How to choose? / IDRS 2013 art. 1 / Comment choisir?

I still want to digest my impressions from having tried all the oboe brands at the IDRS 2013 conference, but the experience really begs the question "How does a person choose?"… especially when there are so many excellent instruments to choose from!	Alain deGourdon of Lorée	Je veux prendre le temps de digérer mes impressions d'avoir essayé toutes les marques de hautbois à la conférence IDRS 2013, mais l'expérience mène à la question : "Comment choisit-on?"… surtout quand il y a tellement d'excellents instruments à choisir!
Asking some high profile professionals on Facebook to compare makers or models, I found it frustrating when they answered "it's a matter of individual preference"..... shouldn't one be clearly better than another? Well, I don't know about 3 years ago, but in 2013, most makers produce truly remarkable instruments. They all said this was partly the result of meeting and talking with professionals over the years at the IDRS conferences and other venues: BRAVO to IDRS for this!	Renaud Patalowski and Jean-Marc Jourquin from Marigaux	J'ai trouvé frustrant de demander, sur Facebook, aux professionnels de renommée de comparer les marques et modèles parce que leur réponse était le plus souvent : "C'est une question de goût personnel".... ne devrait-il pas y avoir une distinction nette? Et bien, je ne sais pas comment c'était il y a 3 ans, mais en 2013, la plupart des fabricants produisent des instruments vraiment remarquables. Ils ont tous dit que c'est partiellement le résultat de rencontrer des professionnels au fil des ans à la conférence IDRS et autres avenues : BRAVO à IDRS pour ceci!
Friendly Competition The makers I spoke to and corresponded with believe success should come from integrity, not commercial manipulation. This struck in me a chord of disbelief due to our capitalistic-consumerist age, but the more I talk with them, the more I'm inclined to believe them. They all said they work with professionals to build an instrument that helps musicians reach our goals. Naturally, different makers concentrate on different aspects and different musicians have different goals, which means different people will prefer different makers: they seemed completely at peace with this, not wishing anyone to buy theirs half-heartedly.... though, naturally, their business interests and pride are hoping we get theirs!	Jürgen Stork, oboe-guy at Püchner Philippe Rigoutat	Compétition amicale Les fabricants à qui j'ai parlé et correspondu croient que la réussite doit venir de l'intégrité, pas par manigances commerciales. Ceci m'a laissé incrédule dans notre génération capitaliste et consommatrice, mais le plus je leur parle, le plus j'ai tendance à les croire. Ils affirment tous travailler avec des professionnels pour développer des instruments qui aident aux musiciens à atteindre nos objectifs. Bien sûr, chaque fabricant se concentre sur des aspects choisis, ce qui implique que les buts différents de chaque musicien graviteront vers différentes marques: ils semblent à l’aise avec ceci, ne voulant pas qu’on choisisse le leur à reculons.... quqoique, bien sûr, c’est flatteur et plus profitable qu'on choisisse le leur!
Perfect fit: Choosing an oboe might very well be like choosing running shoes. My first few years in the Canadian Army Reserves, as a musician, I still had to do military training which included a lot of physical fitness. We did a lot of running and I would use the running shoes provided by the Army, but the other members with more experience kept telling me to buy expensive shoes from a sports store. A few years later, I did that and POOF: no more tight muscles and both speed and endurance just sky-rocketed! But you can select from many brands, some are great for you while actually damaging to someone else's ankles. I now think the same goes for oboe: if I dislike one maker, it might be a God-send for someone else.	Frank Meyer, businessman for Ludwig Frank and Gebrüder Mönnig Bulgheroni, father and son	Taillé sur mesure: Choisir un hautbois peut bien être comme choisir des chaussures pour la course. Mes quelques années comme musicien dans la Réserve Militaire du Canada comptaient l’entraînement militaire, incluant beaucoup de course. J'utilisais les espadrilles fournies par le militaire, mais les autres membres avec plus d'expérience me disaient d'en acheter des dispendieux dans un magasin sportif. Quelques années plus tard, je l'ai fait et POUF: plus de crampes aux mollets et un accroissement soudain de vitesse et d’endurance! Mais on peut choisir parmi un nombre de marques et tandis qu'une marque peut être formidable pour soi, elle peut carrément causer des blessures chez quelqu'un d'autre. Je crois que c'est pareil pour le hautbois: si je critique un fabricant, le même est peut-être miraculeux pour quelqu'un d'autre.
Stopping at Innoledy's booth on the last day, Tong Cui applied his inescapable logic in order to help me decide on a favourite. His killer questions were: 1. "No holds barred, which is the one you would buy if you had a million dollars but could only buy one?" The answer to this was the Dupin Imperial.... but I must confess the 'exotic/unobtainable' aspect of that instrument holds some kind of sex-appeal for me! 2. "If you HAD to buy an instrument RIGHT NOW because you have to perform tonight, which would you want to take home?" I surprized myself to answer was Fossati because I found it the perfect mid-point between what I like from Marigaux and Rigoutat.... but here too, I have to confess that my answer came too quickly, because at this point, the characteristic sounds of Marigaux and Mönnig Platinum (or L. Frank) still have tremendous appeal to me while the absolute freedom of Rigoutat and the sheer power of Püchner (with the Bulgheroni at mid-point) are terribly attractive! So honestly, right now, I cannot choose! I will enumerate my impressions in detail of these in one or two posts.	Ton Cui of Innoledy Christoph Hartmann, Christophe Dupin, Rolland Dupin Pascal Emery (Fossati)	Visitant l'étalage d'Innoledy le dernier jour, Tong Cui a appliqué sa logique inéluctable pour m'aider à choisir un favori. Ses questions-pièges étaient : 1. "Sans aucune restreinte, quel instrument achèterais-tu si t'avais un million de dollars mais ne pouvait acheter qu'un seul?" La réponse est le Dupin Impérial, mais j'avoue que son aspect 'exotique/intouchable' ajoute à son attrait! 2. "Si tu DEVAIS acheter un instrument IMMÉDIATEMENT pour un concert ce soir, quel apporterais-tu à la maison?" Je me suis surpris à répondre Fossati parce que je le considère à mi-chemin entre ce que j'aime de Marigaux et Rigoutat... mais ici aussi, je dois avouer que j'ai répondu trop vite, parce qu'à ce point, les timbres caractéristiques de Marigaux et Mönnig Platinum (ou L.Frank) me tiennent toujours captif tandis que la liberté absolue de Rigoutat et la pure puissance de Püchner (avec Bulgheroni à mi-chemin) restent irrésistibles! Donc maintenant, en toute honnêteté, je ne peux pas choisir! Je ferai l'énumération de mes impressions de ces essais dans un ou deux articles.

Hautbois Montréal Oboes !

Real life creeping-in... It has been a very long time since my last post: my “day-job” has been taking much more time than normal... this is fine, just part of being a professional. But that means that, after taking care of the house and dogs, I only have enough time for a few notes, certainly no reed making and no recording takes.	La vraie-vie, quoi! Ça fait très longtemps depuis mon dernier article blog: mon vrai boulot prend beaucoup plus de temps que la normale… bien beau, simplement la vie de professionnel. Mais ça veut dire qu’après m’avoir occupé de la maison et des chiens, il ne me reste qu’assez de temps pour quelques notes, certainement pas de fabrication d’anches ni d’enregistrement.
Break for the mind and soul... So for Canadian Thanksgiving, I decided to go visit my Parents and Sister, stopping by Montréal along the way to go try every professional grade oboe I could find in store! For the sake of comparison, you can find my previous oboe tests here() and here().	Pause santé-mentale! Alors, pour l’Action de Grâces, je suis allé visiter mes parents et ma sœur, passant par Montréal pour y essayer tous les hautbois professionnels en magasin! Afin de comparer, vous pouvez trouver mes tests précédents ici() et ici().

I was able to try some instruments at two fine stores: Pascal Véraquin Instruments and Twigg Musique, both fine institutions offering excellent service to their specific clienteles. My reeds... Having made almost no reeds in a year, you can imagine the 7 oboe reeds I brought were rather wimpy. When I tried them 1 and 2 days before in Ottawa, they were all bad, but when I got to Montréal, they all played well!..... I did soak them well and kept them wet during the whole drive (3 hours due to construction). Also, as soon as I arrived on the island, I was struck with chills to the bone from the humidity... so climate surely played a part there.

J’ai pu essayer des instruments à deux établissements : Pascal Véraquin Instruments et Twigg Musique, deux fines institutions qui offrent un service excellent à leurs clientèles spécifiques. Mes anches : N’ayant pas fait d’anches depuis un an, vous pouvez imaginer que les 7 anches de hautbois que j’ai apportées étaient assez faibles. Quand je les ai essayés 1 et 2 jours avant, toutes étaient mauvaises, mais rendu à Montréal, toutes jouaient bien! Je les ai trempées beaucoup avant de partir et les ai gardé mouillées pendant tout le voyage (3 heures en raison de la construction). Aussitôt arrivé dans l’île, je fus pris de frissons par l’humidité… alors le climat y est pour de quoi!

The Instruments... Lorée Royal Characteristic but splendid sound. Massive body, yet comfortable to hold. Fully free-blowing, no stuffy notes, but still typical unstable notes. Lorée AK Improved sound and free-blowing, compared to base model. Still some stiff notes. Typical unstable notes. Lorée, base model synthetic top joint. Very well seated sound. Generally good tuning. Typical congested and unstable notes.	Les instruments : Lorée Royal Sonorité caractéristique mais splendide. Corps massif et pesant, mais confortable. Aucune note congestionnée, mais notes instables typiques. Lorée AK Souffle et sonorités améliorés comparativement au modèle de base. Toujours quelques notes congestionnées. Toujours les mêmes notes instables. Lorée de base, haut synthétique Sonorité bien assise. Justesse généralement bonne. Notes instables et notes congestionnées typiques.
Old looking used Marigaux 901 Crack at the 3rd octave key with 2 or 3 pins. Pads seal perfectly, but very old and worn. Tenon corks dry and loose. Mechanics are old and bent, but but fully functional and well adjusted, despite looseness. Excellent ergonomics of the pinky keys. Different sound, hard to explain : at first, brighter, it shows more liveliness and versatility. All reeds produce different sounds. Impeccable tuning and stability: correctly inserted or not , all reeds play well. It was the best for my very wide reed (oboe d’amore shape). Resonance and dynamic range without restriction : all reeds speak well and sing. No congestion anywhere.	Marigaux 901 usagé d'apparence vieille Fendu 3e clef d'octave réparé avec 2-3 vis. Tampons bouchent parfaitement, mais très vieux et usés. Lièges de tenons secs et mal serrés. Mécanique (clétage) fonctionnel et bien ajustée, mais plié et montrant beaucoup de jeu (loose). Excellente ergonomie des palmes (petits doigts). Sonorité nasillarde (âge et ajustement ?), mais polyvalente : les différentes anches produisent des sons différents. Justesse et stabilité impeccables : toute anche, bien ou mal insérée y joue bien. C’était le meilleur pour jouer mon anche très large (taille de hautbois d’amour) : aucun problème avec l’intonation. Résonance et nuance sans restreinte : encore, toute anche chante bien dedans. Aucune congestion des notes.
Buffet Crampon Different way to blow: short-tube notes (A-B-C etc.) need the throat to be just as open as any low note. Whatever the reed, it wants to sound the same (after a few minutes of playing). Excellent altissimo, except for the D. Out of the factory, the keywork is very loose: can really benefit from serious adjustment. Generally very good tuning and stability, but it does not like complex fingerings (more than trills) which would facilitate certain passages, especially in impressionist tunes. Buffet Crampon English Horn Tends to sound congested, but my reeds were perhaps at fault: they are all widest shape. EH reeds sound buzzy but an oboe d'amore reed gave it a huge sound.	Buffet Crampon Souffle différent : les notes à tube court (la-si-do etc.) demandent une gorge aussi ouverte que les notes longues (fa-mi-ré etc). Quelque-soit l’anche, semble vouloir sonner pareil (après quelques minutes de jeu). Excellent sur-aigü, sauf pour le ré. Mécanique avec moins de souci d’ajustement. Justesse et stabilité généralement très bonne, mais n’aime pas les doigtés étranges (plus complexes que les trilles) qui facilitent certains passages, surtout dans l’impressionnisme. Cor Anglais Buffet Crampon Tendances à la congestion, mais mes anches souffraient peut-être : elles utilisent les tailles les plus larges. Les anches de CA donnaient une sonorité nasillarde et faible, mais une anche de hautbois d'amour a vraiment enrichi le timbre.
3 Yamaha Duet+: 1 ebony and 2 rosewood: Strangeley, the 2 rosewood did not play the same: one would blow and sound much more freely than the other. The ebony one played like the stiffer one, but both rosewoods had a definite richer sound. Tuning and stability fully dependable. Not so good with very complex fingerings. Little-finger ergonomics reminiscent of the Marigaux and Strasser.	3 Yamahas Duet+ dont un en ébène et 2 en bois de rose : Étrangement les 2 en bois de rose ne jouent pas pareil : l'un souffle plus librement que l'autre. Celui en bois d'ébène joue comme l’autre moins libre, mais les deux bois de rose offre une sonorité nettement plus riche. Justesse et stabilité très fiables. Pas si bon pour les doigtés très complexes. Ergonomie des clefs semblables au Marigaux et Strasser.
Conclusion: To keep reeds alive, play them every day. My own Lorée (reconditioned by D. Teitelbaum from Laubin) is much better than I give it credit: a special instrument. Lorée is a top professional grade instrument... that needs professionals to play it right. Don't rely on brand and model, you have to try the instrument: it's striking how different instruments of the same model can play differently.	Conclusion : Pour garder ses anches vivantes, il faut les jouer plusieurs jours de fil. Mon propre Lorée (reconditionné par D. Teitelbaum de la maison Laubin) est beaucoup mieux que je le croyais : c’est un instrument très spécial. Lorée est un instrument professionnel de haut calibre... mais il faut être un professionnel pour le jouer correctement. Ne vous fiez pas à la marque ni au modèle, il faut essayer : c'est frappant à quel point les instruments individuels d'un même modèle peuvent varier.
My Picks: The old Marigaux 901 is really worth an overhaul: it would faithfully serve a pro. who seeks freedom and versatility in sound and expression. The reputation enjoyed by Marigaux (that any reed plays well in it) is justified up to now. Seeing as I want to play on wide reeds, this instrument is very interesting. For a student, an amateur or a pro. who seeks consistency, the Yamaha is a really good choice. The rosewood really gives it charm. Flimsy keywork, but with great tuning, stability and sound, who cares?	Mes favoris : Le vieux Marigaux 901 vaut vraiment la peine d'être remis à neuf : il servirait très fidèlement à un professionnel qui cherche la liberté et la polyvalence dans le son et l'expressivité. La réputation de Marigaux qui dit que n'importe-quelle anche joue bien semble bien méritée jusqu'à date. Puisque je cherche à jouer sur des anches très larges, cet instrument est fort intéressant. Pour un étudiant, un amateur ou un professionnel qui cherche surtout la constance,  le Yamaha est bien choisi. Le bois de rose y donne vraiment un charme. Mécanique feluette, mais pas grave quand la justesse et stabilité y sont si bonnes…
Almost, but not quite... I really liked the Royal, but I don't have time and energy to compensate for the instability anymore. The Buffet Crampon is excellent and dependable, but blowing it is just too different from what I am used to.	Presque, mais pas tout-à-fait... J'aime beaucoup le Royal, mais je n'ai plus le temps à consacrer à compenser pour son instabilité. Le Buffet Crampon est excellent et fiable, mais la manière de le souffler est trop différent de mes habitudes.

Strasser Oboe and the Ottawa Oboe Event

I wanted to write a few words about my own experience at the master class for adults of the University of Ottawa Oboe event, but I really want to mention the following first.

University of Ottawa Oboe Event

Two weeks ago took place a small, but memorable happening: the “University of Ottawa Oboe Event”. This is the continuation of an annual event, previously known as the “Ottawa Oboe Extravaganza” and has traditionally been organized by Angela Casagrande and Gary Armstrong Woodwinds with the important help of either the University of Ottawa or le Conservatoire du Québec à Gatineau. This year, and I gather for the past few years, Chip Hamann has shown increasing involvement and this year, along with Gary, was able to secure the sponsorship of the University and Lorée oboes.

In terms of community stewardship, this event is top notch! Community in terms of assembling academic and professional circles from the National Capital Region (Ottawa and Gatineau) and also “ordinary everyday” citizens as both patrons and participants!

I met Angela a few years ago when she agreed to serve as “guinea pig” for a musical software project I had put together with my fellow engineering students. I must shamefully confess that I only recently met Chip (having been absent from any live concert for many years) thanks to common acquaintances.

Apart from her professional concert activities (including Musica Nova Ottawa) Angela is a teacher of oboe, sought after by students of all ages. She possesses a knack to help older people overcome the difficulties of the instrument and she has a reputation for adaptability with younger students.

Among many other musical activities, Charles “Chip” Hamann is principle oboe of the National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO), professor of oboe at University of Ottawa. Being used to exaggerated marketing fluff, I took Chip’s NACO and University biographies with a grain of salt… but after this weekend and some e-mail correspondence, his dedication to music, people and the community have struck me as sincere and tireless! During the weekend, a connection between Chip and amateur participants was apparent.

Gary Armstrong, like myself, is a veteran oboist from le Conservatoire de Montréal. He has been operating a very successful business of sales and repairs of woodwind instruments for a good number of years now (he has a solid reputation for the difficult adjustment of the oboe). It was truly refreshing to converse with someone who knew the same professionals I did and could relate to the same stories! His collection of new and used oboes is unique for Eastern Canada, a real treasure: well worth making a trip to Toronto to try them! He changed a tennon cork and adjusted a few screws on my oboe: it played much better than before – on par with the work done by Laubin’s finisher!

This year, just because of scheduling constraints, the participation was not very big. But this actually helped create a very intimate and tightly-knit community event. Nonetheless, I highly recommend any and every oboe player of any calibre or activity to attend, at least as a spectator, and better yet as participants. A very open and enjoyable happening!

My Pick: Used Strasser Oboe

Christophe Patrix plays Bozza on a Strasser.

Two postings ago, I compared the oboes I tried at Gary Armstrong’s exhibit and I gave details mostly about the Lorées. The Lorée Royal and the Howarth XL are truly remarkable instruments. BUT, the single instrument that impressed me the most was the used Strasser (semi-pro line of Marigaux). The one I tried was old with really loose keywork: it had been marvellously re-padded and adjusted by Gary Armstrong such that the looseness had no impact at all on its response and technical fluidity.

I tried trick fingerings, bad embouchure and pulling out the reed half-way, the instrument always sounded really well! Choosing a Royal or XL would be a matter of taste, because the Strasser sounded easily a match! The entire range (up to altissimo A – two octaves above the staff) were very easy and fluid and blowing it was just comfortable, always a sensation of freedom with perfect stability. Responsiveness of articulation and dynamic range were just as good as the new Lorées and Howarths.

The video included is played on a current Strasser oboe: judge the sound for yourself! I still want to compare with the world’s most exclusive instruments, but so far I am really impressed with Marigaux!

Marigaux explained to me that Strasser is made by the same people and manufactured on the same principles as their actual Marigaux. The reason Strasser is a semi-pro is mostly due to missing keywork and some industrial secrets! Their current Strasser does have less hardware, but the one I tried (don’t know the age) only lacked the 3rd octave, mechanisms around the bell, perhaps the banana key, but not much else.

5-minute reed : experiment successful !

I was going to write about the master class for adults at the University of Ottawa Oboe Event, but then I made this experimental reed that deserves blogging! Actually, at the end of the master class, prof. Hamann (Chip), mentioned group lessons where everyone is expected to make a good reed in 15 minutes, so it still fits the bill. My account of the master class next time.

Experimenting with shapes and lengths

Following my blog and/or the BBoard, people know I like to experiment with shapes and stuff in the hopes of making an easier reed that sounds more “baroque-esque”. Well try this one on for size. But 1st, repeat: this is an experimental reed, so yes there are flaws with it, but there are also some really cool things about it.

Bad stuff, good stuff

The picture above shows (and the video below sounds) the reed and another blank just like it. Because this is an experimental reed, I’m not worried about these 3 flaws:

1. it plays really flat (about 30 cents flat, so I guess A=435?)
2. it is unstable in the usual 1st octave-key notes
3. there is some buzz remaining in the sound

The buzz can be explained by the fact I spent only 5 minutes scraping it… more like 3, actually. The flatness and the instability can be explained by the measurements: it is 73.5mm in total length on a 45mm staple. This means it is very long cane compared to the norm, so stability might be better ensured with thicker cane than what I used (the usual 0.60mm). The shaper is also actually for oboe d’amore (Kunibert Michel 750), so really wide tip and really big belly. Finally, it is tied on Chiarugi #7 (really big … those of you who use Lorée staples would freak!).

Reed test–5 minute scrape.

But for the good part, if I can get the buzz out, this is starting to sound like my ideal. I’m curious to try this reed in a Marigaux: many people have stated that pretty much any reed will play with great stability. The dynamic range is great, it was really easy to scrape and the response is also great (with a rather thick tip). I’ll need to confirm if it still plays this well tomorrow, but here is what it sounds like: 3 minutes of scraping a freshly chopped blank!

Comparing many oboes!

University of Ottawa Oboe Event

People don’t usually think of Ottawa (Ontario, Canada) as a hub of oboe activity (compared to Toronto, Montréal or New-York!), but U.of O. professor and principle oboe at the National Arts Centre Orchestra Charles “Chip” Hamann organized a really fantastic event. With the additional sponsorship of Lorée and Gary Armstrong Woodwinds and the presence of very noteworthy guest professionals, this turned out to be quite a memorable weekend.

This is intended as an annual event, it took place last year and before, and will hopefully take place again next year: I really recommend people to attend! There were 3 principle focus points: U.of O. students, local amateurs and fostering a spirit of “oboe community”. Normally, these events focus almost exclusively on the first point, and it’s a real credit to Chip and co-organizer Angela Casagrande for having the broad vision to incorporate the rest.

Many oboes to try!

There is SO MUCH that can be said about the event – especially a striking concert by all professionals who participated – that it would be too easy to ramble on for hours. For this post, I’ll limit myself to a precious opportunity afforded by the event: trying and comparing over a dozen oboes! Gary Armstrong Woodwinds of Toronto came over to offer repair services and exhibit some of their stock for sale. These consisted of mostly Lorée (used and new – including 1 Royal), a good number of Howarths (new – including 1 XL), a used Strasser, a used Buffet Green Line, a used Covey and 2 new English Horns, a Fox and a Lorée and even 2 oboes for youngsters!

Reeds, weather and Climate Control

I had purposely brought some good and mediocre reeds because I wanted to see how these instruments handle the varying quality. On the 1st day, that went fine and I made some observations that I wanted to confirm on the 2nd day…… problem, on the 2nd day all reeds had 2 phases:

1. In the morning, they were all rock hard, didn’t crow, didn’t wheeze, just hard!
2. After some warming up, they seemed to behave reasonably the same: near concert grade! This made it difficult to really make a clear difference between one oboe and another.

Furthermore, the hall where the exhibition took place seemed to play a huge role in how these instruments were behaving: on the 1st day, I had tried and was really impressed by the tuning of almost all instruments…. then I tried mine as a standard…. mine was playing much more in tune and with better character than usual! So here’s a case where a favourable hall for performance makes it difficult to find the faults in the instruments!

Observations: Lorée afresh and other wonders

The following are my own opinions, highly coloured by my lack of experience and lost mastery of the instrument. Other people can have very different opinions which are fully valid. I’ll limit my observations to the positive attributes, because I don’t think I had enough time with the instruments to really qualify any flaws. The new instruments (Lorée and Howarth) were all easy to play in the altissimo register). None of them left me with any “super sensational” feeling making me want to rush out and change my instrument.

1. Lorée:
   1. All Lorées on exhibit seemed to … this is not a flaw at all … “frame” the sound. It is favourable to a consistent tone quality among different players. But it also makes me wonder why people feel they have more “freestyle expression” with it.
   2. There was an A-series and a C series: their legendary reputation is well deserved! Light weight yet full body sound. Not the most beautiful thing to see, but who cares! Really easy to play. Absolutely worth the trouble to rejuvenate the mechanics, these instruments deserve to be heard in public!
   3. The standard bore oboes were new or younger than the year 2000. Their tuning and stability were far improved compared to mine (1985).
   4. There were used and new AK bores: these exhibit much less restraint on blowing while maintaining the Lorée character.
   5. Royal: heavy, but that’s OK because it really “sits” its sound solidly. Extremely free blowing but dependable tuning throughout. It is superior to the standard models, but if money is an issue, the AK is really nice.
2. Howarth:
   1. All of them were very free blowing: no feeling of congestion anywhere or at any time.
   2. The little finger keys are especially comfortably positioned: I did not realize this had such an impact. You must try and compare to fully grasp the implications.
   3. The XL has all the good qualities of the Lorée Royal – choosing a favourite between the two is not easy at all.
3. Covey:
   1. A pleasant enigma. The repair work was fine for reselling, so everything played well, but more work on rejuvenating it would prevent misconceptions.
   2. At first, I did not like a sense of resistance from it. But the more I played, the more that sense gave way to a kind of restful feeling.
   3. It has a beautiful quality I don’t know how to explain: it very gracefully transitions between notes with more fluidity than any other instrument I have tried to this day.
   4. Very light, yet fine sound and comfortable to play.
4. Strasser:
   1. This was a very pleasant surprise. I was expecting a flawed “junior” model, but I really have no criticisms against it whatsoever…. and I tried many tricks to make it sound bad: it never did.
   2. The one word that characterises it is “comfort”. Comfortable to blow, comfortable to hold, comfortable mechanisms.
   3. My hands are big, this instrument might be designed for smaller hands. Nonetheless, I think I could play it very happily.
   4. I think it is the ideal model for both beginner and serious students because you can sound fully professional with it.
5. Buffet Crampon Green Line:
   1. I fully understand why people like this instrument.
   2. I remember, on the 1st day, remarking that this instrument is very forgiving on reeds: my mediocre reeds played very easily and in tune.
   3. Lorée players might not like it: difficult to explain, the 2 instruments “blow differently” – switching (alternating) between the 2 is not an easy task.
   4. This one is the very definition of “free blowing”.
   5. The tuning is fully dependable and it can sound almost any way you want.
6. Children’s oboes
   1. There was a Cabard “petites mains” and a Howarth Junior oboe.
   2. Both had exquisite sound and flawless tuning.
   3. These are proof positive that oboes are NOT impossible instruments!!!

Surprize: instability on different notes!

Those of us who became solid players around the 1980’s and 1990’s were accustomed to special fingerings on most brands of oboe for the F# and G (sometimes the E-natural) with the 1st octave key. Some notes with the 2nd octave key might be flat or sharp or even unpredictable, but they would not “wobble” in the middle of a crescendo.

Strangely, some of the instruments I tried, I was very surprized that this “wobble” happened on either the 2nd octave key A or the “normal” F with the 1st octave key. Because my reeds all played more consistently on the 2nd day, I was not able to reproduce it, and I forgot which instruments. I just remember it was not the Strasser, the Royal or the XL.

Which oboe?

I’m amazed that this little self-glorifying blog would attract over 1000 visitors from a dozen countries in less than a month… WOW, thanks people!… yes, I did exclude my own visits! For sure a lot of it is due to my wife’s photographs of the reed cases (her flickr here): easily the most popular post (click here).

I’ve been receiving e-mails directly with comments and questions: I really like these because it jogs my ideas. It gets me to organize what to write.

For example, in a previous post [Back to my (blog) roots!] I mentioned being enchanted by the oboe d’amore and also my appreciation for Ludwig Frank and the Gebrüder Mönning manufacture. Well, this started a really good e-mail exchange with one reader who gave me very encouraging information about both the instruments and how they care for their customers.

Funny thing is, I never played a Frank or Mönning nor have I ever so much as touched a d’amore! I have only owned the same Lorée oboe for 25 years. I have played some Yamahas, many Lorées, a Selmer or two and some (Lorée) English Horns, but apart from the under $300 beginner-model 1921 Pan-American I got from E-Bay last spring to practice in my truck at lunch time, my good old Lorée is it!

Who can argue with sound?

The first few times I heard Albrecht Mayer on Internet Streaming radio, I thought: “Hmm, half decent sound for a baroque oboe.”  but then I discovered he plays on modern instruments!…. I mean, talk about being happily surprized! Then I started searching him on You-Tube and found some of his clips playing the d’amore: pure extacy!

Listen, Albrecht Mayer is not the only fantastic player… more for another post. But his productions really do open a lot of doors. More on this notion later… Thanks again for reading and please continue with the e-mails. But don’t be shy to leave a comment either!

Cheers!