Comments on: Forrests Music

By: Anathema

Anathema — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 06:43:14 +0000

I have been playing oboe for just around four years now, and during my first two, I always bought my reeds from Forrests. Being quite a beginner, I didn’t know what the big deal about good reeds was. My music director suggested Forrests oboe reeds because they were such high quality, so I bought them. Over time, I bought harder and more hand-crafted reeds and over time, I noticed that the quality of the reeds has severely diminished. I ordered three hand-finished Dustee reeds two months ago, and I was severely disappointed. Out of the two regular reeds, only one worked (the other was cracked) and it was still severely out of tune. The hard reed that I had worked wonderfully… For about a week before it started chipping. I thought maybe I got a bad batch of reeds, and idiotically ordered again. I bought three hard Dustee reeds, and the same thing happened: they all chipped very quickly, and were hideously sharp as well. The only good thing about Forrests is the fact that their shipping is incredibly fast — but at the price of shotty reeds.

By: Friesian

Friesian — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 01:30:52 +0000

The first time I tried these reeds (Forrests gold label regular and also medium), about two months ago, I was extremely pleased with them. They were easy and fun to play on, and they had a nice, in-tune sound. They were the best reeds I had ever tried. My band director even commented that they sounded like very good reeds. The reeds lasted a little over a month and a half and retained their good sound. However, after that, they started to go down hill with age, and so I ordered three new Forrests gold label reeds, two mediums and one regular. The new reeds came just in time for my concert thanks to the excellent service and speed Forrests has. But as soon as I started playing on the reeds, I realized they weren’t nearly as good as my last batch. They are very resistant, and I just can’t seem to get them in tune. One plays extremely flat with an ugly, dull sound, and the other with an obnoxious, sharp sound. The third reed usually wont make a sound other than a high-pitched whistle, no matter what I do. At my concert it was very embarrasing to play with those reeds. I am still playing on these same reeds, trying to get them to sound well, but I am not having any success what-so-ever.
All in all, Forrests offers good service and fast shipping, but their reeds are unreliable. I am not so sure that I will order from them again after having these reeds.

By: hautbois76

hautbois76 — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 00:24:35 +0000

I like the concept of Forrest’s providing handmade reeds for people who do not want to make their own. The problem with this is that they seem to buy inferior reeds in bulk from makers who also sell direct and who are undoubtedly sending Forrest’s their seconds and/or rejects. The Albion color system keeps players from knowing who really makes these reeds, thus preventing us from going direct to obtain better examples of the reeds we want to give a second chance. It also provides the maker some anonymity, thus encouraging even poorer work. I understand Forrest’s benefit in this kind of marketing, but it defeats the purpose for those who expect quality from a so-called “handmade” reed at handmade reed price.

I finally obtained accurate source info on the maker of one of Forrest’s reeds and the difference between those from Forrest’s and direct from the maker are like night and day.

Like other reviewers, the Duste reeds I got leaked. The Albion Gold was very unfinished and totally unplayable with bark more than halfway up the heart, which is unacceptable for an expensive handmade American cut reed. The blades were noticeably cracked just above the thread. They sent a replacement, which was nice of them, but useless as it was worse than the first reed. The tip was ridiculously too open to produce a tone on both, so they obviously are not play tested by the maker. Forrest’s reed quality control seems non-existent as well. Luckily, I am able to do some adjusting, but this is not good for someone without these skills.

At these prices, students are better off buying Jones and Gower oboe reeds at the local music store where they can at least see one side of the reed to avoid major overlap and nasty, inferior scraping. I have never received a reed from Forrest’s that responded well over the entire range of the oboe and unless I hear of major improvements, I will not be buying reeds there again. Students, parents, teachers, and doublers deserve better. Considering that they are double reed specialists, I am very disappointed with the quality of handmade reeds coming out of Forrest’s that they obviously feel are acceptable.

By: Curty

Curty — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 22:55:07 +0000

The dustes are o.k., you just have to work on them a little bit, but the have anew line called forests silver. It is a really good line, I highly suggest it!!!!

By: Minnn

Minnn — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 08:48:41 +0000

The Duste reeds sound good, but the three that I ordered leaked. Forrest’s was very nice in offering to replace them. Also, some of the corners of my reeds were not intact. Despite the chipped corners and the leaks, the reeds projected well and had good tone. I was surprised.

By: oboes rock!

oboes rock! — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:26:48 +0000

I recently bought a lovely sounding cabart oboe, and decided to switch oboe reed brands to go with it. I purchased two Albion and two Forrest’s reeds hoping that they would match the amazing sound quality of my new oboe. I was extremely dissapointed with all of them! One of the albions was OK, but the other sounded like, not a duck, but a goose! Both of the Forrest’s reeds were almost completely unplayable, and all of the reeds were unreasonably flat sounding even after being worked on to death. It was keenly imbarrasing one day in my band when we were rehearsing a song that I had an opening solo in, and it sounded so awful that all my conductor could do was stare painfully at me in silence! All I can say is that your making a rather large mistake if you buy those brands.

By: kimber

kimber — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:35:35 +0000

I have used the Duste reeds for years, including the EH reeds, which are wonderful right out of the box. I tried several Albion labels, but didn’t find a one with a tone/feel I liked. I did get a leaky Duste in the last shipment, which Forrests promptly sent out a replacement for. I also have no problems doing slight scrapings to adjust right to my needs.

By: Arturo Rodriguez

Arturo Rodriguez — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 02:17:09 +0000

I’ve been buying reeds from Forrest’s for a few years now. The quality has been pretty good, some were consistent and others maybe not so much. I bought a ‘hard’ duste reed and found out by looking at it through the light that too much had been scraped off, so it produce an uncontrollable sound. I use an older Rigoutat oboe, so it’s a little more resistant than newer ones. So I try to use a medium to hard strength reed. The Duste brand reeds haven’t been as consistent as they were a few years back. One of the reasons I was told by a friend who has a serious passion for playing oboe and english horn is that the cane hasn’t been of great quality, mostly due to climate changes and the way it is harvested. I bought a couple of Albion English Horn reeds and they sound great; however, the only minor problem I have is that they take a while to break in and need a little adjusting. Other than those minor issues, the reed stays consistent even on an old stencil Noblet English Horn (made by Cabart – pre-buy out). Besides with the consistency of these reeds (sometimes), they’re better than buying random reeds from another company. I think that Forrest’s however, should include a broader variety of reeds.

By: LL

LL — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 19:10:25 +0000

I’ve never once gotten a reed from Forrests that is good quality. It’s not worth the price at all. Usually,I have to buy 6 at a time in order to get one decent reed. Forrests and Duste reeds are good for beginners, but for a professional-level reed, save your money.

By: Teri

Teri — Fri, 04 May 2007 14:08:35 +0000

I am also a 20+ year player and purchased two oboe d’amore reeds that were absolutely unusable. One would not speak at all, as the cane itself was flat and of an extremely hard texture. The other was unstable, creating a sound ranging from very bad English Horn to extremely flat oboe, and this was all in one measure.

In all fairness to Forrest’s Music, I find them to be among the best suppliers in the US for double reeders. Fast service, clear and concise catalog and a wonderful assortment of items from which to select.