 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: ikum1
Date: 2008-10-02 21:52
Could anyone recommend a good oboe d'amore reed maker ?
Thanks.
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Author: hautbois
Date: 2008-10-04 13:01
Since d'amore has been a specialty of mine, I did, some time back, purchase sample d'amore reeds from a few different places to see if some things those makers were doing would improve my reeds. I did not find anything that worked for me, and stayed with my own reedmaking set-up. Since players have such different needs and the bocals and instruments make such a difference it is hard to recommend one brand as good and another one as not good. I did find the Stuart Dunkel reeds to be serviceable for me for home practice, though they closed down too much compared to my reeds. The Charles ones were way too long and open for me. The KGe ones were too hard for me, but well-made. Most of my playing experience was on a Loree d'amore, though over the last few years I moved to a new Marigaux d'amore. I use a Laubin bocal on both instruments. Maybe that will help.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-10-04 19:46
I've tried several d'amore specific reeds, but they all proved tough going. I'm currently using a modified K-Ge cor anglais reed that I've cut down in length and scraped back further (and rewired) which is having good results on my old Marigaux d'amore. I'm currently using a Howarth 1B2 crook that came with it (as well as the two Marigaux crooks, so I have a choice of three).
Elizabeth, how do you find the tuning on the trill keys (B-C# and C-D) on your Marigaux d'amore? I've filled the trill key toneholes in quite a bit to bring them down to pitch as they were pretty wild, though as my d'amore is German spec (912) I can always play B-C# trills by trilling with LH finger 1 only - I had to fill the C# trill so much to bring it down to pitch it's a bit on the hissy side in the lower register, but this 'hissing' can be controlled with the embouchure.
I suppose that as there is only a small percentage of d'amores made in comparison to oboes and cors, research and development isn't exactly paramount with them as it is on the more popular members of the oboe family.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2008-10-04 19:47)
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Author: hautbois
Date: 2008-10-05 00:15
Chris -- A crack occured through the trillers of my Marigaux d'amore, and inserts were installed; the intonation for the B-C# trill has been fine with those inserts, and I do not recall any problem prior to their installation. I do not think that many Marigaux d'amores are made at all these days. When I first contacted them about an instrument they had none and could not locate any at their distributors in the USA either. Basically, after much persistance (perhaps annoying) on my part, I was told that they inserted the manufacture of one for me in their production schedule. In design it is closer to the 901 oboe than the 2001 oboe (which is the oboe I have). And, unlike the Loree, it has no 'rocker' mechanism complicating the D, E & F resonance adjustments. It also has a low B resonance key at the very bottom of the middle joint. It is lovely to play -- very smoothe -- though initially there were a number of intonation matters to which I had to adjust or which I had the instrument adjusted to accomodate. The one remaining intonation problem, which takes measurable effort for me to adjust while playing, is the third octave D. It is quite flat. Otherwise, all the intonation is now comfortable.
Glad to hear of another Marigaux d'amore fan.
Elizabeth
Elizabeth
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-10-05 03:56
My Marigaux d'amore is from 1979 but has seen very little use judging by the condition it was in when I bought it last year as it still had the original pads and key corks, as well as the wood still having a highly polished finish. I stripped it down and repadded it with cork pads throughout. I thought for £2000 I couldn't go wrong, and chances of getting a d'amore for that price is a rare opportunity in itself.
I have to be aware of the upper register F# and G as the F# can be a bit flat against the G, but slight embouchure corrections are enough to keep it sweet. The open C# is a bit on the sharp side (this is the only oboe that I can play C# as an open note on) so I'll probably fill that tonehole in as well.
I've had a thumbplate and 2nd 8ve touchpiece added to it - the thumbplate wasn't essential but I had a better one fitted as there was a pretty crude one already fitted on there (I also find thumbplates comfortable, like the thumb button on saxes and it makes some arpeggios much easier), but the 2nd 8ve touch was a more pressing issue as I'd go for top A-C and hit the trill key overlevers with my LH1 knuckle instead as there was no 2nd 8ve key there. It's still fully automatic, but I now have the security of the 2nd 8ve touch (which duplicates the action of the thumb 8ve key).
I've disengaged the conservatoire 1-2-3 mechanism (any RH fingers could be used for Bb and C) as it interfered with some resonance/tuning fingerings but I have kept the low B-C link engaged (I might fit one to my Marigaux cor as well) and the low B vent is soldered directly to the key barrel. It has a roller F key and the F resonance key on the underside, and the fork F vent is the closed type as found on oboes due to the RH main action toneholes being in their correct place - they don't need the cor anglais type open forked F vent with the floating rocker due to the tonehole placement, only the older style ones with the tiny E tonehole need this.
Mine doesn't have a 3rd 8ve key, but I could always fit one at any point in time, though I don't think it's essential as the top E and F speak easily enough (and the highest note I've seen written so far on d'amore is a high E in St. Matthew's Passion).
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2008-10-05 04:12)
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Author: hautbois
Date: 2008-10-05 13:26
Chris -- There actually is a high F slipped into St. Matthew -- for orchestra I d'amore I, beginning of the second Part, @mm84. And I am pretty sure I have had to play it in other music as well, though right now I can't place which work. I agree with you about the third octave key generally; in my old Laubin, which had no third octave key, there was never a problem.
I wonder if there is a timbre difference between the old and the new Marigaux d'amores. From your description it appears that there is some keywork difference (beyond the fact that my instrument is semi-automatic and yours is fully so). Your purchase price certainly was different! Sounds like a great buy.
Elizabeth
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-10-05 15:59
Looking at the current Marigaux d'amore http://www.marigaux.com/english/?marigaux=instruments/ and an earlier model (in Anthony Baines' book) there have only been some minor differences over the 40-50 years between them.
I'd suspect they won't sound altogether too different from one another in as much as one oboe will sound slightly different to an identical model when compared side by side, but that's only speculation.
What is interesting is that this d'amore has the original Marigaux case, but the name inside the case lid reads:
W.Lohff - U.Henze
P.Herren
DÜSSELDORF
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: oboeidaho
Date: 2008-10-15 06:25
I ordered several different d'amore reeds and also (just as backup) some shaped cane and a couple tubes. I ended up hating all the reeds I ordered (from the usual places) and found the reeds I made to be great - if you can make eh reeds you will probably be fine. I believe the cane I used was from Forrests - the only shaped cane they carried (no choices), same with the tubes.
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