Author: Bobo
Date: 2007-06-10 16:42
For what it's worth, I recently bought a new Loree AK to join my old D series Loree from the '70s in the stable...I couldn't get to IDRS and I didn't have the patience or dough to try out a million brands by mail..my efforts to sample a Rigoutat by a local dealer came to nought, I was unable to sample a new Covey, and I didn't even contemplate Laubin because of the wait list...I played a friend's Patricola, and I tried out a Howarth XL as well as a couple of Royals. I agree with everyone who says it is an extremely personal decision and may also be influenced by the luck of the draw on specific oboes you can get your hands on.
Having said that, my experience was that the XL and Royal are simply beautiful instruments to look at, I would even say handsome or noble. However, for me they were heavy, and I wasn't crazy about the timber of certain notes on the XL I tried. Also, my fingers are used to a Loree layout. The Royal is a great instrument, but in addition to the weight, its darker tone may be ideally suited to orchestral playing, but I found that for solo playing, especially classical or baroque, the AK had a more more singing tone with less resistance, especially on notes like the middle C#, where the longer tone holes create more resistance and even a venting sound that I didn't like. On the other hand, I loved the ergonomic feel of the Royal and believe that it would be an easier instrument for me to play very difficult technical passages on, and some say it is more reed friendly than the regular Lorees. Plus, most of my favorite oboists play Royals. However, choosing an oboe is all about tradeoffs..the ideal for me would be to have both a Royal and an AK and to select the instrument depending on the application du jour; alas, my oboe budget is a bit constraining at the moment, but maybe someday! In the end, I tried 4 or 5 AKs along the way and ended up picking one I'm happy with...it is not the perfect instrument, but it will do!
Two very important considerations: don't try to save a few hundred dollars if it means not buying the instrument from a dealer who will stand behind the instrument with a solid 2 year warranty for all repairs and is personally accessible, or a similar arrangement with a repairperson you trust. Second, sales tax is not insignificant here...In New York, we're talking around 8% if you're buying from an in state dealer!! On the other hand, if you sample a lot of oboes by mail, the shipping adds up too.
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