 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: doddel
Date: 2018-04-03 15:15
I just picked up a beautiful BB serial number cor anglais last week. It plays well throughout the scale, but the A# is extremely sharp, almost identical to the B. Any suggestions on how I can tune this?
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Author: oboist2
Date: 2018-04-04 01:28
I would assume that you have checked the height of the little key that opens over the A# - if this does not open far enough, this can make the A# pitch too sharp. There may also be a build up in the tone hole so it should be checked and cleaned. Failing that, I would strongly suggest that you put the instrument in the hands of a good tech ( one who knows enough about and works on oboes and cors as a major part of his business). I assume that you are not in the US ( otherwise you would be calling it an English Horn) - is it a thumb plate model? If you are in Australia, I would suggest you send the instrument to Richard Craig in Adelaide. He is a superb tech who was trained and worked for Howarth, If you are in the UK, maybe sending to Howarth, or even Loree for that matter. You will be pleased you did. Finding a good technician who knows his way around our instrument, and fostering a good relationship with them, is, I think better than trying to repair anything but the very basic adjustment.
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Author: doddel
Date: 2018-04-04 17:48
thanks for your help!
I am in continental Europe. I could take it directly to Loree in Paris, but I kinda enjoy trying to solve these kind of things myself ;-) If I make it worse, I can still go to Paris, but it's so much more rewarding to fix something yourself! (It helps that I didn't pay top dollar for the instrument!)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2018-04-05 01:08
"I would assume that you have checked the height of the little key that opens over the A# - if this does not open far enough, this can make the A# pitch too sharp. There may also be a build up in the tone hole so it should be checked and cleaned."
If the venting of the top joint Bb tonehole (the small pad cup immediately above the LH3 fingerplate) is too low or the tonehole is occluded, then that will cause it to be stuffy or flat rather than sharp.
If the Bb is too sharp (in both registers) and all the other notes speak easily over the entire range, then the top joint Bb tonehole may have been enlarged for whatever reason which has thrown this note out of tune.
If that is the case, then removing the top joint main action keys and filling in the Bb tonehole with wax to bring it down to pitch is your best option. You can add more wax until it's brought down to pitch or if you've added too much and it's too flat, then remove some to bring it into tune.
Use a heated metal rod (a spare rod screw will do) to apply and shape the wax to retain a round tonehole, but having more of the wax on the top side of the tonehole to effectively move the tonehole lower down the top joint and further away from the reed.
Only fill in the top part of the tonehole and don't go into the uncdercutting. If you get any wax on the flat recess around the tonehole (inside the rim), then scrape that out with a toothpick or an old clarinet reed with the tip cut square so it won't scratch or chip the wood.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: oboist2
Date: 2018-04-05 02:27
Thanks Chris P for your input - You have corrected a couple of points that I was told by a professional player, but I always wondered how true it was. When I was young, I used to try and fix minor things myself, but as my eyesight is not what is once was, nor my fingers as dexterous, I rely on a good tech more and more.
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