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Re: Poll: How many oboes do you currently own?

Author: sylvangale
Date: 2006-03-07 05:11

Here is my oboe story. lol

I started on a school Selmer oboe back in '96 and purchased a Yamaha 211 oboe sometime after and then got an Ebay bug.

I purchased a grenadilla Lesher oboe from Ebay which was advertised a "Full Conservatory" with a rather bad picture and lo and behold it was missing the left F, but had a ring key. Rather odd, but I did like the Lesher better than my Yamaha oboe and since I got it for a low price I decided to keep it (non-advertised pinned cracks and all). Oh! The really horrid thing about this oboe was that the ad only showed one side of the case... other other side had large spray painted letters and numbers on it and it reeked to high heaven. I used my Yamaha case and let my Yamaha plastic oboe live outside naturally for a while (wrapped in cloth) on a shelf.

One day I happened across an ad for a Platz oboe on Ebay which had full keywork except for a ring key. It really had no history, but I did find one reference of it being used through university study (IDRS mail search turned THAT up) and saw the maker referenced on a reputable oboe repairers site (who then in the later IDRS discussion I mention brings up that Platz instruments WERE student instruments). I bid on it and won. Well the thing was simply unplayable. Took it to a couple of local repair people and they couldn't do anything. Even took it to RDG and they improved it some, but left a letter in the case about the instrument being a student instrument that will never play well... Well! I was determined to get this oboe to play and I bought Carl Sawicki's guide to oboe repair and adjusted the oboe myself... IT PLAYED! [ Oh dear... and I was really upset at RDG since obviously the repair person didn't put effort into adjusting the oboe... but charged me for an adjustment!... I wrote an e-mail on the IDRS mailing list at the time and that certainly wasn't well received as many regarded RDG well. (and it was a real shame the the repair person WAS really someone of repute that did the adjustment and wrote the letter) ]

Anyhoo... the Platz is now a wonderful oboe that plays well in tune with no problems.

So... my Yamaha went to Ebay eventually. I kinda missed it, but then I never played the thing when I had the Lesher and more so when I got the Platz working.

And then I bid on a Loree sometime after this last Christmas and I won it for an obscenely low bid. It really was in need of an overhaul though. The body was perfect, but the bell had a crack which I had a repair person fix (another one that couldn't adjust a oboe!). It plays decently enough, but reed chamber is HUGE and it lacks a left F (another fuzzy picture... I thought ALL Lorees had full keywork... go fig). I was thinking about trying to get the chamber plated so that I can actually use modern oboe reeds. I can only use Kathryn DiCola's in it, which are nice, but after being used in my Platz they don't fit the Loree anymore.

I find my Platz plays more in tune, but is quite resistant (though not as resistant as my Yamaha), but the Loree has a lovely resistance and notes kinda feel set in place... however with some tuning issues. The Lesher is the least resistant of them all and by comparison... flat as a pancake across it's whole range.

In short... I own 3 oboes.