Author: AndyH
Date: 2015-03-27 23:03
Thanks, Jerome and Chris. I may have to revise my instrument care regime.
I've been cleaning the B&H Regent out with a full length oboe mop that I made from a top joint mop and a "Chenille Twist", with some cloth wrapped around the join. I keep a small soft cloth bag over the top end.
"Chenille Twists" come in packets of a dozen, for about £3 from my local cheap crap shop (Quality Save). They're like giant pipe cleaners, meant for kids to do arts and crafts with, but I mostly use them as clarinet and keyless flute mops - you just have to be careful of the hard bit at the end where the twisted wire ends. It's not exposed, but ideally, that bit needs to be covered with something.
I hadn't considered dust accumulation affecting the keywork. I could probably manage re-corking it if I had to, but I wouldn't be able to remove slop caused by dirt wearing away at the pivots.
I should probably have pointed out that the budget I had in mind was for something like a second hand S10 or Buffet 4121, rather than the price of a new one, but I'll consider saving up for longer for something better instead.
The S3 looks very nice. I've now found a picture of an S2 on John Packer's website (I guess Howarths don't need to take pictures - there's clearly a long queue waiting to buy one). I do wonder if the ring key on RH1 would make it harder for me to reach though. My hands are fairly small for an adult male. The Regent has a covered key there, so I'm able to cover the hole for the ring finger and just put my index finger anywhere on that key. I had to put a bit more cork on the thumb rest to do it comfortably though.
Incidentally, one of the S2's on JPs website says "New in 81". I have to wonder how long an oboe can last and still be worth that sort of money. My car turned 18 this week (it's now old enough to vote), so I'm not obsessive about having new things, but I was under the impression that all woodwind instruments had a limited useful lifespan.
Incidentally, I got that wrong about the YOB-241B - it doesn't say it has an Ab-Bb trill key; that's the YOB-431B. I read somewhere on this forum that the LH1 key opening isn't adjustable on the 241B, which seems like a major shortcoming.
Post Edited (2015-03-27 23:05)
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