Posted by Leland Crooks [ 64.254.36.191 ] on September 19, 2006 at 07:04:56:
I heard a very interesting interview on NPR (there goes my conservative credentials) with the new first chair oboe player for the NY Philharmonic. It was all about reeds. He makes his own, and spends hours crafting, tuning and tweaking them. He could not define what made a good reed. He said it's how it feels to his mouth, how it responds to changes, and many other subjective responses. It immediately reminded me of your question. I think it's unanswerable.
He had a display case of his all time favorites. All of 5 or 6 sets, in I bet many years of playing.
It could be the psychoacoustics mentioned in another thread. You heard the sound you want at some point, and it's imprinted. I know I can tell you immediately if someone is playing an Ovation. I hate the sound of their guitars. Acoustics are supposed to be wood 
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