Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2005-10-30 22:45
Hi VB . . .
Well, you may be astonished at my choice of reed knife from Forrests -- I know it surprised me: the knife I came home with is a Stanley Tools knife handle, which uses blades which they (Stanley) supply. The blade CAN be resharpened (and I did get an india stone for that purpose), but it is cheap enough that it can be replaced when it starts to become a problem.
I suspect this is the kind of knife my usual reedmaker (Kerry) uses -- except his is a Sears Craftsman.
Not particularly sexy, but it really was the one that felt best in my hand. And after following the apparently endless thread on the IDRS list about knife sharpening (which started as a spinoff of my knife question, and is now entering its fourth week of debate and comment), I decided I didn't need to risk having my artistic future bog down perfecting the art of knife sharpening -- reed making and oboe playing will be quite enough for now, thank you.
I am fond of the forked-F + Eb key on my Covey. It is the most in-tune F on the instrument. The "regular" and LHF are WAY sharp, even with the F res key virtually closed. As soon as my next concert is done (next Sunday), I will be sending the oboe to Margaret Noble (Oboeworks) for adjustment, in hopes that she can figure out something to do with that F that I can't figure out. When I got this oboe (from a player light years more capable than I am), the F was so sharp that it was virtually an F#. And stuffy. I got it to come down and open up quite a bit, but it's still not where I would like it to be.
Congrats on your new 441. The 411 was a rental, right? So, did you take the plunge and buy this one?
There is a rule of thumb with new clarinets -- even "high end" models -- that you need to be prepared to take it in for professional adjustment or set up right away. Sounds like your oboe could use this sort of tweaking, too. Grrrr!
On the bright side: you are learning to adjust your own oboe!!
Soldier on!
Susan
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