Help Choosing Bassoon Reeds

Test-and-Return Guarantee you can return any reeds for exchange or refund within 7 days. 
Please ensure they are returned in good condition in suitable protective packaging.

NEW BEGINNERS
We recommend you order at least 3 reeds so that you have spares.
Oxford Bassoon Reed - a budget value reed for new beginners - easy-blowing.
Britannia Bassoon Reed - Our most popular reed, pleasantly responsive with a warm and mellow tone. For beginners wanting a good sound.
Mini-Bassoon Reed - a smaller reed designed specially for the mini-bassoon.

IMPROVING PLAYERS (grades 2-6)
Britannia Bassoon Reed - Our most popular reed, suitable for many players. Pleasantly responsive with a warm and mellow tone.
Emperor Bassoon Reed - a responsive reed with a mellow well-centred tone. The narrow shape helps with high notes and pitch stability, whilst giving a more focussed, slightly smaller tone.
Steinberg Bassoon Reed - a popular reed with experienced players. The wide shape and dense blades give a rich dark tone and more substantial “body", yet with good resonance and response for such a heavyweight reed.

PROFESSIONAL REEDS
All our reeds (except the Oxford Reeds) are suitable for players of all standards up to professional level. We produce a wide range of designs and styles to accommodate the different individual needs of players. You can see all the bassoon reeds by clicking here. For further guidance and information please scroll down and continue reading or call us on the number at the top of this page. 

TRY SOMETHING NEW
If the style isn’t right for you, return them and try something else. See the information below to help you decide. Alternatively, for further help, email us at info@britanniareeds.com or phone us on  the number at the top of this page. 

Major Features of the reed

Responsive or Resistant: The responsive reeds are free-blowing and create a clear resonant sound. The resistant reeds give the player slightly more to blow against and have a darker sound.

Shapes: Wider shapes give a broader sound and easier response for low notes. They play slightly flatter than narrower shapes. Narrower shapes give more focus to the sound and can help with very high notes.

Standard or Long: The standard tube length is suitable for most instruments. Longer tube designs give a lower pitch in a similar manner to changing to a longer crook.

Playing flat - can't get up to pitch
The overall size of the reed is too big. It may be too long or too wide. First try a reed style with a narrower shape; find your reed style on the chart above and choose a style one or two blocks to the left of it. This may solve the problem for you and give you a suitable reed.
Sometimes using a narrower reed is not comfortable to the player as the “feel” and response can be different. If you are currently playing on any of the longer reed styles (Berlin, Konig, Bergmann, Steinberg Long, Muller Long, Blaukopf Long) you could try their shorter equivalent reeds - see the diagram above.

Reeds close up - blades become flat
Most people assume that they need harder reeds but this is rarely true. The problem usually stems from poor breath support causing the player to have to pinch or bite the reed too firmly to make it speak. This problem will get worse if the player moves to harder reeds. Better to try some exercises to improve breath support and loosen the embouchure. See the “Useful Tips” page on this website for more information.

Playing sharp
Playing sharp is more common in hot weather as the higher temperature raises the pitch the instrument plays at. Naturally, you would pull the crook out of the bassoon slightly to lower the pitch. If you are always a long way sharp you may need to change the reed style you use. Try a wider shape; find your reed style on the chart above and choose a style to the right of it.
Sometimes in moving to a wider shape players find the pitch stability becomes poor and the reed seems wild and uncontrollable. If this happens, try moving to a longer-tube style - these are the reeds at the back of the 3-D diagram above.
For example: A player plays on Britannia reeds but plays sharp, so they try the Salzburg reed which plays at a lower pitch. However, they find the wider Salzburg wild and unmanageable, playing sometimes sharp, sometimes flat. They therefore try the Konig reed, finding it feels like the Britannia but the longer tube makes it play at a lower pitch.

Wanting a darker tone
Generally, the thicker the cane on the reed, the more mellow (dark) the tone of the reed, but the tougher it is to blow.
If you are playing any of the "Responsive" reeds (bottom row in the diagram above) and want a darker tone, try changing to a reed which is above your current style in the chart (i.e. the "Resistant reeds"). This will also be a tougher reed to blow so you may also decide to adjust it with the wires to slightly ease the response. If so, see the sections on adjustment in the Useful Tips page.
If you are already playing on a "Resistant" reed style, see the Useful Tips page for how to adjust the reed to give a darker tone.

Reeds aren’t responsive enough
If you are consistently having this problem with any reed style, it is best to try a more flexible reed. First find your current reed style in the diagram above.
If your reed is on the top row, try the reed style directly below it in the chart.  This will give you a more free-blowing reed, and also a more resonant tone.
If you reed is on the bottom row, you will need to adjust the wires to make the reed more responsive. See the section on this in the Useful Tips page.