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Doublereed Archive - Posting 000030.txt from 2003/07

From: "Lacy, Edwin" <el2@-----.edu>
Subj: RE: [DR-L] Music on the 4th--patriotic instruments?
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 17:53:46 -0400

> I have visited factories and had a few discussions with my boss, and I
> don't see a good reason that factories in China couldn't make plastic
> oboes that cost far, far less than American-made plastic oboes,
without
> a significant loss in quality.

The question would be, what constitutes "significant loss in quality,"
and exactly how much loss of quality would be acceptable. Among
American and European oboe manufacturers who make plastic oboes of
reasonable quality, the attributes of the instrument have much less to
do with the material itself than with designing and manufacturing the
bore and tone holes in such a way as to produce adequate intonation and
acceptable tone quality (to say nothing of the mechanical and material
problems with the keywork on Chinese instruments). As far as I know,
such instruments have not yet come out of China. It might be possible
for them to build competitive instruments, but thus far, they seemingly
are not interested in doing what would be required to make instruments
that serious musicians could use. They aren't operating on the basis of
the needs and desires of musicians, but rather are basing everything on
what will achieve the lowest possible cost.

Ed Lacy
University of Evansville