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Re: Oboe Bells

Author: cjwright
Date: 2007-06-21 17:36

A bell can have a huge effect on an oboe. I play a Royal, with a plastic top joint. Recently, I purchased a bell Reamed out by Weber from a G series oboe, and it gives it phenomenally more overtones.

If you think of an oboe as a Stereo System, I think of the Bell as the Speakers. It takes the sound from all of the instrument/reed/musician and amplifies and modifies the sound to give the finishing product. Usually when people buy extra bells, I've only heard of them buying Loree or Covey bells.

In my opinion, Loree bells have a certain design that just "gives more". What I mean is this: it demands more control and flexibility from a player, but it gives more colors and creative options than other bells. AK bells are a bit more darker (I had a NF bell that was so dark, I had at least a dozen people offer $1000 for the bell alone. Needless to say I sold the oboe eventually, not the bell.) while regular bells have a brighter sound to it. I believe this is the reason why the OboeStuff dude under "suggested oboes" lists amongst the group "Buffet (Greenline with Loree AK bell). (Although I've tried Greenline oboes and have thought they're lovely without an AK bell.)

Covey instruments are interesting because 1. Covey is a master technician, and 2. while his top joints and middle joints are quite odd in bore measurements (they're very different from any other brands), it's the bell that brings a Covey Horn to life. Put a Yamaha bell on a Covey, and it's a bizarre, dead-sounding instrument. Meanwhile, put a Covey bell on a Yamaha instrument and it brings it to life. Covey bells on Lorees often have very positive effects.

When I was trying to chose which bell to buy, I was with Mr. Weber and we had about 30 different bells. I had my choice narrowed down to 1 Loree and 2 Coveys. The Covey gave amazing response to the instrument, and made it easier to change dynamics because of that, however I knew that with the "right reed" and proper in-shape setup, I could achieve what I could get from the Covey with the Loree bell, plus the extra quality in the tone.

If you are seriously looking for bells, I'd strongly suggest you call up Mr. Weber and ask to try out some of his bells which he personally reams out. He'll send some on trial to you. Otherwise, if you're interested in regular bells, there's two coveys and a Loree at Oboeworks.

Blog, An Oboe In Paradise
Solo Oboe, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra

Post Edited (2007-06-21 17:41)

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