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Re: Old Professional Oboes

Author: Bucky Badger
Date: 2003-06-05 13:44

Buying an oboe or any instrument is more complicated. First listing professional grade instruments is ok but are you willing to pay full price for a professional grade instrument? Persons who have purchased pro grade instruments usually still have their instruments. What you find on the used instrument market (especially ebay) are usually high school student instruments of people who have given up the instrument. You also have instruments of all kinds that are worn out---keywork not as tight as it should be, pads even if new not seating the same way twice.
When you play any instrument what you hear is not what the people in the audience hear. Overtones and the tone of the instrument takes a number of feet to generate before what an instrument really sounds like.
To you what sounds great is sound you hear through your jaw bones. Therefore you need someone around who can tell you from a distance what an instrument sounds like.
You have to seek out someone who knows what a good tone sounds like to listen from say 30 feet away in a good room. You also need someone who isn't trying to sell you "their store brand " instrument. I would take say a university oboe instructor some instruments to test for you and get their impressions or the instrument. Also sit some distance away from the playing to get an idea of how the instrument sounds. You, of course, will not sound the same but you will get an idea of the potential of the instrument.
Each make of oboe has some minor differences of keywork that you can work around (usually) to get technically proficient on keywork techniques. When I was playing oboe early on I played school owned instruments and it wasn't until after college I made my own oboe purchase. The prior-to-owning experiences taught me what i DID NOT want in the oboe I would own. It's not the best to have a $3500 oboe what you later find out is not right for you.

jim buchholz

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