Author: hautbois
Date: 2009-04-20 14:03
The subject of the differences between brands is fraught with subjective opinion. It might be worth while spending some time listening to great oboists and finding out what instrument and reed style they use. But even that will not solve the equation for you, as I have found (from trading instruments for experimental purposes) that any wonderful oboists carries that quality with him/her regardless of the instrument played, and even regardless of the state of perfection (or imperfection) of the reed. Other factors to consider include the fit of the keywork for your hands, the importance or not of the physical weight of the instrument, the type of music you want to play (e.g.,chamber music or orchestral, in a large hall or small salon). Some instruments will satisfy very diverse requirements, and others will not. Additionally, even within the brand or model of an instrument there are huge variances in quality. I used to pay Loree, and would arrange to fly to the dealer in CA for a day trying instruments. The usual procedure (I did this a few times) was for there to be about 20 instruments out for me to try. I would play and test for most of the day and not be satisfied. Then the dealer would bring out about 5 more instruments, not mentioned initially that day. All of them would be quite good and usually one suited me wonderfully. The caveat here is that your teacher or other expert should be inolved in this selection.
As for my personal tastes, I enjoyed the Lorees I played over the years (especially my d'amores), but then switched to Laubin because of its tone quality, and finally to Marigaux model 2001 because of its even and full sound. I played in a professional orchestra for decades and had a rich musical life as well playing chamber music and Bach.
Elizabeth
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