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Re: Selmer Paris oboe

Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-12-07 20:12

With tuning, if the notes are sharp then filling the tonehole with hard wax (applied with a heated steel rod to the sides of the tonehole) will bring the pitch down, but the best thing to do is overfill it then remove the wax bit by bit until the note issuing from that tonehole is the correct pitch.

The best way is to remove all the keys, and plug the toneholes with Blu-tack and start from the lowest note and work upwards tuning them as you go. Flat notes are treated by opening the toneholes up, and there should be plenty of room to do this in the way the tonehole bedplaces are cut.

But remember to tune notes (all in the low register) such as low D with the C# tonehole closed, likewise with E with the Eb and forked F vent toneholes closed, F# with the F key tonehole closed, A with the G# closed and B with the Bb tonehole closed. If it has a low Bb bell vent (the small pad cup soldered to the bell key at it's lowest end), make sure this remains closed for every note except for low Bb.

It should be an alright instrument to begin playing on and to develop your sound and embouchure with, and well enough to do pit work on provided you know what to do to humour the tuning, but sooner or later you may find the tuning hard to get on with (unless you have sorted it out). The last one I rebuilt, I couldn't play a single scale in tune on it.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

Post Edited (2007-12-07 22:13)

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