I always love trying different shaper tips–not only do they offer me different options and “feels”, but they can feel different on different gouges, so I often revisit unused shaper tips when I redo my gouge.

Having recently gotten both of my gouges worked on, I went back through my shaper tip collection to see how things felt, and I’ve decided that my Ruth shaper tip makes absolutely fabulous reeds….that I can’t play.

For my mouth and playing, the Ruth always feels too big and too wide for really focused playing. I love the sound of the reeds it makes–they have a depth and complexity to them that’s really appealing. But for me, they just don’t feel perfectly comfortable.