Author: huboboe
Date: 2011-12-05 03:57
Hi, DrewSorensen -
I think your analysis of the bore providing overtones and the wall material effecting that overtone set is correct; I once thought that the bore was 98% of the sound. And then, at one of the IDRS conferences a number of years ago I played with a number of different Lorée bells, made by David Weber, on my Lorée oboe. Grenadilla, rosewood, boxwood, Zebrawood, etc. Each bell made an entirely different instrument out of my oboe, sound-wise.
Without going too deeply into why, it seems clear that each maker has developed his set of bore dimensions, hole size and location and the myriad other compromises that result in the distinctive sound of that maker and model. I think that there are so many variables that knowing everything there was to know about the bore of an instrument would only be a part of what gives the instrument it's personality, so I've decided I can learn all I need to know by playing the instrument. A coward's way out, I know, but practical.
A colleage of mine, James Matheson, principal oboe of San Francisco Opera for 43 years (now retired) gave me a list of bore measurements he made of a number of oboes. He used precisely sized discs on long shafts to measure the bores. If you'd like, I'll root around, find them and email the info to you. Contact me separately and give me your email address.
If you have specific questions, David Weber (@webreeds.com) re-bores oboes among his many talents and is a nice guy. Send him questions and I'll bet you get answers...
- Bob
Robert Hubbard
WestwindDoubleReed.com
1-888-579-6020
bob@westwinddoublereed.com
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