Gadget: Nagamatsu oboe shaper tip No. 1

Elevation: Circa 1,400 feet

Temperature: 56ºF to 72ºF

Humidity: 65% to 75%

Notes: As I promised last year, here is my experience with Nagamatsu #1 shaper tip in Kinhaven this June. This year I prepared two kinds of reeds for the Kinhaven Adult Chamber Music Workshop. One is, like the last year, Nagamatsu #1 tied to Pisoni Deluxe tubes. And the others were Nagamatsu #1 tied to Nielsen wide tubes. I used cane with a larger diameter for both to compensate for the wider shape (my standard is #0B) and the larger staple. Since I had a hard time playing low register with Pisoni tubes last year, I decided to try a wider tube for bigger aperture. As turned out, the Pisoni tube was the winner. It was more typical Vermont weather (wet and cold) this year, and even the narrower tubes gave me plenty of opening. In fact, Nielsen tubes made the reeds so open that I had to bite. The only piece of music I had to worry about was the second movement of Poulenc Trio. Even though the reed was rather open, I didn’t have to worry about endurance. Actually, the reed I ended up using was the best reed I ever made for Kinhaven! The experience inspired me to try Nielsen wide tubes for winter in Lehigh Valley.