Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2006-08-14 15:28
Baroque oboe staples are wrapped with heavy thread rather than cork, leaving a substantial space between the bottom of the staple and the bottom of the reed socket. Gonzalo Ruiz has written on the IDRS list that the space is necessary. When he changed the wrap so that the staple met the bore without a break, the oboe barely played at all.
The same holds true of clarinets, which play best in tune when the barrel joint is pulled out one or two millimeters. Also, the bore at the top of the clarinet bell is substantially smaller than at the bottom of the lower joint, which reflects the vibration back up the bore, to strengthen it. (I'm not sure whether oboe bells are this way.)
While it's logical and esthetically pleasing to have every joint match perfectly, the real world often doesn't work that way.
Ken Shaw
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