 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: my58vw
Date: 2006-08-23 02:49
Hello all,
Today at orchastra the unthinkable happened, during a break I had my greenline on my open BAM case about 12 inches off the floor. Apparently while I was outside, someone bumped the chair the oboe was on and it fell, and landed flat on the floor. Picking it up, I did not see the head joint... that is right greenline broken upper tenon... typical greenline problem! (Why I will never buy one again). Apparently they will either need to replace all the wood on the top of the instrument or repair the tenon. Anyone have any idea how much this service runs (I do not have instument insurance)?
Thanks as always.
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Author: Thomas.
Date: 2006-08-23 04:14
>during a break I had my greenline on my open BAM case about 12 inches off >the floor.
NEVER do this- during breaks you should put your oboe away in its case.
>typical greenline problem!
I don't think this is a typical problem- My greenline is over a year old and nothing has ever gone wrong.
>I do not have instument insurance
A definite no-no of all musical instruments, they should always be insured!
Good luck with repairing it- hopefully i won't happen again!
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Author: my58vw
Date: 2006-08-23 04:54
My oboe repair persons first question in regards to greenlines... what happened, did you break the upper tenon? This is known to be a very bad problem with the greenlines, and they always break the same way, at the top of the upper tenon by the body. Greenlines also have quite soft keywork that bends quite easy, an incident with the Bb and B keys bending inside the case forced me to get a better more solid case. RDG seems to get at least a few per year with broken tenons at the same spot.
No oboe player (including a variety of pros) I have played with have ever put their oboes in the case during break in rehersal. I can not be sure that this is a fluke, more of a flaw in the design of the greenline oboe itself. I have played with lorees, foxes, etc, and never had an issue, and have seen other instruments that have been dropped with significantly less damage.
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Author: camille
Date: 2006-08-23 10:57
My view is that, when a break is called, you should be swabbing out your oboe anyway to remove any excess moisture. After that, it takes - what - 10 seconds to put it away in its case. Much better that than run the risk of keywork damage from a clodhopping viola player knocking over your pride and joy.
And no matter how 'soft' the Greenline's keywork or crumbly the tenons [my own Buffet Crampon wood professional oboe is made at least as well as my Loree cor anglais], it's a lot cheaper in the long run to spend 10 secs putting away your instrument than wasting hard earned wages paying to have something so easily-avoidable fixed.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2006-08-23 11:10
my58vw wrote:
> Greenlines also have quite soft keywork that bends
> quite easy, an incident with the Bb and B keys bending inside
> the case forced me to get a better more solid case.
You must mean 'Buffets' have soft keywork, since the Greenlines share the exact same keywork with their wooden counterparts.
I've not heard that Buffets have generally soft keywork, however.
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Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2006-08-23 12:57
>>No oboe player (including a variety of pros) I have played with have ever put their oboes in the case during break in rehersal.<<
My condolences, Michael. I'm sure you feel perfectly awful about this.
However, if you ever play beside me, you will note that I DO pack up my oboe (and carry it with me) during any break. Some do, some don't. I just don't have the $$ to be replacing or repairing my instrument, and besides which, it stays warmer in the case. This is one of those situations where an ounce of prevention is advisable.
Basically, when I have the oboe away from my house, I don't let it out of my hands. Period. Ever. Is this a little obsessive-compulsive? Yeah. Even my husband thinks I'm a little nuts. But we're musicians, and if musicians can't be a little o.c., who can?
Susan
Post Edited (2006-08-23 13:34)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-08-23 14:20
Greenlines are more brittle than wood, and I've seen several instances of broken tenons as a result from falling short distances. And not leaving instruments assembled on chairs is definitely the first rule in woodwind playing - I've seen saxes clatter to the floor, oboes and clarinets snapped in the middle, and even flutes end up 'V' shaped from this.
The tenon can be replaced, though it's probably a good idea to replace the tenon with a grenadilla tenon insert instead of plastic due to the inherent strength wood has over composits.
The end of the top joint is opened up to fit the new tenon on a lathe, and the replacement tenon goes a far way inside the top joint - probably as far as the third finger tonehole to give the new tenon strength once the tenon is glued in place, and the business end of the tenon is turned to fit, metal tipped and corked in the normal manner. The G# and A toneholes have to be drilled through, and then the oboe assembled and any bent keywork sorted out.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2006-08-23 15:40
François Kloc has said that Buffet reformulated the Greenline material a few years after its introduction because the original formula was brittle, leading to breakage, particularly at the center tenon on clarinets and oboes.
Was your oboe relatively new, or was it one of the early Greenlines? That is, do Greenlines still have the problem?
Leaving instruments out during a break almost inevitably leads to disaster. I'm told that the principal clarinetist of the Cleveland Orchestra once left his instrument out, and a curved piece of glass in the skylight focused the sun on it, melting the hard rubber mouthpiece. This may be an urban legend, but sooner or later a chair will get kicked or a floor peg will get caught on someone's pants. The least you can expect is a splintered reed.
Ken Shaw
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Author: d-oboe
Date: 2006-08-24 00:46
I hate to be the pessimist (always) but YOU left the instrument out. Its breaking could have easily been prevented by putting it away. Regardless of what other people have done in the past, if you don't want the worst to happen, prepare for it. (Put the instrument away)
I wouldn't favor a Loree/other instrument simply because it breaks less easily when dropped.
I happen to play a Greenline, and nothing has ever gone seriously wrong in the past 3 years I've owned it. (It was played 3 years previously to my owning it, by a symphony player 2000 ~ ish) The worst that has happened to me was that one of the posts got a bit rusty because I didn't know I could, and should oil it. That's it.
d
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Author: my58vw
Date: 2006-08-24 05:01
Well I talked to RDG today about having the tenon fixed... the main repair person there said they have been trained my buffet to fix this exact problem - the exact bore demonsions, etc. Apparently they have had about 4 oboes and a bunch of clarinets in with this exact break. I guess puting the oboe away, or even holding it during the break would be a good idea.
BTW the repair - 180 dollars to replace the tenon joint on the greenline - no stated effect on the resonance of the instrument.
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Author: vboboe
Date: 2006-08-24 07:01
... and there was i being obsessive-compulsive carrying an ordinary student oboe with me anywhere in band room, across heart to remind me to take good care of it like a baby at all times, if need both hands, a little elbow hug holds it
... good warning about floor pegs too, when others pass by it's much too easy to miss seeing little bitty oboe standing there, especially since it's black and shiny like music stands
... funny thing this topic should come up, my summer teacher just warned me two weeks ago !never! rest oboe on ledge of music stand either, use a floor peg when in seat, but !never! leave oboe on peg unattended
... hopefully $180 is the cost of a lesson in obsessive-compulsive protectiveness well learned
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Author: cjwright
Date: 2006-08-28 15:03
Wow, that's pretty reasonable. I wonder if people ever have problems with them sealing (or rather not sealing).
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