Author: OboeCraig
Date: 2012-03-23 14:18
Robin,
I recorded that part in my favorite location for recording in my house, outside my office on the 1st floor. The floor plan is hard to describe but is open, and assymetrical, multi-tiered with a spiral staircase that adds other acoustical benefits for recording.
For this piece I wanted a reed with a full quality of sound at soft levels of play, and it turned out some old Ghys cane I had did that for me.
I wish I had lots of that cane but, alas.
Anyway,I play American scrape in the Philly style usually, use 46 mm Glotin staples and Brannon X-narrow for a shape. I gouge on RDG w/11 mm bed now, but I think the Ghys was gouged on my old Graf with a double-radius gouge.
One of the things I like so much about this Covey oboe is the full tone quality at soft levels of play. And when I want to go loud, it does that while maintaining pitch and center of sound.
I recorded this in Pro Tools using an Audio Technica large-diaphram condenser mic (AT-4033a) and I apply a high pass filter when I record treble instruments to keep environmental noise to a minimum. I played standing with the mic at head height and pointed down to the middle of my oboe from about 3 feet away.
BTW, a good oboe friend of mine, principal oboe for the Longmont Symphony, soaks her reeds for an hour, all the way up to the thread. I've never seen anyone do that, but it works fine for her. She says it keeps the reeds from drying out while playing, which can be a problem here in Colorado, for sure.
I've taken to soaking blanks like that a few times between tying and scraping.
Since I tie up large batches only a couple times a year, they get really dry, and I find a few soaking cycles a couple days before I make the reed play is doing good things.
Fairly new development for me, but so far, so good.
Post Edited (2012-03-23 14:22)
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