If you’re looking for a durable reed for your clarinet, look to the Forestone Black Bamboo clarinet reed. The Forestone material is a mixture of polypropylene resin and cellulose wood fiber. More than 50 percent of the wood fiber used is bamboo. The material is brownish in color, tasteless, odorless and non-toxic. The exceptional sound, resilience and flexibility of Forestone reeds is due mainly to this special material.

Fabrication Forestone reeds are made by proprietary injection molding developed in Japan. This results in reeds with smooth vamps that are uniform and consistent from reed to reed.

Construction and Profile Forestone reeds are perfectly balanced side to side and front to back. The standard profile tapers down to 0.1 mm thickness across the tip. Held up to the light, the reeds display the classic upside-down “U-shape” associated with cane reeds.

Performance Forestone reeds tend to maintain their strength and resistance. They vibrate well and hold the center of the sound in a similar way to a good quality cane reed. The basic timber is robust, clear and strong, with just enough “buzz” to ensure projection and carrying power. Intonation is stable and the reeds articulate well throughout the range of the clarinet and saxophone.

Feel The difference in feel between Forestone and cane is minimal. That said, players should take time to get comfortable with Forestone, as they would with a new mouthpiece, ligature, barrel or instrument.

Adjustment Blowing resistance can be adjusted with Forestone reeds by slightly raising or lowering the reed on the mouthpiece table (lower placement = less resistance, higher placement = more resistance). Although other types of adjustment are usually not necessary, the material is sufficiently hard that one can still do so using blades, files, sandpaper, reed rush or other tools. Forestone reeds can also be clipped.

Longevity The useful life of a Forestone reed will vary from player to player given that everyone’s embouchure address stresses the reed differently. Forestone reeds will far outlast good quality cane as the proprietary composite material is impervious to water-logging and breakdown by saliva, and will not warp due to changes in humidity or altitude. After a certain number of hours, however, the reeds will feel less lively and responsive. The loss in vitality will signal that the time has come to retire the reed in favor of a newer one.