Description
The Légère Oboe reed was designed by Guy Légère in a collaboration with Christoph Hartmann of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. These reeds will last for months with proper care, providing a beautiful tone with no pre-moistening required.
Now available in three strengths to suit all players! (Medium Soft, Medium, and Medium Hard.)
“Top symphonic and jazz musicians have been using the Légère single reeds for more than a decade. From the principals of the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic orchestras, to jazz greats like Gerald Albright and Hamiet Bluiett, the reeds have been tested at the highest possible level. Now this same exceptional quality is available in a Légère oboe reed.”
Légère reeds are designed to fulfil the same expectations that players expect from their traditional cane reeds, including having a full, rich tone which projects easily. However, they additionally benefit from having no need for pre-soaking, and being unaffected by variants in weather, leading to a higher level of consistency. The only variations one should expect between Légère oboe reeds of the same strength are slight differences in tone and level of projection, factors which will also be influenced by the individual player’s embouchure and instrument. The reeds are designed to be responsive, whilst maintaining stability in terms of intonation (playing at 440-442 Hz depending on their positioning in the oboe’s reed socket).
With appropriate care Légère reeds can last for months, the exact length of time depending both on the reed’s strength and how often it is used. Although synthetic reeds can still be broken if mishandled or mistreated, they are more durable and less fragile than cane reeds and require little maintenance, allowing the player more time to commit to music-making. The oboist is only required to periodically clean their Légère reed with water, and to remove any debris from it with a small feather or similar material.
Légère oboe reeds are designed to provide an ideal ‘middle-ground’ which will suit the requirements of any oboist, e.g. in terms of response (they feel flexible to play whilst having some resistance), and tone (the sound is not designed to be particularly ‘bright’ or ‘dark’). However, the reeds can be adjusted to fulfil personal requirements, although this is certainly not necessary, and only recommended if you are highly adept at reed-adjusting. If you do decide to adjust your Légère reed, players may find it beneficial to clip a very small length of the tip of the reed or to slightly scrape the reed’s heart. Whilst not expected, if you find that your Légère reed is not completely airtight, this can be remedied by wrapping cling film or goldbeater’s skin around it in the same way as you would treat a cane reed.
Please note these reeds are supplied in sealed packaging and we cannot accept any returns. We have tester options in the shop (available to purchase at a discounted price in-store) to see if these reeds suit your own playing, but the new reeds must be purchased before being removed from the packaging.
https://www.legere.com/need-to-know/strength-charts/
https://www.legere.com/need-to-know/caring-for-your-reeds/
