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Re: Need to adjust oboe, I have Sawicki, do I need anyone else?

Author: huboboe
Date: 2011-05-14 07:57

Some further thoughts on adjusting the oboe (or any woodwind)...

Some years ago - 1980, in fact - I decided to expand my economic base and apprenticed myself to a good friend who was a well regarded woodwind repairman. I spent a year with him, and here are some of the things I learned:

It's a given that the pad must cover (seal) all the way around - although there is a school which says felt pads (skin pads) should hit in back slightly before the front, since as the pad travels in an arc and the front travels faster and further than the back. I don't hold with this, but it is true that if it hits in front first it will never close in back. I make all of my pads touch all the way around at the first instant of contact. Cork pads don't compress the way skin pads do, so it is supremely important that they be perfectly level.

Given the above, you will be dealing with the balance between 2 keys, the active key closed by your finger and the passive key closed by the active key. If the balance is very far off, whichever pad closes first will prevent the other from closing. If the adjustment is only slightly off then heavy finger pressure might overcome the resistance of the first-closing pad, allowing the later-closing pad to seal, but this is a terrible solution. Ideally, both pads will close at the same time with very light finger pressure (resulting in an equal drag with your paper feeler for both pads). Then normal playing pressure will solidly seat both pads.

Aside: with all due respect to Pat McFarland, who is a good friend, I cannot comprehend why he would suggest a passive key be lighter than it's active counterpart. Then to get it to close solidly you would need to use excessive pressure on the active key. Perhaps I am misunderstanding you, Craig...

Once that principle is understood, the major difference between the descriptive books is the numbers assigned to the keys. Forget about that. They all do the same thing with different numbers. Just start from the top down, as Pat said.

Look at the oboe. Your RH 1st finger (or Barrett thumplate, if that's your setup) opens and closes the little C and Bb pads. Adjust the screw that balances these two until they close evenly. (Look at the book the first couple of times to cement the location of the screw in your mind, but let the mechanism tell you what it can...) Now your A finger (second finger) closes the little C pad, so balance those two. Your G finger closes the little Bb pad, so balance that pair.

Your G# key opens the G# pad and your RH 1st finger bridge key closes it. Adjust that pair, being sure the side bridge keys are aligned. And so on down the horn. E finger and D finger both close the F# pad. Adjust them separately. Your E finger also closes the F resonance key when you finger a forked F. It is best to back off that adjustment until you finish the previous two (F# pad closed by the E and D keys) and then adjust it after you know the previous two are correct.

The low C key closes the LH Eb, the low B key closes the C# pad and the low B and Bb are balanced by the screw at the lower end of the bottom joint just above the bell joint bridge.

That's it. Ten quick adjustments and you're good to go.

There are other screws useful for adjusting key rise to correct intonation, but that's a different story.

I make my feelers out of narrow (1 to 1 1/2 mm) strips of cigarette paper glued into bamboo BBQ skewers with hot glue or contact cement. They are easy to make and, because of the length of the skewer, easy to put where you want them and sensitive to the feel.

There is a school, especially among flute, clarinet and sax mechanics who are using soft pads, that adjusts the passive key slightly heavier than the active key, on the argument that under ordinary playing conditions, normal finger pressure will overcome the resistance of the active key to closing and assure a tight seal.

I don't subscribe, and, especially with cork pads, it's a really bad idea.
If a pad closes, it's closed and there's nothing to be gained by squeezing it harder. When everything closes evenly with light pressure it promotes a light touch and a faster, cleaner technique.

That's my 2 cents for tonite. Hope it helps...

Robert Hubbard
WestwindDoubleReed.com
1-888-579-6020
bob@westwinddoublereed.com

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