We recommend that you dip the reeds in lukewarm (not cold) water and leave it out for 30-60 seconds. We don’t recommend leaving your reed sitting in a cup of water since that causes the fibers of the cane to over soak and can make the reed stiffer than normal. Depending on your climate/humidity you may have to adjust these times accordingly.

Do not try to play or adjust a dry reed. Avoid dropping, bending the tip, or any other extreme activities.

We always clip one side of the tip slightly longer than the other. The side of the blade with the thread overlap should be facing towards you when putting it in the oboe. On our reeds, we put the M logo on the side of the overlap. The logo should face towards you!

Reeds usually have a "break-in" period where you, the reed, and the oboe will get used to playing with each other. They tend to sound best at their peak (about 2-3 hours in), and will start to decline after about 10-15 hours of total usage. Then it's time to buy or make a new reed!

Please check the waitlist page for the most current and updated wait times for finished handmade reeds. You can access it on our front page or by hovering over the FAQ navigation menu at the top of the page.

If you need an expedited reed service, we have next day air shipping available at check-out for purchase. Please note, we can not control the speed/delays of UPS once we ship out. Please order ahead & allow enough time for delivery.

Orders without finished reeds (reed blanks, shaped cane, gouged cane, tube cane, accessories, etc) will usually be shipped out next business day.

We ship within the USA, and we calculate the cheapest shipping based on the weight of your package. Your rate will be automatically displayed at checkout.

Don't like the reed(s) or item(s) you received? To start the return/exchange process, please send an email to info@manhattanreeds.com. The timeframe to initiate the refund/exchange process varies per item*.

All returns and exchanges are handled in a civil manner in accordance with our policies written here and in our FAQ. We do not tolerate chargebacks, opening cases with Paypal, or threats, and we reserve the right to ban, terminate, or refuse service anyone who decides to do so. Please reach out to us via email if you would like to request a refund or an exchange, thank you!

* Reed refund/exchanges must be initiated within 24 hours of receipt. All other eligible items have a 1 week window to initiate a return/exchange.

If you need a reed ASAP, we have an emergency reed service (next-day), or priority processing (skip-the-waitlist). In addition to choosing these waitlist options, we recommend you also upgrade your shipping service to UPS next day air.

We ship via the cheapest UPS option to give you the most savings, but if you wish to upgrade your package you can do so at check-out

Please note regarding orders containing fully finished reeds, upgrading the shipping method only decreases the time in transit (after it leaves our shop), not the time it takes to make the reed(s). All reeds are handmade & made-to-order in the order it was received in our waitlist. To skip the waitlist, please choose the "priority" or "emergency" option on the product before adding the reeds to cart. All other items including reed blanks, cane, and other accessories do not have a waitlist and they will usually be shipped out the next business day.

For our full shipping policies, please visit here.