 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: oxrclay
Date: 2016-02-02 15:10
Hi,everyone, I'm Alex form Taiwan. I'm using a YAMAHA 831 and a 2-hand Marigaux 901 oboe. The 901 oboe has a flat pitch of high A natural (B & C are certianly also flat). So what coud I do? I saw one method is to enlarge the top hole of the instrument. Will it do? or some other methods to improve the pitch? Thanks.
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Author: mjfoboe
Date: 2016-02-02 17:34
This sounds like a bore problem ... when there is a discrepancy between the two octaves. It needs to go back to Marigaux to be adjusted. One thing you might try before "reaming" the bore is changing the octave vent size to bring up the pitch. Sometimes that will work.
However, in your case if the A,B, C, also have significantly different problems in pitch and timbre - it might also require some undercutting and tuning. This is something you want an experienced repair to do.
In either event I would contact Marigaux .... you can try IM on Facebook...or email. They are a very good company and very accommodating too.
Mark
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Author: jhoyla
Date: 2016-02-02 17:52
Just because a reed plays well in your Yamaha doesn't mean it is a good match for your Marigaux.
You should try with a slightly shorter reed with a shorter staple. I test my reeds intonation in that register, and a flat A-Bb-B-C range is indicative of a flat reed.
Please, please don't start drilling out or reaming your Marigaux on your own! This can only have disastrous consequences, and you may destroy a perfectly good instrument. the 901 is one of the all-time great instruments and you are lucky to have one.
Good luck!
J.
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Author: mjfoboe
Date: 2016-02-02 19:20
I agree .... please ensure the problem resides with the Oboe and not with anything else;especially the reed~! Each Manufacturer's Oboe has its own characteristics.
When I moved from a Loree to a Marigaux 901 I changed my reeds .... staple, scrape, shaper tip etc.
Bore adjustments etc ..... should be the last issue after all else has failed.
Why not let someone else play the Marigaux and get a few opinions from different players? That way you can see if the problem persists across all players.
Mark
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Author: oxrclay
Date: 2016-02-03 13:05
There's a common sense in China and Taiwan that Marigaux 901 has a flat pitch in high ABC. and I've tried many 901s and sure it is. Maybe Chinese use wrong reeds for the instrument. I agree that Marigaux 901 is a wonderful instrument and many of us are using it, but the flat pitch is also a problem. I'd like to ask if you have a common pitch problems in Europe or America? Thanks.
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Author: HautboisJJ
Date: 2016-02-04 09:49
DON'T change the bore!
It's definitely a reed problem. The Yamaha can take big dark reeds at the top of the scale. The Marigaux reacts completely different; a reed with a wide shape, but overlapped, and scraped down quite a lot, will help to bring the pitch up in that area. The Marigaux can be played with much less "lip" in this way and is in my opinion the way it is meant to be played; the Yamaha on the other hand, is something completely different, and can take reeds which blades "sit inside one another".
A video of me playing a Marigaux M2 with a reed slightly too big for it's own good, i have since started playing on an even smaller setting but i think this gives a reasonable impression of the sound:
https://www.facebook.com/KOJEREEDS/videos/1295536900473213/
Best of luck.
Regards,
Howard
Malaysia
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Author: mjfoboe
Date: 2016-02-04 20:46
I agree that all aspects of the problem MUST be examined before any modifications are made to an Oboe; however, I will share my story.
I have a gorgeous Marigaux 901 - with a warm resonant inviting tone. When I bought the Oboe I had some changes made to the key work to better fit my fight hand ... and I had a few notes undercut etc ... to improve the overall consistency of the scale and timbre.
I adjusted my reed style, changed shaper tip, staple opening and length all to better fit my Marigaux.... (different from my old Loree).
Sometimes it takes times to assess a problem .... I noticed after playing the Oboe for awhile .... there was a slight discrepancy between the Octaves (if the A=440 then the upper register was sharp). I compensated for this by making very good reeds; however, I started to contemplate whether I should buy another Oboe....something I really didn't want to do ... since the instrument was so lovely.
I contact Marigaux and met them at the NYC IDRS conference. They changed the octave vent ... and more importantly they worked on the bore. 75% of the adjustment was finished at the conference ... which corrected the problem and the last 25% was finished in Paris the workshop.
Well the problem was resolved! And I to continue to have a wonderful Oboe.
When I asked my repair people and the dealer why they told me the problem couldn't be solved by them. They later replied/confirmed they didn't have the proprietary reamers/tools to do the job.
So yes .... sometimes the bore must be examined ..... it should be the last intervention and recommended by a very very seasoned repair person and better yet by the manufacturer.
Bravo to Marigaux Oboe ... a great company.
Mark
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Author: HautboisJJ
Date: 2016-02-05 05:43
Marigaux is indeed a great company. I too had small adjustments made to my oboe in the recent two years, and at no point did the company present any form of arrogance to dispute the possibility of my "problem" being non existent, although i knew personally that my requests were not necessarily needed; intonation "problems" reflects the way you express on a particular instrument, and is also highly dependent on the kind of reeds you play. It's an oxymoron. What Albrecht Mayer describes as an oboe with a blank slate, without a character, i just don't believe exists. My M2 is playing better than ever. When the reeds are right, the most vibrant sound and dynamics are possible... Godsend...
Howard
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Author: oxrclay
Date: 2016-02-06 16:12
Thanks!! thanks so such! I learned a lot and will continue to explore in the oboe field!
Alex
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Author: veggiemusician
Date: 2016-03-16 14:49
This is why there are many top oboe makers - everyone is different! Some oboists need a flatter instrument to blow into... others need a sharp instrument to relax into. One of many reasons I play a Marigaux is because it sits on the flat side of in-tune. There is nothing worse than an instrument that is on the sharp side of in-tune at the start of the concert going really sharp in the second half.
Jerome Broun
Principal Oboe UAE NSO Symphony Orchestra
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