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Re: Barrington 801 or Yamaha 211 ?

Author: sylvangale
Date: 2006-05-27 20:31

A cheap no-name oboe from Ebay has a good chance of being better than the Yamaha 211!

A Selmer or Bundy oboe are better choices than a 211.

Yamaha killed the design of their 11 series and used the same bore design of their professional models for the 241 and 441. The old design is horrid horrid horrid. Extremely restrictive and not a joy to play in the least. The upper range is nasty and shrill.

My first oboe I owned was a Yamaha 211 (after a school owned Selmer) and found my Ebay acquired Lesher and Platz oboes played much better.

(I however don't recommend purchasing from Ebay either! Though some have had better luck than I)

If this is a first instrument I would recommend renting and private lessons. The instrument you buy or the rental may not be in good adjustment (even though it should be) and as a beginner you may not realize that. Having a private instructor to look over the oboe to make sure it does indeed function properly is MOST important.

Learning on an oboe without left F will get into bad habits and some instructors may refuse to teach you on an oboe without the left F. They should at least start you and give you time to acquire one though.

No oboe should be made without the left F mechanism and any that lack it should be avoided. There are plenty that offer it in all price ranges.

The third octave key is nice and unique to the resin Barrington in its price range, but something one can live without (it makes E3 on up speak easier). Certainly wouldn't hurt to get a couple oboes and have an instructor review them to see which is better to keep.

Regards,
Stephen Kaupiko
Los Angeles, CA

[edit: spelling... ugh]

♫ Stephen K.

Post Edited (2006-05-27 22:08)

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