Author: cjwright
Date: 2010-08-14 19:52
As a full time player and doctoral student, I currently play a CJ wood Loree, dating back to approximately 1960s. I have not had any problems with the tuning.
Older instruments can have tuning issues. For one thing, the bore over time warps and changes. This can be detrimental sometimes, or completely harmless other times. Rarely have I seen instruments become so wacky in tuning that they become useless, but it does happen ever so often.
Having seen many older instruments, and having had many fixed up for myself, I can say I've noticed three common patterns that cause for tuning issues
1. Buildup buildup buildup. When David Weber takes an old oboe that needs to be put back into shape, the first thing he does is take off all the keys, and wipe out all of the toneholes really really well with scrub brushes. Often times dirt and hard debris can build up in the tone holes, causing them to become smaller and thus flatter, and effecting the resonance.
2. Tonehole shrinkage. Sometimes I notice that certain toneholes shrink from their factory settings. Alvin Swiney knows every Loree tonehole factory size during the B's through D's series, and can tell you any size at the drop of the dime. My last oboe felt a bit flat in the left hand, and after consulting with Alvin and checking with the drill bits, they indeed had shrunk a bit. A few turns of the drill bits and I was back in business.
3. Hard crunchy pads. When cork pads become hard and inflexible, they absorb less of the vibrations and so the timbre of the note seems to be more forward. Also, as pads get older, thinner, and shrink up, there is more venting for a note, which can also cause tuning changes and timbre changes.
Now, having said all of this, back to your original question. You can't buy much for $700-$1200, but something basic like a Yamaha 241, but if your daughter is going to play for a while, she will grow out of that instrument after the first year or two. I'd suggest trying to save up closer to $1500-$1800 and purchasing a Fox 330 as a few mentioned up above, as that would get her at least to mid-high school.
Cooper
Blog, An Oboe In Paradise
Solo Oboe, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra
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