Rieger .70mm Wire for Contrabassoon

For comparison, here is a chart comparing the diameters bassoon and contrabassoon wires.

The Rieger .7mm and the 21 gauge wires will both work well on bassoon reeds. The Rieger wire feels a little more malleable than the 21 gauge because it is slightly thinner.

However, there has been confusion over what gauge the Rieger wire is because their packaging says that it is approximately the same as 22 gauge when, in reality, it is approximately the same as the American 21 gauge. That is because Rieger is comparing their wire to the British wire gauges (SWG-Standard Wire Gauge) which are labeled differently than American wire gauges (AWG-American Wire Gauge).

For a discussion about wire gauges and how they affect bassoon reeds, check out our Bassoon Wire Blog.