Reeds 'n Stuff Oboe Analog Hardness Tester

Precise and Objective

The quality of a reed depends on numerous variables. The characteristics of the cane have a large influence on the success of our reed making. But the appearance of the cane is often deceptive and we realize the truth is beneath the surface. The hardness tester offers an objective way to judge the quality of the cane. Not only save valuable time but also increase the quality of your reed making and achieve reliable and repeatable results.

The precision of both the analog and digital devices is the same. They only differ in the convenience of the reading.

The Reeds 'n Stuff Oboe Analog Hardness Tester measures hardness of your dry pre-gouged or gouged oboe cane. It looks like a dial indicator, but it has an arm that rotates most of the way around the machine and the measuring pin is thicker than that of the average dial indicator. While it measures in mm, the numbers do not correlate with thickness exactly; rather, after recording the hardness on a fair number of reeds, it is intended that you be able to narrow the range of the numbers that give you your preferred results so that you will eventually save time and energy and resources by not making reeds that are unlikely to work out of cane that is outside your preferred range.