With Legere now offering a

Quality Synthetic Oboe Reed,

professionals everywhere are taking a closer look at this high-end plastic alternative and its hefty $120 price point. In order to help the professional oboist make a more informed purchase, we went ahead and put together a few tools to determine one's actual reed-production cost, while also comparing this cost to any foreseeable savings from using the Legere Reed.

The Cost of One Cane Reed

Taking into account all the factors that contribute to the cost of a traditional cane reed, the interactive table below was built to calculate and total the "cost per reed" of items such as one's tube cane, thread, staple, reed knife, and gouger. Notice how the "Total Cost" and subtotals update as you enter your various expenses. Since we're summing up the total cost of producing a reed from scratch, we've also factored in the reed-maker's labor which requires an hourly rate to be entered.*

Cost Analysis

Keep in mind that I am likely a little more selective than most when is comes to picking cane and regrinding knives which gives me a slightly higher material cost than most reed makers, but with my reed production cost coming out to about $24, the Legere Reed would only need a life expectancy of around 5 cane reeds in order to justify its $120 price point. Given than Legere is claiming that this product will last several months, I'd be saving around $75 assuming that I was able to save the equivalent of 8 cane reeds during that several month period.

While switching to Legere full-time would certainly save alot of time and money, it's possible that some players might not feel comfortable using the synthetic reed for high profile public performances. The lack of customization could feel limiting in an orchestral environment where professionals regularly need to produce a certain type of reed for a specific performance or task, often having to then adjust the reed for artistic reasons multiple times throughout that particular concert cycle. So let's say that a player is only looking to practice on the reed at home while also playing it in some orchestra tuttis or pops concerts, thereby saving their favorite cane reeds for their more exposed performing. Given this scenario, if that player's reed costs are similar to mine, he or she is still saving around $75 and several hours of time by not having to make those eight "practice" reeds out of cane.

So are you as surprised as I was with how your reed production costs compare with Legere's price point? After crunching the numbers, it looks like that if it works, it's definitely a time and money saver given my production costs.

Is there any other aspect of this cost analysis that you'd like discussed? Please leave me a message on our Contact Page and I'll do my best to get back to you as quickly as possible.