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Doublereed Archive - Posting 000070.txt from 2007/06
From: philfrei@-----.com
Subj: [DR-L] Re: Elizabeth Koch, ASO Principal Oboe
Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2007 13:45:32 -0400
Is it possible for the brighter of two sounds not to project or cut
through an acoustic environment. Sometimes, it is the lower or middle
formants that are filling an available space, or are "most
characteristic" of a sound.
The journalist is probably doing their job. My reading of this is that
the ASO folks are prejudiced (perhaps justified, perhaps not) against
the Yamaha 841. Their expression of this prejudice may or may not be
articulated in a scientifically accurate manner. Acoustics are
complicated! (And so are musical politics.) Also, the press often
resorts to reducing things to levels they deem "the public" will be
able to comprehend. For example, a TV news interviewer requested the MD
I work for, the head of a Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant department,
to wear a white coat and stethascope during the interview, so folks
would "get it" that he is a doctor. He's never worn either, the whole
time I've known and worded with him.
I don't know that one can make a reed that makes a Yamaha 841 sound
more like a Loree. IMHO a Yamaha 841 is close to a Loree in quality,
and I might not be able to judge the difference in a blind test, but
when I'm playing them there seems to be a difference. Hard to say
exactly what it is, but I like the Lorees better. Just an opinion.
We've chewed up the discussion on oboes getting "blown out" or not
before. I don't envy the reporter the task of trying to judge what is
folklore or not, in this regard.
Herb's comment reminds me of a great old song on Pretenders II: "Waste
not want not."
I'm one of those who sticks with a single horn, but we have high level
pros that come into Forrests regularly, checking out all the new oboes,
who do seem to feel a replacement is needed after only a couple years.
A lot depends upon what you can afford? I hardly feel qualified to
second-guess those who have achieved so much (even though I do have my
doubts).
- Phil Freihofner
>------------------------------
>
>Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 15:38:13 -0700
>To: "doublereed@-----.org>
>From: herb fawcett <herbgosia@-----.net>
>Subject: Re: [DR-L] Elizabeth Koch, ASO Principal Oboe
>Message-ID: <C2971165.1A7A1%herbgosia@-----.net>
>
>So much of the time the sound is a matter of concept; if the horn
sounds
>different than the concept, time allows for the correction of the reed.
>A good horn is a good horn; the player makes the sound (within
reasonable
>parameters!). Is this not true of oboes?
>Herb
>
>On 6/14/07 12:54 PM, "BssnRX@-----.com> wrote:
>
>> In a message dated 6/14/2007 3:00:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
>> herbgosia@-----.net writes:
>> "Exactly what wears out in a good oboe? Surely a silk swab cannot
alter the
>> bore in 3-5 years.
>> Congrats to Ms Koch!
>> Herb"
>> Hey Herb,
>> Oboes don't get "worn out" any more than bassoons do. They do go
through some
>> changes with age and use, just as bassoons do. Its just that, for
whatever
>> reasons, a lot of oboists don't like those changes in their oboes
whereas we
>> bassoonists like the changes in our bassoons. Having said that, I
know a few
>> oboists that have been playing the same oboes for over 20 years and
sound
>> fantastic on them.
>>
>>
>>
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