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Re: What sort of oboe do you play and why

Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-08-19 17:54

I started out on a B&H Regent oboe back in 1986 when I was 14 which I struggled with for around two years when I knocked it over and it snapped in half. No love lost there. I had it repaired and swapped it for an old C Melody sax.

Fast forward around ten years to around 1995 when I did some work on a Marigaux 901 and then I play tested it - I found I could make a pretty decent sound and a former work colleague (a violinist) also mentioned how nice it sounded.

And then a year or so later I was planning on buying a new instrument and had two options in mind - a B&H 400 series contrabassoon (Amati) or a pro level oboe. An ex demo list of Yamaha instruments came by the workshop and there was a Yamaha YOB-821TP listed on there, so I went with that.

The main reason I decided on oboe was after hearing a recording of Heinz Holliger playing the Strauss concerto which was new to me - it was the last three tracks on a double CD of Strauss wind ensembles which I used to play clarinet in when at college (as clarinet was my first study instrument back then). His playing really knocked me back - I'd never heard such bold and gutsy playing before and that really kicked things off big time for me.

Then decided to do it properly this time around and get a teacher. A new teacher had started in the area and I had one lesson with him to get started, but his schedule was full so I remembered another teacher who taught oboe at college and called her up and went straight over that same evening. Both teachers are Marigaux players, so I had my heart set on getting a Marigaux 901.

I joined a local band on oboe and then decided to get a cor, so went up to Howarth and bought a brand new Marigaux 930 in 1998. While I was there the offer of a job as a finisher at Howarth was mentioned. I wanted out of my then current job in a music shop and then started at Howarth in late 1998. I had some keywork on my Yamaha oboe modified but was never really happy with it as the tuning on some notes wasn't great - mainly the Gs which were flat against the As.

In 1999 a kingwood S5 oboe had come back from being out on approval by a player at La Scala and they split the top joint, so it had a top joint transplant and a thumbplate was added so it could be sold in the UK. I tried it out when the work was done and felt that was the one for me - no more saggy Gs and it was far more comfortable for me than the Yamaha as it had much chunkier keywork which I prefer. I still play that kingwood S5 now and have no plans of changing it.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

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