Author: mschmidt
Date: 2010-08-08 17:26
I was asked by jhoyla in another thread to report on "the Lorée," the oboe which has recently shown up in my signature, and I thought I'd do it here, where my Laubin trials were detailed.
Upon the recommendation of Cooper, I sought out a certain AK bore c+3 of the NY series, and got two other Q* series Lorées on trial as a comparison. The NY was clearly superior in the opinion of myself and my teacher, who said it was about as good an AK c+3 as could be had. I was initially a bit disappointed--"this was as good as they get?"--when played side-by-side with my Marigaux. My quartet-mates unanimously favored the sound of the Marigaux in side-by-side blind tests--playing some middle-of-the-staff music. My teacher favored the Lorée when I played a the first bit Ferling etude on it and my Marigaux. It was etude #3; a lot of high C's. And that is where the Lorée really shines--a more covered sound, and better intonation on the second-octave-key notes.
My teacher tried not to push the Lorée too hard, saying that it might be better to stick to something I was more used to making reeds for, etc. Upon her suggestion, I got a mid-90's Marigaux 901 on trial, but it wasn't up to the level of my Marigaux or the Lorée. This was helpful in pointing out to me that the difference in the sounds of my Marigaux and the Lorée weren't all differences in make, but differences , but differences in the individual instruments. I decided that the Lorée was a good instrument, a worthy companion to my Marigaux, with just a bit of a different style of timbre, neither better nor worse. And, as I play it, I am starting to appreciate that timbre for what it is. It seems to me more "French." It requires a slightly more disciplined approach in making reeds, but becoming more adaptable in my reed-making approach is hardly a bad thing. It's probably not the oboe I will be clutching in my final moments, but it's a good learning experience and a wonderful oboe that I won't have trouble selling if I find something I like better. And now I can collect the rest of my insurance money!
Mike
Still an Amateur, but not really middle-aged anymore
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