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Doublereed Archive - Posting 000063.txt from 2004/08
From: PhilFrei@-----.com
Subj: [DR-L] Re: doublereed Digest 11 Aug 2004 19:15:00 -0000 Issue 207
Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2004 21:25:56 -0400
In a message dated 8/11/2004 12:15:19 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
doublereed-digest-help@-----.org writes:
>Phil, did you say that the Yamaha oboes are giving Loree a run for their
>money? I've tried a lot of those oboes and can't say I've had that
>experience, I haven't tried any significant numbers in about two years,
>so maybe they are quite a bit better now. Phil, have you tried the Yamahas
>lately? If you have maybe I need to try 10-12 of them again. Please do let
>me know as I am always curious.
Regards,
--
Jonathan Dlouhy
Principal Oboe,
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Tuesday, August 10, 2004 2:20:43 PM
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Hi -
I last tried two Yamahas in Spring, 2001. I ended up buying a standard Loree.
I thought the so-called "European" model from Yamaha was quite interesting.
If I could afford two oboes, that would be my second. I thought it was every
bit as easy to play and in tune and balance as the Loree, and the middle
registers had a very interesting tone. Somehow, crescendoing and diminuendoing had a
little extra drama to them. When I was playing samples of pieces for friends
to get their opinions, the consensus was that the Hindemith Oboe Sonata had
something extra that caught the ear with the Yamaha, but that Mozart came across
best with the Loree.
I know one symphony-level professional (with whom I took occasional lessons)
who bought the Yamaha "European" and just loves it, says its the easiest oboe
to play he's ever had. And, shortly after he bought it, I heard other
free-lancers commenting about how great he was sounding. So the instruments must work
for some folks. Earlier, I recall him describing his conception of tone, when
he used the word "clarion" as an aspect, if not defining, quality -- so I
don't think he is going for exactly the same standard "dark" or "silky" tone that
seems to be a common ideal. That may have been part of why he liked the
European-style Yamaha.
For myself, of the oboes I tried, I found the regular Loree excelled in tone
quality below G and above high A. Even if I did kind of like the middle
register of the Yamaha a little better, it seemed to me that getting an extra solid
tone core at the extreme registers would be more helpful generally. I'm
curious if you had the same experience, or if you found other drawbacks to the
Yamaha.
- Phil Freihofner
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