Comments on: Fortay Reeds

By: will.kiggins

will.kiggins — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:21:39 +0000

Have been using Fortay oboe reeds for almost two years now, and have found them to be the most consistant reeds on the UK market. I encourage all my students to use Fortay reeds as not only are their professional reeds of excellent quality, so are their (slightly) cheaper student reeds. Not overly impressed with their Cor anglais reeds, and have yet to try their d’amore reeds, but for an aspiring student or amateur, this is certainly the closest you’ll get to a professional reed without making/adjusting your own. Steve Forbes (Director), is a lovely man who is always happy to help! The 7-day delivery guarantee (at an extra cost) is also 100% reliable and a great way of getting those emergency reeds for exams/concerts.!

By: Prutts

Prutts — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:30:17 +0000

The medium (blue) tend to close up easily and I find the MH too hard. If you ask for medium with a wide aperture this is the best option but it can be difficult to control especially when new. All the reeds I have had have been consistent. Tend to blow a bit sharp.

By: ninaoctober

ninaoctober — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:24:09 +0000

I had the good fortune of trying out Fortay reeds at the recent IDRS conference. As a North American oboist (having played over 40 years on North American scrape) I was very reluctant to try the European scrape. However, several people at the Conference encouraged me to try Fortay reeds. I am so grateful that they did! After adjusting my embouchure and breathing (just slightly) to the European scrape, I am now absolutely in love with Fortay reeds. The stability and tuning of theses reeds have no peer (and I have tried many, many professional reeds) and they allow for a great variety of musical color.
And they are reliable! Imagine – I can order 5 reeds and actually get 5 reeds that are concert-worthy. Is that amazing or WHAT?

By: Tim Shippam

Tim Shippam — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:40:14 +0000

Extremely well made oboe/oboe d’amore reeds with good tone & excellent low note articulation (due to the thin tips) , & are consistent.

By: Des

Des — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 12:13:11 +0000

The red wound ‘professional’ reeds are almost uniformly excellent and long-lasting. Their Cor and D’amore reeds are not so amazing however and often have very weak lower registers.

By: Lucy Jurd

Lucy Jurd — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 11:34:23 +0000

Beautiful reeds. They are consistent, free-blowing and make a wonderful sound. I recommend them to all my pupils.

By: colin stark

colin stark — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:47:10 +0000

The first reeds I tried were beautifully made, they all worked and made a good sound. Since then they have become excellent, because the wonderful thing about Fortay is that once they get to know your preferences, the reeds are truly bespoke. They are the best reeds I have bought in over 30 years in the profession.
Colin Stark, Ulster Orchestra.

By: Helena Bidder

Helena Bidder — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:01:18 +0000

As a professional player I rely on reeds to be consistent and always have a beautiful sound. These are excellent!!! Don’t waste time looking elsewhere, I have tried them all and Fortay are without a doubt the best on the market. Professional service and a real willingness to help you with your quest for the right reed. Beginner and student reeds are brilliant too. All my students play on them now and everyone can tell the difference.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:45:47 +0000

The queen of reeds as far as I’m concerned – I think I’ve tried at least two of every other on the market. These are absolutely fantastic – free-blowing, lovely sound and consistent reed after reed. Can’t recommend them highly enough.

By: Malcolm Messiter

Malcolm Messiter — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 20:56:51 +0000

In April this year I tried Fortay reeds for the first time. I was a bit surprised to find them quite excellent and consistently better than the ones I was making. I now use them all the time for everything. They have not only improved my oboe playing (better late than never I suppose…) but also save me hours of reedmaking, freeing up that time for more playing.
Malcolm Messiter