Some people say that the wire makes the reed last longer, but my teacher is not a fan of them because he says they restrict the sound...

Personally the only thing I really have an opinion about the wires is that sometimes they hit my lip... and it hurts

So wut do you guys think?

I always wired everyone of my reeds when I did play Oboe.
I don't anymore. I never liked the "oboe wire" that you ordered, I always used a slightly thinner wire and I don't remember where I got it. I probably found a big spool in my fathers garage one day and kept it.

I liked the wire because I felt I had constant control over the aperture of the reed. I never really had a problem hitting my lip on it. I know others have. Maybe because my wire was thinner it didn't seem to matter. It may seem silly but also always bend the wire away from your lips; I recall seeing some people who had it different ways on different reeds.
So, I'm for wire.

On the reeds I make, I never use wire. I haven't been taught to use wire, so that's the only reason I don't use it. It's just an extra step really.

adding for english horn . someone told me they need the wire that goes around the cane so that it stays together, the e.h. reed's wire is trying to fall off, along with the thread (and i have seating auditions soon, and that's my best e.h. reed.. YIKES!) i was fooling around with the wire trying to put it back in place and i noticed the 2 canes were starting to slip out of alignment with each other, so yea, that's why the e.h. needs a wire for it's cane.

for oboe.. the only reeds i've seen ahve a wire are french scraped reeds
i personally don't like french scraped because they tend to be very bright, and have the person playing the oboe try to produce a darker sound.

hmmm, interesting:D

yeah, the wire was turned away from my lip but i held my oboe up and it hit my lip.... my friends wasnt turned the right way... she was like owww!

I've talked with a lot of professionals about wire on reeds. Suprisingly, only a few used wire. Others said that it didn't really matter. I suppose that it is just another step, and I don't take my time with it.

Whether it helps control the sound or not, I really don't care. Your reed should be able to sustain a decent sound on its own, if you ask me.

I actually found a reed-making dvd recently and he wired the reed. My oboe teacher is teaching me to make reeds and I got the dvd as reinforcement. The guy on the dvd wired it and turned the wire under. My teacher doesn't wire them, and it really doesn't look comfortable, so I doubt I will do it. I can see where there would be some merits to wire though.

when i make reeds i wont wire... just more time and money

Many European oboists use wire. It should not be necessary on an American style reed. I agree it can cut the lip, and stops vibrations. I don't know why anyone would use wire. I have played for over 40 years. No wires for me!!

I buy reeds with wires sometimes just for class, not for concerts. Especially the "rehearse-a-thon" my school band does the Saturday before any concert. I just can't keep my embouchre for six hours (mainly because of marching season on piccolo) and the wire seems to keep my better store-bought reeds (Marlin Lesher) from closing up.

Wires can help, but the tone isn't quite the same.

Wire tends to choke the tone. I've only really seen them used on English Horn reeds, because the reed needs to be kept steadier. I wouldn't worry about adding the extra step for reed making.

My e.h. reed that came with my instrument didn't have a wire. It still sounds pretty good though. For oboes, I don't like having wire on the reed, it just isn't necessary.