that’s not a pedal!  For once.

Today I got my “Ultimate Reed Finisher” from Justin Miller (millermarketing).  I had him send a second template for me to try out as well as the default template, but the second one doesn’t actually fit in the machine, so we’ll see what Justin has to say about that.

It’s a pretty slick little device though.  Without changing anything from how it was already set up I clipped the tip on a blank and used the machine on it.  Very smooth operation.  You only need one pass to make the complete cut due to how the blade is curved and prepraed by the spring.  The reed sagged the E and was about 40 cents flat, but it’s expected to sag and be flat when a reed is brand spankin’ new.  We’ll see how the pitch comes up in the next few days.  The reed responded very well though and was very easy to play compared to the same blank before the turn on the machine.

Set me back $2000.  The money came directly out of the sale of my old Wolf bassoon, otherwise there’s no way I could afford such a thing.  It’s going to make my reed life much happier though.  Lifelong investment.