I think it is because of where I was born and grew up I always spent my early childhood among tube canes. When I first started playing the bassoon, I was surprised to learn that the mouthpieces we used were made of tube canes. I immediately wondered if I could make reeds using them and I cut a tube cane as soon as I saw one. Of course it resulted poorly because I had no idea about the criteria needed. First I needed the technical knowledge and then of course some time.
As a result of my research and the experience that I gained from the various tube canes I used practicing, I started to develop some ideas as to what makes a good tube cane. Then only to meet my own needs and to obtain the tube cane fit for the criteria, I made researches in almost all the regions of Turkey where the Medditerrenean climate prevails and after collecting some samples, I patiently waited. After a few years I started to play with the reeds made of the tube canes that I collected. The resulting changes in the sound were noticed also by others who both praised me for it and began to ask questions about it. That surely made me happy and showed me that I was in the right direction.
Maybe it all came to that moment; while I was in Germany for my masters degree, my bassoon proffessor Pierre Martens wanted to try out the reed I used and I can never forget the expression on his face after he did. He was really impressed and immediately asked if I sold reeds. Until that day, I had no such idea. I told him that I was not selling any but I could sell it to him if we could agree on a price. Months passed and Prof. Martens told me that he was really pleased with those reeds and that they enabled a longer and stable performance. When he asked what brand I used, I told him that I cut my own tube canes and that was the second time he was shocked on that matter. Then he asked if I sold tube canes, and like I did before, I told him that I did not but that I could sell him as many as he needed, not more. Because as I said earlier, this research was for myself. There were no commercial intentions involved.
In time, more and more people started to call me to ask if there were any reeds or tube canes for sale. There were also many colleagues who encouraged me for this. The circumstances then made me think about reaching out to more professional and bigger crowds.
Many may ask if it is worth the effort when there are so many options but I believe it is a unique pleasure to have a tube cane to process as you wish. Of course, there is also the production process and even though it seems very simple and small, this is a matter of infrastructure and organization. They say it all starts with a desire; what I needed to decide was whether I wanted to do this.
I believe that the below mentioned quote by the famous American author John Steinbeck can inspire a craftsman and it surely must have inspired me to share this quality with all of my colleagues so today I am happy to get in touch with such valuable colleagues as you.
“After the bare requisites to living and reproducing, man wants most to leave some record of himself, a proof, perhaps, that he has really existed. He leaves his proof on wood, on stone or on the lives of other people.
John Steinbeck
1902-1968
And thus all this hard work…
