it feels close to a cane reed. The tone is nice and stable.

I can rely on the reeds to consistently respond when called upon. The concern over whether the reed is drying out or not is a thing of the past!

These are not the old fiber cane reeds!

I play in a professional regional symphony orchestra. I have used the American scrape for the past year. Overall I have been very pleased after spending a lot of time getting used to the differences between this and a cane reed. The immediate advantage over a cane reed is the consistency in response especially in the lower register. The reeds are capable of producing a warm tone once broken in a little. The intonation also settles in after that break-in period and remains consistent for the life of the reed. Overall the life of the reed is much longer than a cane reed. One still has to be careful, they will split if snagged and I also damaged one removing it from the oboe. The synthetic material is slick and my hand slid, squeezing the top of the reed. Although I didn’t see any damage, the reed played with more resistance after that. (Perhaps tie a few wraps of oboe string around it to add additional grip). I became comfortable enough on the synthetic reeds to trust I could play them on concerts. I am happy I tried the reeds, it’s nice to have more time to practice instead of constantly making and adjusting reeds. Shipping is fast and customer services has been great.