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Re: Looking for an oboe, need help!

Author: Dutchy
Date: 2009-02-11 16:06

The first rule is: never buy an oboe that you haven't played on yourself. This is because an oboe's tone can take different people different ways, and one person's "bright and sweet" can be the next person's "shrill and obnoxious". So try it yourself.

Also, used oboes, even from famous makers like Loree, can vary in how their tone has responded to going through X number of owners, so, again, you never buy one you haven't played on yourself. Reputable dealers in used oboes, whether online or bricks-and-mortar, will allow you to test-play any oboe you're interested in. Usually they ask you to give them a credit card number as surety, and ask you to pay any shipping.

Midwest Musical Imports, RDG Woodwinds, Charles Double Reed, and Nora Post are all reputable online dealers in used oboes.

Do not bother with eBay, it's a total crapshoot and there's no way of telling exactly what you're getting.

A good way to try out different models of oboes is to contact the oboe faculty at any college, and set up a meet time to get together with some other oboists. There will be broad generalities you can make in terms of the makers: Loree, Yamaha, Howarth, Fox, Rigoutat, etc.

Make sure you get Left-Hand F and a low Bb key. And decide whether you want wood or plastic. Plastic is perfectly adequate for community ensemble work; you don't really need all the keywork bells and whistles for that, either.

Some makers are producing lined top joints, or a plastic top joint with a wood body, so think about that, too, before you buy.

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