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Re: Weird reed

Author: jhoyla
Date: 2008-01-17 09:01

Firstly - superb news that cracks are not to blame. I would still take a reed to your repairman and check that you can easily blow the low notes, before accepting the repair! Do the vacuum test with him and let him show you how it is done.

Regarding leaks: here is a quote from an article in the IDRS magazine Vol. 22 No. 1, entitled:

Great Oboes of the Twentieth Century
The Collaboration of W. Hans Moennig and Marcel Tabuteau

"In addition to the tuning of the oboe, Mr.
Tabuteau insisted on having an instrument that
was hermetically sealed for maximum response. To
check the air seal of the oboe, Mr. Moennig would
hold the top joint in playing position. By wedging
his right forefinger in the upper tenon socket and
fingering G, he would place his lips on the reed well
and pull an air vacuum. He would finger G-sharp
and begin timing the suction by counting the
number of seconds before the G-sharp pad key
would spring open. Mr. Tabuteau insisted that the
G-sharp pad key remain closed for a minimum of
thirty seconds."

That, in my book, means totally sealed. I would not accept any leakage as "normal for oboes". I believe that tiny, residual leakage is "acceptable" in the sense that the oboe will play and speak easily, with light finger pressure and a well-sealing reed. I have heard numbers quoted from 8 through 15 seconds, and here we read of the standards that M. Tabuteau insisted upon. 30 seconds is achievable with a good instrument with no cracks, undamaged and well-seated pads, and perfect regulation.

Go and read Cooper Wrights blog where he describes how to seat a cork pad correctly, here:

http://barbaratheoboe.wordpress.com/2007/12/28/bc-english-horn-and-hannah/

J.

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Weird reed new

vboboe

2007-12-17 06:01