I should start by saying that I am a beginner bassoon player, though with many years of experience on other reed instruments. I have a lot of basic practising to do before I will be ready to play in public, so I wanted a cheap source of reeds for use at home. The Emerald Medium (& Soft) reeds fit the bill very well, with no soaking I can fit them and start playing straight away. The tone is acceptable, at least as good as some other cheap cane reeds I have tried, and they behave more predictably. Because of present limitations of my ability I can't tell yet whether they will make an acceptable sound for public performances.