Author: PlatinumPisces
Date: 2008-11-15 21:52
My oboe and I have been through many different climates. I 1st got my oboe when I was in San Diego, perfect weather and no problems breaking it in. Then I moved to Vegas for a bit where it was extremely hot, dry, and air conditioning all around in the summer and dry/cold in the winter. The temperature fluctuates about 30-40 degrees some days. Then I went to school in Boston where it was hot and humid for the warmer months then dry and cold in the winter. Then I head down to Los Angeles every January to get it checked up.
Result: Absolutely no problems with my oboe
Why? Well, from what EVERYONE told me, I was the "lucky dog" in getting an oboe with the grain of the wood in the "perfect" position, parallel to the instrument. Also, what I found useful in the cold weather is to wrap a scarf around the hard case, then place it into the insulated part, then into your backpack/gigbag/whatever. I used to walk about 20-30 minutes in the Boston cold and when I would get to rehearsal, my oboe was a moderate temperature... almost as if it had been sitting in my room back in San Diego. You would not even have known it was outside, let alone me walking with it outside.
I personally am not a fan of extremes and believe life runs on an equilibrium. Sometimes I would swab my oboe out 10 minutes before rehearsal ended, then put it back in its case in order for it to have some moisture in it. Basically let it "naturally" dry out. If you are going to play it again within a few hours, then dont do it, but over night is fine. I dont like the idea of the bore getting TOO dry or TOO wet. I do not oil my oboe at all, and I have had it for about 9 years with absolutely no problem with all the weather changes.
So after my rant... I like my scarf idea around the oboe. It will lessen the fluctuation of cold to warm and vice versa. Like I said, i'm not a fan of extremes so anything you can do to "bridge that gap" (temperature/humidty/whatever), the less harm it will do to the instrument. Now if you are just taking the case outside with it in no other sort of bag/carrying vehicle, well then you're just asking for trouble.
Hope that helps!
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