Precision in Play: Testimonials from Musicians Using the Reedual™
Charles West – Professor of Music (retired), Virginia Commonwealth University — Past President, International Clarinet Association
In about three decades of Reedual use and lots of articles published and lecture/clinics on reed making given, many Reeduals and other reed duplication machines have gone through my hands. I have made virtually all of my own reeds with the Reedual for years, and have long required my university students to acquire some competence in the reed room. While the ideal would always be to have a machine that would simply duplicate the model reed without acquired finesse from the operator, there has always been a “learning curve,” where one learns to compensate for variations from model to object reed, particularly at the tip and down the right side.
John Weigand’s newest iteration of the venerable Reedual is light years beyond the machines produced from 1963 until now. With an appropriately-balanced model (i.e. working as a mirror image of the mouthpiece facing), my impression is that the only variable becomes the cane itself. It feels to me like one could successfully use the new machine blindfolded. While the mechanical principles and basic appearance remain the same as always, John and his excellent machinists have produced a Reedual that is simpler and more accurate than ever before. Even the least mechanically-inclined among us should feel comfortable with the new machine in very short order.
Dr. Amy McCann – Lecturer in Clarinet and Theory, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
I have been relying on the Reedual to make my own reeds through two graduate degrees in performance, a four-year enlistment in a military band, and an active teaching and freelance career. This newest version is even more dependable when it comes to rapidly turning out good reeds.
The Reedual is absolutely worth the initial cost of purchasing a machine. It pays for itself quickly by producing better quality longer lasting reeds at a fraction of the cost of commercial reeds.
Fred Ormond – Professor Emeritus of Clarinet The University of Michigan
Recently John Weigand presented a master class that I was able to attend. He demonstrated the newly redesigned Reedual that he has manufactured and in one word – AMAZING. Dr. Weigand has analyzed the problems and advantages of this machine and made a product that is so much more accurate and can be of great use to all clarinetist or saxophonists using cane reeds.
While the price seems expensive, it is well worth it!
Dr. Jeffrey Carwile – San Francisco Bay Area Freelance
I have made reeds on and off again for almost 30 years. I have always used a Reedual in this process. But the prior versions of the Reedual were notoriously difficult to produce consistent results.
The new version that Dr. Weigand has created is light years beyond previous models: CNC-milled parts without wiggle and wobble, better sandpaper, better motor, and better table plastic. The result is a machine that accurately duplicates the shape of the model!