Author: heckelmaniac
Date: 2011-10-17 01:04
IDRS Double Reed Journal, vol, 30, #2
"An Interview with Ron Fox, Part II"
has a brilliant and extremely detailed discussion of the myth of oboes "blowing out." I completely concur with Ron Fox- it is just that, a myth.
I can cite a myriad of examples of Loree oboes I havce had made from the 1910s through the 1950s that play exquisitely, and have lifetimes of musical use remaining.
I personally know a number of professional oboists who ONLY will play B series, C series, or A series Loree oboes. As Paul Covey once remarked,
"The C series is unlike anything else Loree has ever made."
Nowadays, the C and B series Loree oboes command premium prices, with good reason.
And truly, the wood of the older instruments overall seems to be superior to the late model instruments. As one of the leading oboe pedagogues in the Boston area commented to me: "Peter, many of my students go and buy new Loree oboes. And, six months later, the oboes do not seem to possess much resemblance to the instruments they thought they had purchased because the wood has moved [warped] so radically or cracked ["exploded"] so dramatically."
Very few makers now seem to age (season) wood for more than a couple of years. And it may be that the word "seasoning" in a maker's prospectus may in fact simply refer to drying the wood in an insulated box at 120 degrees for a couple years. Puchner, Hiniker and Laubin (perhaps some others) I believe age (season) wood for at least 15-20 years, and then, as a final step, dry the wood at 120 degrees for a year or two.
The grenadilla wood commercially available nowadays on the open market seems to be almost invariably from young, "green" trees. It is often extremely porous. So, if you simply take that un-seasoned wood, dry it, and make it into an oboe, it is likely that it may simply "explode" or warp once it begins to absorb moisture.
Installing a half length (or even a full length) P.E.T. polymer or Acrylic bore liner in the upper joint seems to be a help, though only a few makers I know of (such as Laubin, Hiniker) install bore liners as standard practice.
With best wishes,
Peter
Oboes.us
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