Doublereed Archive - Posting 000028.txt from 2008/11

From: herb fawcett <herbgosia@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [DR-L] how cold is too cold for my oboe? (in the house, that
Date: Sat, 08 Nov 2008 13:48:02 -0500

A Heckel that old. I've not played one older than early 5K and it was a bit
leaky, with "flexible intonation" but had a lovely sound. My 9K is more
assertive, of course, but it was pretty.
Herb

On 11/8/08 7:00 AM, "David Bell" <bssn2@-----.net> wrote:

> Miriam,
>
> I think everyone is correct about letting your cold oboe reach room
> temperature before playing-- if possible. My wife is a professional
> piper, and she uses plastic bagpipes in colder weather. As a
> bassoonist, the temperature issue is not as acute. We live in a humid
> environment (Mid-Atlantic), so our dehumidifier works almost year-
> round, although we do not let it get below 40%, so my bassoon's tenons
> don't shrink too much.
>
> BTW, Herb, my Heckel is much older than all of us-- it was made in
> 1909 (restored early this year)...
>
> David bell
> Alexandria, VA
>
> On Nov 7, 2008, at 11:40 PM, herb fawcett wrote:
>
>> Just got a ticket in the Porsche on I-5 near Lemoore. The CHP says
>> 106, but
>> I think not. I'll drive down to contest it. Anything over 100mph
>> gets pretty
>> pricey and worth the time to appear.
>> Not all of California smells like Lemoore or Hanford. Some is more
>> like
>> strawberries, almonds and apricots, or the sea in Carmel.
>> If you are as agreeable and lovely as my old Heckel we could play well
>> together. My Fox is like an angry teenager - very bright,
>> inexperienced,
>> inflexible, and often wrong.
>>
>> Herb
>>
>>
>> On 11/7/08 7:55 PM, "Miriam Williams" <mwquacker@-----.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Thanks, Herb.
>>>
>>>> Move to (sub-zero, yikes!) California ???
>>>
>>> Ahh, thanks, but I'll stick it out here. It was a pretty mild
>>> winter last
>>> yr, so maybe we'll luck out again.
>>>
>>> One of my sons just moved back here from being in Lemoore CA for 3
>>> yrs. He
>>> hated the dry heat and temps in the 100's in the summer. And nearby
>>> cattle
>>> ranch smell. Of course, Yosemite is pretty nice... visited there a
>>> few yrs
>>> ago. Can't say I like the mtn. roads, but the year-round fruit I
>>> could get
>>> used to I suppose.
>>>
>>> Back to oboe stuff; yes, I keep a dampit in my oboe case & EH case.
>>> I really
>>> wonder how much moisture gets into the wood since there's a lot of
>>> other
>>> material in the case to absorb moisture. I have the humidity
>>> monitor which
>>> comes with the Dampit hanging above my desk, so I don't use
>>> humidifying in
>>> the case in the summer, just in the fall/winter until it gets humid
>>> again
>>> (according to the monitor).
>>>
>>> Man -- your Heckel is older than I am!
>>>
>>> Best and thanks for the reply (it's been slow on the list lately,
>>> hmmm?)
>>> Miriam
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "herb fawcett" <herbgosia@-----.net>
>>> To: <doublereed@-----.org>
>>> Sent: Friday, November 07, 2008 7:47 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [DR-L] how cold is too cold for my oboe? (in the
>>> house, that
>>> is)
>>>
>>>
>>>> Miriam,
>>>> I live in the very temperate Bay Area of northern California. My
>>>> experience
>>>> indicates that temperature has much less effect on my Fox bassoon
>>>> than
>>>> humidity. The joints can go from very tight (I mean VERY tight) to
>>>> fall-apart loose in a day or two with humidity changes. I don't
>>>> have AC
>>>> and
>>>> I use almost no heat (ancient thermostat at <60 all winter). My
>>>> Heckel,
>>>> being from 1951, is old like me and is resistant to change, so no
>>>> problems.
>>>> These are all cotton string-wrapped joints, and on the Fox it is
>>>> annoying
>>>> to
>>>> have the boot fall off when I pick it up.I would fear the
>>>> dimensional
>>>> change
>>>> from humidity more than temperature when thinking about cracks in
>>>> the
>>>> oboe.
>>>> Dampit, maybe??? Move to (sub-zero, yikes!) California ???
>>>> Best,
>>>> Herb
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 11/7/08 5:25 PM, "Miriam Williams" <mwquacker@-----.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> We will need to drop the temperature in the house at night this
>>>>> winter
>>>>> even
>>>>> more than last year to save on heating costs. (I live in WI, so
>>>>> it could
>>>>> get
>>>>> really cold, even sub-zero.)
>>>>>
>>>>> My question is: how low can I have the indoor temperature and not
>>>>> cause
>>>>> harm
>>>>> to my oboe and EH?
>>>>>
>>>>> I'd like to lower the thermostat to 55 F. It's on a programmable
>>>>> timer,
>>>>> so
>>>>> it will be warm when the studio opens.
>>>>>
>>>>> I am careful to warm the joints before playing, of course.
>>>>>
>>>>> Is lack of humidity more of a problem?
>>>>>
>>>>> Just wondering,
>>>>> Miriam
>>>>>
>>>>> *******************
>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
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