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Re: Old oboes

Author: cjwright
Date: 2019-06-11 08:27

I'm a Professional oboist and have probably played 200 oboes which are 50 years or older.

In my experience, maybe 30 or 40 of them were "blown out" to the point that were not usable at a high level. This would mean that the interior has lost it's resistance or the left hand notes are too high due to time, age, and warpage. I think blown out is a legitimate situation. This is not saying that they can't be played, but you don't have the confidence in the instrument that you would a newer instrument.

Of those 200, I'd say 80-100 of them have physical issues that could be fixed, but would require some serious work. For example the toneholes might not be level or chipped and therefore will never be able to seal properly unless recut (which could change the acoustics of the instrument if not properly done correctly.) Most commonly the silver is just worn to the point that the instrument doesn't want to stay in adjustment, or the wood doesn't want to hold the silver consistently.

Currently I play on a B series de Lancie model which is probably 60 years old by now. It's a solid instrument without the defects mentioned previously. i love it for it's responsiveness and focus in sound that I haven't found in any other instrument before.

My two cents.

Blog, An Oboe In Paradise
Solo Oboe, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra

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2019-04-23 01:44