 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: floboist
Date: 2012-11-27 19:17
Hello everyone! I am originally a flutist and have a degree in flute. Since graduating, I've taken up oboe and have been playing 2 years now, with private lessons with the best teacher I could find in my part of the state.
Currently, I have a fox 330 which was my stepsons oboe (how convenient!) and this is what I've been playing on. I know this is regarded as a very good intermediate oboe, and I agree, but here are my issues:
I love playing oboe, in many ways more than flute. I definitely practice an hour a day around 5 days a week but I think I would practice more if I had a different oboe. I feel like the oboe's mechanism is so klunky and hard to play with an ultra light touch. I am not sure if it's just because I've been spoiled by playing hours and hours a day for years of my life on ultra smooth professional flute mechanisms. The oboe has been serviced and adjusted and periodically my teacher looks over it to make sure it's fine, so I don't think that there's anything wrong with the oboe per se, I think I just don't like the oboe itself! I have small delicate hands and I definitely feel a difference between certain flute mechanisms and some flutes are much more comfortable than others. Is oboe the same way? I don't have any experience playing another oboe other than I got to play my teacher's Loree once and it felt like butter!
I want to spend more time on oboe and get really good at it. But I know that takes time and more practice than what I'm putting into it. I've had a few gigs here and there and I've yet to see another oboist play on a plastic instrument, they all have beautiful Lorees, even in the community bands I've encountered. Why is that?
I have a hard time justifying the money to spend on another oboe when I already have a pretty nice oboe and I just do this for fun.... although I'd love if it could turn into something more, perhaps an extra income on the side.... weddings, holiday gigs, etc. would be fabulous. I think I could persuade my husband for an oboe for my birthday in July, and could probably spend up to $5,000 before either one of us would have a stroke. He's a flutist as well and is understanding of having an appropriate instrument.
So thoughts? Will a different oboe make a difference or should I just learn to play what I have? Is it just in my head? Should I just try out some used instruments and see if I notice a difference? When I asked my teacher about it briefly she said if I was going to spend money on a new (used) oboe, I should just go in for an English horn... but that's not something I want to get into, at least at this point.
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Author: oboi
Date: 2012-11-27 20:30
If you're a professional musician, you're going to hear right away the difference between an intermediate and professional instrument. Even though I'm just an advanced amateur, even hearing an intermediate instrument almost grates my ear nowadays. Rather than listen to someone's technique, I just go, "ohhh, that is sooo not a good oboe!" So, once you switch, there is no going back. I think I played for about 2 years before getting my oboe. Wasn't necessary at that point, but I knew I would be approaching the time soon where having an inferior instrument could hamper my progress. So I went for it.
Keywork feel can be VERY different. And if you have small hands, the ergonomics can make a big difference. I noticed that my Marigaux has a longer left F key than what I see in pictures, so it must have been made that way/adjusted and I am very thankful for that. Definitely something I will have to have when I get my next oboe. My instrument is way lighter than a Howarth, which is what most people that I know play on. Sound is quite different, too.
The issue with EH is finding places to play it. I've been making an effort to play it as much as I can, by using it in my normal practice routine, and to occasionally practice my oboe rep with. Also, I've cannabalized some of the sax and trombone parts in my orchestra and transposed them for EH. Otherwise, I really don't have a use for it. I have to make opportunities to play it.... Also, before splurging on an EH, make sure you really want to play it first. I know some people that hate it, some people love it.
So, if I had a choice, I'd go for a pro oboe first. The advantage of playing the oboe is that you do tend to get offered a lot of gigs because there are so few of us out there. A lot of people have nice oboes here as well.... I don't know why. I mean in my community orchestra, both me and the other oboist have pro oboes and EH's. Too much cash to burn? Try out the potential instruments first, though. I didn't because I live in the middle of the oboe desert, but if you have the chance to try before you buy, certainly do that.
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Author: Oboelips
Date: 2012-11-27 21:24
Greetings!
I too, was a flutist (for 20-some years) before picking up the oboe. No oboe will ever feel as agile as a pro flute. It takes more 'work' to make an oboe sound agile than what it does on a flute. Apples and Carrots. However, the oboe has many things to recommend it--it still is agile--just not as agile as a flute. The sound and color, and how it touches your soul win the argument for oboe.
I too, have small hands (I'm 5'3, and wear a size 5.5 ring) After playing a Loree for years, my current 'good' oboe is a professional Rigoutat--it's just easier on my hands with a sound that my blind panel said was beyond the Lorees that I auditioned. Works for me.
Keep at it & good luck!
Oboefully,
Deb
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Author: DrewSorensenMusic
Date: 2012-11-28 00:20
In my humble opinion, I would have a longer talk with your teacher about the subject. Getting information here is good, so you don't go into the lesson unknowing. List the pros and cons of each purchase: "new" oboe and English Horn. Discuss them with your teacher. He/she should be able to tell you why he/she wants you to purchase the EH first. If you trust your teacher, then you should do as he/she suggests. If you don't, you should get a new teacher.
I'm a doubler. Yes, when I purchased used Loree (for less than $5,000), it was quite a step in the right direction. I do not have an EH, but I want one really really badly. An expensive hobby if your up for it.
Drew S.
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Author: ptarmiganfeather
Date: 2012-11-28 00:42
Hello. I play the oboe on a recreational level, and am also looking to upgrade to a pro instrument. I play in a local community band and at church. I took a long break from the oboe and needed something to re-learn on.
After playing seriously (albeit more as a hobby) for a little over a year I have outgrown my fox 333.
Will a different oboe make a difference or should you just learn to play what you have? I say put your doubts to rest and try some used pro models. I think you have learned to play what you have already and should upgrade. But that is just me, I am no professional, only a hobbyist.
I hope you find a perfect instrument for a good price.
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Author: WoodwindOz
Date: 2012-11-28 03:12
Hi!
Another converted flute player here...I am a professional flute player with a degree who also turned to oboe because I liked trying new instruments...except this one attached itself to me in a major way!
I started on a beat-up Cabart that cost me $300. Nice instrument in its day...but well past its prime! I was beginning to wonder if I should upgrade, but then my hand was forced when my tech couldn't even get the oboe in adjustment, let alone make it stay that way!
I managed to locate pretty much the only used pro oboe available in Australia - a Marigaux 901. While it was meant to replace my old oboe and make me not have to replace it again any time soon, I was surprised how much my playing improved with it. (And again, when I started making my own reeds.)
The Marigaux is a beautiful instrument, but if I had had the choice, it is not the most comfortable one for my hands. Despite the fact that I am tiny in stature, I have crazy long fingers, and I have to bend quite far back to reach the LH stack (did a mock audition on Le Tombeau today, and I really struggle hitting that B key cleanly!). This tells me it is probably more suited to small-to-average hands (though my particular instrument is relatively heavy).
It's not a flute, and will never be as agile as a flute. But a pro instrument did much more for me than I expected. It would definitely be worth looking into a good used pro oboe. And as a flute player who doesn't normally deal with wood, there won't be the playing in procedure to deal with (partly why I went with used pro rather than new intermediate).
I hope it works out for you! It is nice to know I am not the only flute-defector around... :P
Rachel
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Author: Jeltsin
Date: 2012-11-28 08:28
I too started as a flute player, actually I started as a baritone singer.
Today I have three oboes but no English Horn, two professioal oboes and one intermediate.
I don´t think it´s a rule that a professional oboe sounds better than an intermedite oboe, in my case I can get a better sound from my intermedite oboe than from my professional oboes, but not always because the intermediate oboe is very reed-sensitive so it happends only one or two days during a month. I had one of those days together with my teacher a couple of weeks ago and I not sure how many times my teacher pointed out how beautiful the oboe sounded.
An other example how good the the intermediate oboe is that it is possible to play an A on it without using the third octave kay, that´s impossible with my other oboes (wasn´t Laubin that said that a good oboe doesn´t need a third octave key).
One of my professional oboes is a Rigoutat and it is very easy to play on because it just suit my hands perfectly. I even use the banana key on it. Why can´t every manufacture place the banana key close to the other keys when Rigoutat can.
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Author: floboist
Date: 2012-11-28 12:46
I appreciate everyone's advice. I think I will just keep playing on what I have for now but research more specifically what I may want. In the spring I'll contact a few used dealers and start seeing what's out there and hopefully it will work out that it all lines up with my July birthday :-) I would try as many oboes as possible that fit the requirements.
Even though I am tall I have a small frame, thin wrists and wear a size 4 1/2 ring. My husband once asked why I can't play an inline G flute. I held my hand up to his. It was quite comical to see the size difference and my fingertips reached barely past his knuckles.
It was only a brief conversation about EH or new oboe with my teacher. She sees lots of potential in me and was thinking purely from a gigging standpoint that it would be more practical to also have an EH. Maybe that can be a 5 year anniversary present..... but for now I really want to focus on oboe.
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Author: DrewSorensenMusic
Date: 2012-11-28 18:10
It sounds like you're doing the right thing. If you check this board again, here's a link to Peter Hurd's website which should help you out a bunch with oboe makers and what you can expect from them, especially used instruments:
http://www.oboes.us/resources/makers.html
I can also recommend/comment on a few nice dealers if you ask, I just went through this process about 8 months back, and contacted everyone.
In regards to small hands, Covey instruments (though I've never played one) have the reputation for being built well for smaller fingers. Peter Hurd talks about this on his website.
A longer chat with your teacher will clear up why he/she thinks an EH is better than a new oboe. It may be quite possible your oboe sound is so good currently, that there is no need for a "new" one, and having an EH does make you more marketable.
Good luck.
Drew S.
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Author: floboist
Date: 2013-01-27 00:07
I wound up getting a wonderful, gently used Bulgheroni Artist. The ergonomics are perfect for my smaller hands, the mechanism feels more fluid, and I'm appreciating the more refined sound. I enjoy practicing so much more now!
Thanks everyone for your input.
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Author: landeroboe
Date: 2013-01-27 02:44
This was the same with my new to me Loree! Where did you get your Bulgheroni?
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