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A Beautiful Old Oboe

Author: Barry Vincent
Date: 2017-01-03 13:46

I've finally got around to doing something about the Oboe being too tiring to play these days , I'm almost 72. Since 2004 I've had a S55c Dual System Howarth Oboe and have enjoyed playing it. However , over the past two years or so I was finding the resistance of the S55c a bit too much for me. Also, it was never really 'reed friendly' in that reeds needed to be of high quality. I've always missed my plastic Bundy Thumb Plate Oboe which was really 'free blowing' and reed friendly. I was even using the orange twine Rico reeds with the Bundy and most of those Ricos were very usable after a bit of tinkering. :Tnen , a few weeks ago I noticed that Richard Craig of South Australia had a Howarth S2 Tnumb Plate for sale and I knew straight away that this was the Oboe for me. It's 60 years old (1955) and in excellent condition for it's age. No trace of the so called 'blown out' effect that one hears about. It is obvious that the previous owner/s had looked after this Oboe over the years. It has a most beautiful sound. Not quite as big a sound as the S55c but it has a lovely clear brighter sound. This S2 is going to revigorate my playing of the Oboe for a few more years hopefully. Ricard Craig accepted my offer of a swap and I accepted what I consider a very reasonable deal. He gets a more modern Thumb Plate system Oboe which he will try to sell here in Australia and I get a older Oboe which is more practical for me to play now. Richard said that he will find it difficult to sell a Thumb Plate (Dual System) here in Australia because there is a 'mind set ' that only a conservatoire system is the best system which is nonsense of course. Tne serial number of this S2 is 1342. There is no sign of any cracks in the wood and the bore is still shiny. I've played along with several CD backing tracks and there is no hint of any turning problems. It plays nicely in A440.

Skyfacer

Post Edited (2017-01-03 13:51)

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