Back in Eugene, Staples, and the XL
Monday August 25 2008
I got back to Eugene this weekend and have been catching up on reed orders. I have about 5 weeks until the beginning of the school year and I’m focusing on learning some of the excerpts that I really need to get under my belt; La Mer, La Scala, and some others.
I’m really enjoying the XL, but it’s an entirely different beast from anything I’ve ever played on. One nice thing is that it’s really reed-friendly, almost too friendly. It’s almost too friendly in the sense that it hides a lot of flaws in a reed so I frequently have to test reeds on an old Loree I have here to get a sense of the focus of the reed and balance.
I’ve been playing around with staples for the XL. The Stevens Pro #2 were suggested by both Martin Schuring and Richard Woodhams, both XL players, and I tried them with the Loree with limited success. They’re so responsive and resonant that I had difficulty building in subtly in the reed. However, with the XL, they work great, and I’ll probably use the staples with the XL exclusively. I also recently ordered some 46mm tubes, suggested by Richard Woodhams so I’ll see if those make any difference.
Other tubes that I’ve been using have been some brass tubes from Singin’ Dog Double Reeds. They’re incredibly stable and focused, and also work very well with the XL. I have a bunch of these, and am considering using these for all of my commercial reeds.
cjwrightoboe
Aug 25, 2008
I’m playing around with both. I’ve also played around with the corkless Chudnow staples and the fat ones work pretty well with the XL for me, but I had a hard time getting the skinny ones covered enough.
oboerista
Aug 25, 2008
Cooper,
I have always enjoyed my Marigaux’s ability to be reed friendly. On a gig, if a colleague & I swap horns to try, my reed is always awful (inappropriate)on his/her Loree/Covey/Buffet/Yamaha, etc… while my colleague always has a reed that works on my Marigaux. You’ve got me quite curious about the latest incarnation of the Howarth oboes.
David
john towle
Aug 26, 2008
Cooper,
I’ve ordered a bunch of the brassies based on your recommendation. 1001 thanks!!!
Best,
john
Aug 25, 2008
Hey Cooper, the stevens pro staples you are using, are they brass or silver? I’m using Chudnow E staples now and they have been working well, but the results are mixed, so it is hard to judge the brass verses the silver. Thanks - Alan
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