 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: SarahC
Date: 2017-03-06 05:05
I have a tom sparkes oboe. one note wasn't playing. so i sent it for repair. And he discovered a crack. told me it was $600 + GST to repair. So i said go ahead with it. As i loved my oboe. nice and free playing etc.
Anyway.. i got it back, and now it is stuffy. Well.. i think that is the word. Even with a MS reed I am struggling to blow it? It seems to be very hard to blow.
Is there a way to make an oboe less stuffy? Or am I destined to have to busk to raise money for a new one?
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Author: Barry Vincent
Date: 2017-03-06 05:26
Sorry to hear about this Sarah. Pity you're not coming up this way again soon so I could check it out myself. Can't be too serious (hopefully)
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Author: SarahC
Date: 2017-03-06 05:37
I hope so.. and actually.. i was at Aunty Jans on the weekend! i didn't think of it. I only got the oboe back on friday....
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Author: Barry Vincent
Date: 2017-03-06 07:28
Well. The next time your at Janets place bring the oboe and I"ll drive down and have a look at it. Oh. and I'm making reeds again. I don't really have to as there are some really good commercial reeds to be had nowadays. But I"m finding it relaxing whittling away with them
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Author: SarahC
Date: 2017-03-06 13:38
I am imagining you sitting on the back patio whittling away while whistling and C brings u a coffee from the machine :p
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-03-06 17:34
How was the crack repaired and where was it?
If the top joint has been banded with metal bands that are shrunk to fit (which is a common repair done in the US - not sure if that's done in Australia), that could cause a constriction in the bore, so the bore would have to be reamed out to remove the constriction.
I've used carbon fibre bands to do crack repair and they're tensioned by hand whilst being wrapped around the slot cut into the joint and glued in place, so shouldn't cause a constriction in the bore.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: SarahC
Date: 2017-03-06 21:44
Yeah, he used the carbon fibre... I actually asked him when I first picked it up. Thinking stuffiness might be a key adjustment. But he said he did the repair well, after a repair like this they can be stuffy... Wish I had been told that before I spent the money!
Is there a way of un-stuffying it?
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-03-06 22:03
Were any toneholes bushed or any other repairs or adjustments done?
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: SarahC
Date: 2017-03-06 22:06
Keys were removed. And then the drilling in diagonal crosses. The keys feel tighter than before.
He didn't tell me about anything else. The crack when through those two little keys near the third octave hole.
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Author: SarahC
Date: 2017-03-13 04:22
I said in the other thread.. but here now..
I am pretty sure there is a leak from the crack... which would explain the stuffiness i guess... and the fact that the oboe will no longer work with a MS reed at all. And only works with Howarths.. and not oboe central or KGE reeds
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Author: Barry Vincent
Date: 2017-03-13 06:12
Hi Sarah. I think you should have sent (posted) it to Richard Craig of South Australia to get that crack seen to instead of Tom Sparkes as Richard specialises in double reed instrument repairs and servicing. Sparkes are more general band instrument repairers usually, even though it's their own make of Oboe. As you say Tom Sparkes did the repair to what is actualliy their own make of Oboe and it's now still 'leaking' Just thinking that perhaps they did repair the crack correctly but now one of the pads may have a slight leak. Or perhaps the Oboe is slightly out of adjustment .
Skyfacer
Post Edited (2017-03-13 06:17)
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Author: SarahC
Date: 2017-03-13 06:30
Oh it wasn't Tom sparked who did the repair. But I didn't know there was a crack until he took the oboe apart. And by then I thought he may as well finish the job.
Live and learn I guess..
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Author: EaubeauHorn
Date: 2017-04-26 03:39
Around here, if the crack does not go all the way through, they fix it with super glue. It holds quite a long time, and then you just do it over.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-04-26 16:36
I just carbon fibre banded a cracked oboe and if anything, the owner found it much easier and freer to play after I repaired it. I fitted eight carbon fibre bands around the top joint as it cracked from the crown right down to the level of the B tonehole (the crack terminated under the thumbplate).
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: SarahC
Date: 2017-04-27 23:03
That looks quite different to what this repairer did. He used the carbon rods, inserting than at different angles along the bore. Sort of Criss crossing them
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-04-28 01:36
I use carbon fibre pins where I can't cut slots for carbon fibre bands, usually where there are too many pillars or toneholes in the way to make a clean cut.
Steel pins are also used - they're threaded and screwed into the joint at opposing angles just as the carbon pins are, but the ends of the metal pins need to be countersunk and hidden under filler whereas carbon fibre pins can be left flush with the joint surface as they blend in with the colour of granadilla much better.
Whenever I've used carbon pins, I've sanded them to lightly roughen up the surface of the rod (like a super fine screw thread) so the superglue will adhere to it better than if it was left smooth and shiny.
The only downside I had with this top joint is the filler had dipped when I polished it so it left the bands looking more obvious.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: SarahC
Date: 2017-05-04 15:39
I can see the ends of the carbon rods if i look closely, but i am assuming the crack is still moving. As some days it is harder to play than others. I play with a MS reed for around 10 minutes and my lip is cut, and i have probably fainted three times! so not working for me! The repairer has had a second go at it, but said there is nothing more he can do...
I didn't expect it to come back virtually unplayable :(
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Author: SarahC
Date: 2017-06-02 09:32
I thought I would update.
Richard looked at my oboe. He says that numerous pads had become "unseated ".. I think he said.
He said some weren't sealing at all.
When asked of that was something the previous repairer had done when fixing the crack, he said probably not.
Except... Even with the crack, my oboe was really free blowing...
After the crack fix, I could no longer play it. So clearly, the pad problem wasn't there before the crack repair.
To fix what is now wrong with the oboe... Will be another 500$
It is a Tom sparks oboe.
Richard says it isn't a particularly good oboe, so maybe I shouldn't bother repairing the pads.
Again, a little peeved, I wasn't told this before I spent the 660$ on the crack repair.
And there is always the risk that he fixes the pads, and it still isn't okay.
I have the Armstrong worth oboe now, so there is no rush to make a decision. But I am torn, the Tom sounds so much better than the resin.. Basically.
But I don't have 500$ to risk if it doesn't work
And wondering if it is normal for a repairer to unseat the pads and then not notice that he has done it? Because he had a second look at it. And told me he has done all he can, and couldn't do anymore . I am quite frustrated. You can prob see.
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Author: oboist2
Date: 2017-06-03 05:18
I would trust Richard's advice as he is a first class technician and Celia also tests all the work that he does. I and my students use him and he has never let us down. Ask him his honest opinion as to whether he thinks it is "worth" fixing. I have only seen a couple of Tom Sparkes oboes and they were both student models and they did not really work for me, even though he was a great repairman when he owned the business.
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Author: Oblique
Date: 2017-06-03 15:56
Would it be possible to use strips of Saran Wrap to cover each tone hole, blow and then take them off one at a time to find which pad is leaking?
Saran Wrap= kitchen clingy plastic wrap for dishes.
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Author: mjfoboe
Date: 2017-06-03 17:26
It's really time to upgrade your instrument. Inexpensive Oboes ... really don't enhance or help you develop as an oboist. You need to secure a student model oboe from a main line company.
Mark
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Author: SarahC
Date: 2017-06-03 19:08
Well...
It was a full conservatoire instrument. So not his student line.
Richard says the quality isn't that good. But I think from memory it was 10,000 new? I bought it second hand though. And it was easily good enough for lrsm before the pads became "unseated".
Richard can't guarantee that it would be free blowing again after fixing the pads...
I have an aw resin oboe that I bought a week or so ago. It doesn't have the sound of wood, but it does mean that I don't need. To have my sparkes oboe fixed... I could just say goodbye to it...
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Author: jhoyla
Date: 2017-06-07 13:57
"Unseated" is a strange term. I wonder what he means?
Is there a chance that the oboe was left in the sun for an extended period of time? Pads are generally fixed into their cups using some sort of heat-glue, either the regular clear stuff or shellac. If the pads were allowed to get so hot as to melt the shellac they could have slid around.
Almost 400 USD seems steep to me, but it depends how much work is needed.
J.
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Author: SarahC
Date: 2017-06-07 15:15
He said something about them not sealing at all. 6 pads I think he said.
The thing that bugs me is it worked beautifully Before the crack fix... So I am sure that something happened at that time.. Still debating whether to spend the money. Things are expensive over here. When the minimum wage is something like 20$ per hour.. That is why.
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Author: oboeyogi
Date: 2017-06-10 13:49
Hi Sarah
Richard is one of the best oboe techs in Australia.
I spent some time at his place test out the Howarth XM oboes to my old Marigaux 901 (made in 1985). I did have sleepless nights about getting the XM but my fingers work better on the Marigaux M2.
But any way the adjustment on the 901 was spot on and played well. its not what i would call a good sealing oboe 5 seconds on the top joint and 3 on the bottom. Richard said that the only way to get the oboe of that age to seal to the 30 seconds is to fill / varnish / or recut the tone holes where the pads seat. As with a wood oboe you can get little grain opening on the wood on the pad edge (I know the there is a name for it ) This could be the case with your oboe too.
The other thing you could try to find the leaks your self and maybe re-pad them as well. If you think the oboe has had its days you may not have any thing to lose. But time and learn a new skill.
I once bought a bassoon old on ebay for about $400 AUD for the fun of trying to get it to work which after 2 weeks got it going quiet well after some pad replacements , tone hole varnishing and other things.
Sorry about your oboe
thanks Nicholas
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Author: Oblique
Date: 2017-06-10 15:41
Is there a book or info online that talks about this type of repairing?
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-06-10 19:51
I wouldn't like to think so as that might end up in the wrong hands. Oboes aren't the most user friendly woodwind instruments and you really ought to do your time as a repairer before taking a screwdriver to one.
More is learnt hands on than can be gained from reading hard facts laid out in books as there are so many variables that text books can't always cover which is where intuition or improvisation takes over. Just like playing music, you have to play the stuff that's not written as opposed to playing every single note, dot and dash to the letter - be flexible instead of being blinkered as there are loads of ways to do things other than the one single way that's described in one book.
If you do want to jump in at the deep end, then doing oboe repair first will make most other woodwind repair techniques seem easy by comparison. But only work with an experienced oboe specialist as opposed to a general woodwind repairer who only sees a couple of basic student models at the most per year.
I'd suggest if you want to start out with woodwind repair, start with clarinets, then saxes, then flutes and only then move onto oboes once you've gained competence with the others.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Oblique
Date: 2017-06-11 17:11
Thanks Chris, I was asking basically for Sarah. Just trying to find a solution for her problem. I'm sure it is very frustrating for her.
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Author: SarahC
Date: 2017-06-14 05:47
I am thinking I might give up on my oboe...
It is a couple of weeks till I pay Richard a visit...
Paying an extra 500$ when I can't be sure that I will like it after the repair... Possibly isn't worth it.
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Author: SarahC
Date: 2017-06-15 03:34
I am thinking I might give up on my oboe...
It is a couple of weeks till I pay Richard a visit...
Paying an extra 500$ when I can't be sure that I will like it after the repair... Possibly isn't worth it.
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