Two or three years ago, I orderd a box (20-25 tubes) of wild (not cultivated) cane, 1997 harvest, from the Proboe shop in Bloomington, Indiana. Recently, [u]AlanB[/u] was asking if anyone knew of a source for Var cane.
I had lost my contact info, but found it today. The Proboe shop is famous among reed/woodwind players for it’s cane quality. I only used a couple tubes for the reeds I made, but I thought the quality was good. Maybe not as good as cane from Spain, or select Ted Anderson California, but anyone wanting to try Var cane contact Guy Hardy at this shop. He knows what UP reeds are and even sells tubes for drones. You can pay with debit or credit card too, and have it shipped immediately. This might be a good quick source for people wanting to learn to make reeds.
Have a look at his web site. He has some interesting descriptions and pictures of Var cane sources, curing techniques, and different size tubing for sale. If he is out of stock, I see that Clarinet tube cane is the same approx size (24mm or 7/8"). Also, Bassoon tube cane is 25-26mm or regular 1" tubes.
