Author: DressedToKill
Date: 2006-11-05 14:40
Her name is Francesca Rosalegno. *titter*
Patricola has been around for quite some time...when I was an undergrad, I played a Patricola English horn (in grenadilla), and it was a beautiful instrument. I deeply regret ever selling it...(although now I'm fixated on getting one to match Francesca!)
As for how their sound ages, it's of course an individual-instrument thing, but I had my Patricola English horn for several years, and it just got better and better with time. They take a great deal of care in making their instruments, and they have a very unique (to me, at least) gorgeous velvety round sound that only gets better as it gets older.
I got it for $4,895 (it is new), which I found to be rather a bargain, given the rosewood and gold key options, which on a new Loree, for example, would set you back about 8K, plus the wait time.
One of the things I like about the Patricola brothers is that they season all of their wood for upwards of 13 years before it's used to make an instrument, so the risk of cracking is SIGNIFICANTLY less than most other brands, who kiln-dry their wood for only a year or two.
(And I would DEFINITELY recommend that Patricolas make it to the short-list of anyone considering a new oboe...)
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