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Re: make of oboe

Author: wrowand
Date: 2006-07-27 15:19

Here are my impressions of the Yamaha 841:
By and large the 841s have a very good scale. Generally better than the many Lorees and the 5 or 6 Marigaux that I've tried. The low register is much easier and better in tune than both Loree regular and AK bores though not quite as easy as it is on a Marigaux. The high register above high C, and particularly the high C# and D, are down to pitch and don't have to be lipped down in relationship to the 2nd octave-key notes as on most Lorees. The only tuning issues I've encountered on my current 841 were with the middle and high B-nat and B-flat, which were slightly flat. This was easily remedied by increasing the undercutting.

The tone on the 841 is generally darker, though less "refined" (by that I mean there is a little bit more noise in the tone) compared to most Lorees. But, the tone is very even over the range of the instrument, more so, in my opinion, than most Lorees and Marigaux.

The keywork on the Yamaha is good. I haven't found it to be bendy at all. The oboe holds its adjustment as well as any I've tried. It's not as elegant as Loree keywork, but I haven't found there to be any problems in getting around on the instrument. I don't find Marigaux keywork to be quite as nice as Loree either and I find that the left-hand F key on the Marigaux 901 is lower (requiring a farther reach) than is comfortable for me (having played Lorees for 25 years), and from a purely aesthetic point-of-view, I don't think much of the Marigaux 2000 or M2 keywork. But that's just a matter of taste, chacun a son gout.

The Yamaha I'm currently playing is a one-year-old Kingwood 841T and it has three cracks. I've had them all repaired and there has been no effect on the sound. I don't know if this is a large number of cracks for a kingwood instrument or not.

I've heard that the Loree Royale has a generally better scale than their regular model but I haven't tried enough of these to know for myself. I also haven't tried enough other makers like Buffet, Fossati, Rigoutat or Howarth to have an opinion about them, although there are many fine players who play on them and sound great. Of course there are many wonderful sounding players of Lorees, Marigaux, Yamaha and Laubin as well. A friend of mine was trying a Buffet recently that had the most beautiful sound of any oboe I've ever tried. I don't know whether this was typical and I didn't play the oboe long enough to have an opinion about any other aspect of it.

I think it's great that we've lived to see the day when there are so many companies producing quality oboes.

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