Author: JRC
Date: 2010-11-18 20:11
I happened to have an oboe that is in part Laubin. I had it for over 50 years. Its top joint cracked very badly in 1966. So badly in fact, Alfred Laubin recommended not fixing it. He had a shop in Queens then. Instead, he made me a replacement top joint and put back the old keys. The wood of the Laubin joint warped within couple of years, about 4mm bend, but no cracks, all the pads maintain tight fit, and played just fine. It still does today. Laubin is perhaps the most expensive and most sought after oboe today. I wonder why...
I recently bought an old Rigoutat classique bore oboe made in 1960, good wood with no cracks, good key works but needed cleaning up, and most importantly good intonation and the fruity tone color I always wanted. So I asked the top repair tech at the most renowned oboe maker to do the complete overhaul. He asked more than twice as much as few well known repair techs around. It was as much as to purchase a decent intermediate level oboe. But what the heck, I thought. It is my dream oboe, and the last oboe to acquire in my life. I wanted the best of the best for once in my life and so, I was willing to dip into my life savings.
I wanted all cork pads, of course. He brushed off my request that leather pads should be good enough for me. It was a diplomatic nightmare to convince the tech to use all cork pads, I did not want him getting all upset. What I received after he was done was a total disappointment. The pads were leaking like crazy all over. But keys looked nice and tight with new silver plating. It was totally unplayable however. I returned it and got back a little better condition but still impossible to play the low notes. He insisted that it was the oboe design at fault. Most importantly, he tried to talk me into accepting it in such condition because his famous boss thought he did a wonderful job on it. I had to send it to a second tech to redo the pads. It turned out the cork pads he used were too grainy and not really good quality product, and the adjustments were not really done right, bumper corks were not in correct thicknesses, screws were not adjusted properly.... all the basic repair stuff not done properly. He forgave about the half the bill because I was not happy with his work not because he did not perform his job properly. Still he costed more than most other techs for the same work. Then I had to pay the second tech to finish the job. What a nightmare!! What a nerve of this man!! What a display of either unprofessionalism or lack of basic knowledge to perform the work, I am not sure which or both!! What a waste of my life savings!!
I have a beautiful Rigoutat Classique now, after all that. Plays like a dream, sounds like a dream, and fits into my hand like a dream. I do not have much conversation with it. We just play music together. Why Laubin? I wonder.
Post Edited (2010-11-18 21:09)
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