Author: Octave C. Crow
Date: 2011-10-17 22:21
I think the car analogy is a good one. Cars wear out and so do oboes. You can keep an old oboe going just like you can an old car. But past the time when the repairs aren't worth it, get a new one.
Continuing the analogy, professional players are like taxi drivers. They are driving too fast, stopping too fast, skipping oil changes, and doing it ten hours a day, seven days a week. So the lifetime of the oboe is seemingly truncated.
The professionals Peter is describing are really over a barrel because they know that those oboes might be great. But they don't want to buy the B, C, or D series oboes any serious player has ever owned.
Rather, on behalf of his clients, Peter wants the B series that was bought in Paris by a benevolent daddy on a business trip...he gave it to his little cupcake as a high school graduation present...it was hardly used and has been in a closet since 19XX...it is not even broken in! These oboes are almost priceless today (to the right people--Peter knows who they are!) because of the possibility that the bore work etc. was superior to the contemporary Loree instruments.
The problem is that the older oboes were much less consistent. Some were fantastic. Some were duds.
Also, setting aside the bore issues--the "machine" does wear down and the keys and rods and bumpers all develop age related symptoms that can be very costly to eliminate--and I really mean eliminate--so that all but those with bottomless pockets will probably find a new instrument (carefully selected) superior.
The lifetime of your oboe is related to how intensely you use it. If you are not practicing or performing daily it might be quite a bit longer.
Also--most professionals keep several oboes. Excalibur comes out only for concerts.
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