tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2121905122650141172.post2765414480703868978..comments2024-01-15T21:29:33.424-05:00Comments on Born Again Oboe!: Comparing many oboes!RobinDesHautboishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06982605859554912966noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2121905122650141172.post-59543442683425662812012-01-24T13:18:12.483-05:002012-01-24T13:18:12.483-05:00Thanks Howard and thanks Cooper!!!!!
This kind of ...Thanks Howard and thanks Cooper!!!!!<br />This kind of input is Gold!RobinDesHautboishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06982605859554912966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2121905122650141172.post-16795178679154477612012-01-24T08:38:19.614-05:002012-01-24T08:38:19.614-05:00The Buffet oboes are very very dark. They are too ...The Buffet oboes are very very dark. They are too stable, as Cooper says and don't want to change for tone color. The moment you lighten your reeds in a slightly more compromising way, everything goes haywire, the tone abrasive and the intonation crazy especially in the 2nd octave and E-G. They can be very tiring to play!<br /> <br />Loree Royals (and AK for that matter) on the other hand, although they exhibit a similar trait as all oboes, because they also have a kind of flexibility built into them, you can always make the sound smaller so that they "work". The instability caused by lightening the heart/side of a short scrape reed results in the instability of these notes but somehow, the flexibility allows you to always learn where the notes should sit. Easier for the oboist but in my experience, never more pleasant for the audience. I cannot explain why, but even when the tone of the Buffet seem to be a little on the light side, the audience notices it less but on a Loree, it spells disaster. A good Marigaux apparently solves this problem. Haha.... But that is audience aesthetic of course...<br /><br />I still do not like Howarths and have not much to say about these instruments. Extremely well built, no doubt about it. Super keywork. I suspect that the reeds have to be like feather to work on these instruments. But that is an advantage obviously, an advantage that i clearly have to learn to do better! Martin Schuring can probably make any decent oboe sound world class anyways!Howard Nghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00318976487575480189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2121905122650141172.post-78240993337093084482012-01-24T06:40:41.108-05:002012-01-24T06:40:41.108-05:00Excellent question! I wish I had written down the ...Excellent question! I wish I had written down the full serial number, because according to http://www.musictrader.com/loree.html, it's either the 1880's or anywhere between 1910 and 1960. <br /><br />This instrument was not from the 1880's because it had a full Conservatoire covered plate key system. But the wood work was really light and the crown looked more like a Fox than a Loree... so I'm guessing it was on the earlier half of that range. <br /><br />Actually, the wood work might make one think it was a copy-cat instrument (not really made by Loree, just stamped to sell it at the same price). But it played really very well - on par or better than brand new instruments (minus some needed mechanical work), so I suppose it had to be the real thing. There are a few experts in the USA and Europe who would be able to identify that.RobinDesHautboishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06982605859554912966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2121905122650141172.post-74166702860013215692012-01-23T23:19:54.221-05:002012-01-23T23:19:54.221-05:00The A and C series Loree oboes.....how old are the...The A and C series Loree oboes.....how old are they. Circa 19 what?ericdanohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08273544927487852639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2121905122650141172.post-27144082186207113072012-01-23T16:59:42.638-05:002012-01-23T16:59:42.638-05:00Thanks Cooper!
I will study your own observations ...Thanks Cooper!<br />I will study your own observations in the hopes of trying many oboes again soon. Since the finisher at Laubin (Teitelbaum Double Reeds) revoiced my Lorée, this slurring is not a problem. But for sure this was a piece of cake in the A and C series (old) Lorées.<br /><br />I should be more precise about one thing: suppose my oboe had been stolen and suppose I were stupid enough not to recognize it as part of this collection, my current oboe would not be my choice. Chances are, I would favor the XL, the Royal or even the Strasser (possibly the Buffet, but need to play more on it).<br /><br />Of course, the history my HN-21 (standard) Lorée and I share means I don't want to part with it -- especially since D. Teitelbaum improved the bell -- but the newer oboes and other brands do have clear advantages. Not the standard Lorée or intermediate Howarths, they are equivalent to mine or less.RobinDesHautboishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06982605859554912966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2121905122650141172.post-73040436804587084522012-01-23T14:03:52.737-05:002012-01-23T14:03:52.737-05:00I think all of your observations are very accurate...I think all of your observations are very accurate. The wobble and instability/stability of the notes of 2nd octave A, and 2nd octave E, F#, G, are all reed related, and specifically need to be tuned based upon short scrape/long scrape. The high A with short scrape reeds will naturally play lower, so european models are purposed turned higher on the A. The E-G's are often foggy and unstable when a short scrape reed is played on a long scrape bore, so again the necessary undercutting is performed in order to gain the stability and clarity needed. Personally, I've played on old and new Lorees for a long time as well as my howarth now, and they both have sizeable advantages and disadvantages which you have accurately assessed. In the long run, I've settled on a Howarth because it seems to do the things that my professor wishes me to strive for easier than the Loree, but this is no doubt because he plays on Howarth and is familiar with its profile. <br /><br />One thing you should pay attention to next time is pitch placement as well. Loree Royals and AK's tend to be pitched slightly lower (Royal lower than AK even), while the Howarths tend to ride on the upper side of the pitch.) <br /><br />Some other observations:<br />Lorees are harder to slur down on, (say middle E to low A) particularly at a quieter dynamic.<br />Older Lorees are more flexible, newer Lorees are more stable as you noticed with your own Loree.<br />Coveys have some of the clearest, purest tone, and are EXTREMELY difficult to make reeds for in my book. In fact, they're the hardest to make reeds for.<br />Green lines are a tricky bunch, but I always feel they are too stable in tone color and response.<br /><br />Anyways, just some of my observations, take them or leave them.Cooper Wrighthttp://cooperwrightreeds.comnoreply@blogger.com