Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2005-10-04 15:00
Michael --
Here is a page you might want to read, as you go through this decision-making process:
http://www.oboes.com/selecting.html
The other "rule" in instrument selection that I have often seen mentioned on the Clarinet Board is to take someone with you to listen during the selection process -- someone whose ears you trust, and who knows what an oboe is supposed to sound like. This might be especially valuable during your final selection process, when you have narrowed your choices down to just a few. Things often sound different to the listener than they do to the player.
The issue about Yamaha oboes cracking is not just folklore. I have read countless reports, over the past year, of new 840s, etc., which just gratuitously crack very early on, with no apparent provocation. I know of one of these situations first-hand (i.e., from the person whose instrument cracked). It was a brand new, top of the line Yamaha in the hands of a seasoned professional player (20 years as principal oboist with a nationally-recognized ensemble), and the oboe didn't just "crack" -- it shattered into a gazillion pieces. He had had it for three weeks.
Having said that, I must add that Yamaha has been very good about replacing these cracked joints (they don't repair them, they replace them). But the hassle factor, at least, would be enough to make me think twice about buying one. Still, there are more than a few "serious" oboists who love their Yamahas.
When I was looking for my "pro" oboe, I was briefly in contact with a major symphony principal (a Yamaha devotee -- not the same person whose oboe cracked) who had some qualms about the newer Lorees, and I have read an extensive and heated discussion of their supposed intonation issues in the upper register. I've never even tried a Loree, so I don't know about them firsthand, but I do know some people who think there is an "issue" with the newer ones. I do think most American oboists consider Loree the "gold standard" of oboes.
Here is an interesting page of "consumer reports" about several oboes.
http://www.wwbw.com/Yamaha-YOB841-Custom-Series-Oboe-i22506.music#custReviews
Note especially the reviews by Robert Howe. At one point, his second review on the page was more extensive -- it seems to have been edited. Bottom line, he chose the Covey Classic over Loree, Laubin, and Yamaha. You might want to consider a Covey, yourself.
Good luck, and keep us posted.
Susan
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