Meet David Threatte | Inventor, Basoonist & Machinist

We had the good fortune of connecting with David Threatte and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
As a bassoonist myself, I’m very familiar with the intricacies of the instrument, particularly the crucial role that the bassoon reed plays in producing its unique sound.

Handcrafting a bassoon reed is a meticulous process that requires patience and so much time. It begins with selecting the right type of tube cane, often sourced from regions like France or Spain. This cane is then split into three sections, gouged, shaped and profiled using specialized manual tools. Following this, the cane is folded, formed and bound, forming the basic structure of the reed. The delicate process of gouging, shaping and profiling the reed to achieve the desired sound quality, good intonation and response comes next, requiring keen attention to detail and years of experience to master.

Traditionally, these steps are performed entirely by hand. Handmade reeds can vary significantly in quality and consistency due to human error and differences in technique as well as the tools used. Additionally, the time-consuming nature of the process limits production and practice time of any double reed player.

Investing in machinery for reed-making can be costly. Specialized equipment such as gouging machines, profiling machines, and shaping machines range from several hundred to several thousand dollars. While these machines can streamline certain aspects of the process, they lack the flexibility and adaptability required to produce reeds tailored to individual preferences. Manual machines are inherently limited by their physical parameters.

Recognizing these challenges, I saw an opportunity to leverage more contemporary technology in the bassoon reed-making process. By developing our own machinery, we could ensure consistency, precision, and customization in every reed produced.

Through Barton Cane, our aim is to elevate the standards of bassoon and oboe reed making, and give musicians back their time as well as offer a huge variety of shapes and profiles to choose from. We hope to take the headache of reed-making out of the hands of the musician so that they can focus on practicing.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The nice thing about being in the nichiest of niches is that what makes us stand out is just the fact that we exist. There’s no-one else who really does exactly what we do, so be default we get to set the standard.

What I’m most proud of is redesigning the whole process from the very beginning, but most importantly I was just in the right place at the right time. It’s fun to imagine that somehow you posses some sort of special talent, but anyone in my place with a reasonable amount of engineering skill and stubbornness would have done the same thing.

It’s hard to say what lessons I learned along the way because they mostly only apply to things that I will never have to do again, and would have never have known unless I made the mistakes in the first place. I’m still in the process of learning a lot of hard lessons. One is to not be afraid to throw money at a problem. I’m very financially conservative. My friends have a different word for it, but I’m getting better.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We actually live in Longmont, CO, but we do enjoy visiting friends and family in Atlanta!

These are things that we have enjoyed in the past and highly recommend!

*Atlanta Botanical Garden

*Georgia Aquarium

*Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

Many of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra double reed players have been playing on our cane for many years now!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shout out to bassoonist Myles Yang for recommending that Shoutout Atlanta reach out to us! Thank you so much Myles!!!

I’m incredibly fortunate to have had the support and guidance of many people and organizations who have helped in the success of Barton Cane.

First is my wife, Julie Threatte. Before we started the business, she encouraged me to quit teaching, which at the time was our main source of income, in order to fully focus on research and development. She not only supported our daily expenses, but also put any extra money into funding the machines. Her dedication was critical in shaping Barton Cane into the thriving little business that it is today. Today she manages day-to-day operations, oversees inventory, fulfills orders, runs the shop, and engages with our community through social media.

I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to Craig Joy, the former director of the CU Boulder machine shop. His patience with me in the machine shop, his kindness and his enthusiasm for my far fetched project were essential in helping me to believe in myself in the beginning stages of Barton Cane.

Also to the CU entrepreneurship program, which provided crucial support and funding through a grant that helped to start the beginning of my research back in 2005, during my masters degree in bassoon performance.

Kristin Wolfe Jensen, bassoon professor at UT Austin, deserves special recognition for her guidance and feedback. She helped us design our gouge shape and profile that is our standard design.

I would also like to thank my Uncle Barton (Barton is also my middle name – named after him, so Barton Cane is kind of named after him). Barton Threatte owns United Metalcraft Inc. in Atlanta. He has been a huge help with creating custom parts for our machines and brainstorming design ideas. He has always been a huge role model for me.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the support of our loyal customers, many of whom have been with us since our beginnings in 2012. So many people have been incredibly supportive and many have given us valuable feedback over the years that has enabled us to refine our product to what it is today.

Website: www.bartoncane.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bartoncane/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bartoncane/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julieatbartoncane

Image Credits
Bio pic: Sam Marx