Weeeeell doggies! / Chantez, petits chiots!

These days, I have to spend a lot of time on professional concerns.... and a fair amount of time and money on physical concerns.... so the video-recording will have to wait a week or so.	Ces jours-ci, je dois passer du temps sur des questions professionnelles... et un bon bout de temps et d'argent sur des questions physiques.... alors l'enregistrement vidéo devra attendre une autre semaine.
On the physical side, I'm getting some professional advice on posture and breathing. The result should help both the oboe playing and Tai-Chi.... more news when I make some observations.	Du côté physique, je consulte des professionnels à propos de la posture et de la respiration. Le résultat devrait aider le hautbois ainsi que le tai-chi... des nouvelles quand j'en aurai.
In the meantime, just a few curiosities!	Entretemps,quelques curiosités!

Doggies sing with Daddy! Yes, I'm a softie when it comes to my dogs! Two of them just love it when I start practicing: as soon as I hit the altissimo range, they start to sing along! … no care about tuning, just have fun!	Fun in the family! On s’amuse en famille!	Chantez, petits chiots! Quand il s'agit de mes chiens, oui j'ai le coeur sensible! Deux parmi eux adorent quand je me mets à travailler mon sur-aigu: ils se mettent à chanter avec moi! … on se fiche de la justesse, on s’amuse!
New Web Site! RobinDesHautbois.ca Building (and maintaining) a web-site takes much more time than one would think. But how a appearances count! ... one weekend less of practicing…		Nouveau site Internet! RobinDesHautbois.ca Construire (et maintenir) un site Internet peut prendre beaucoup plus de temps qu'on le voudrait. Mais les apparances comptent! ... une fin-de-semaine de moins sur le hautbois...

Why Make Reeds? / IDRS art. 6 / Pourquoi fabriquer ses anches?

I am currently preparing to record a baroque sonata. This time, it will be on video, so I want to be at my best. So that is also why it's taking more time for my last 2 posts on IDRS 2013... Yes, the excitement continues. In fact, I think my next recording will be pretty good and that's in good measure thanks to the energy boost from IDRS 2013! Next post will describe some real goodies I discovered there, but what follows might be a bit surprising...		Je me prépare actuellement à enregistrer une sonate baroque. Cette fois, ce sera une vidéo, alors je veux faire de mon mieux. C'est l'une des raisons que je prends plus de temps pour mes 2 derniers articles sur l'IDRS 2013... Oui, la fête continue, même que le prochain enregistrement sera en grande partie dûe à l'effluve d'énergie venu d'IDRS 2013! Le prochain article présentera de vraies bijoux découverts là-bas, mais le suivant pourrait surprendre un peu...
Is it still necessary to make our own reeds? Can a professional oboist actually sustain a performance career without the aggravation of making reeds? This question peaks my curiosity because, here in Canada and in all North America, it is believed that good oboe reeds are very hard to make and that good reeds for one person are not good for another.		Est-il toujours nécessaire de fabriquer ses propres anches? Un hautboïste professionnel, peut-il soutenir une vie sur scène sans devoir se casser la tête à faire ses anches? Cette question pîque ma curiosité parce que, ici au Canada et dans toute l'Amérique du nord, la norme veut que les bonnes anches soit très difficiles à fabriquer et les bonnes anches pour une personne ne le seront pas pour une autre.
This question is really important to me because I have been told by some professionals and some very highly respected oboe makers that my reeds are not stable... strange because I used the same reeds on the same day in the same building in other instruments and the tuning and stability were perfect while providing even better articulation and even broader dynamics! So you will understand that I consider there is a LOT of RUBBISH being taught about reeds and how hard an instrument the oboe is: I don't believe any of it anymore!		La question me tient à coeur parce que je me suis fait dire pare quelques professionnels et quelques manufacturiers hautement respectés que mes anches ne sont pas stables... étrange, parce que les mêmes anches, jouées le même jour dans la même salle mais dans d'autres instruments présentent une justesse et stabilité parfaites tout-en démontrant de plus nettes articulations et un plus vaste gamme de nuances! Alors vous comprendrez que je qualifie de FOUTAISE, BEAUCOUP de ce qu'on  enseigne à propos des anches et à quel point le hautbois est un instrument difficile: je n'en crois plus rien!
Well, I admit that the motor skills required to manipulate knives etc. for the very intricate cutting and tying operations are a talent not given to everyone; this could definitely prove frustrating to a talented musician who does not possess the tooling skills. And yet,  my own experience is that good reeds are simple enough to make: we tend to obsess over reeds when we should spend more effort on breath control and choosing an instrument that helps rather than inhibits tuning.		J'avoue quand-même que la motricité et la dextérité requise à manipuler les outils pour le travail très minutieux de grattage et de ligatturage des anches ne sont pas des talents naturels chez chacun; cela peut donc présenter des frustrations importantes chez le musicien talentueux qui ne possède pas le talent pour l'outillage. Pourtant, mon expérience me dit que la fabrication des bonnes anches est chose simple: nous avons tendance à s'obstiner avec les anches alors que nous devrions travailler le souffle et choisir un instrument qui aide à l'intonation, plutôt que de nuire.
So I'm very happy to read stories about people, including professionals I know personally and very credible accounts that some very high-profile soloists buy reeds and use them in concerts! Furthermore, I have read accounts of serious amateurs who sustain busy ensemble performing lives with purchased reeds.		Je suis donc très heureux de lire les histoires de connaissances personnelles (incluant des professionnels) et des histoires de sources très crédibles de solistes de grande renommée achètent les anches qu'ils jouent en concert! J'ai aussi appris de certains amateurs qui soutiennent une vie d'ensemble active avec des anches achetées.
The clear conclusion, then, is that it is NOT necessary to master reed making to have a fulfilling oboe life. But it might be necessary to master finding the right reed maker and the art of fine-tuning finished reeds. I have been making my reeds for nearly 30 years and I enjoy it, so I will continue for as long as God preserves the motor skills in me. But I am fully confident that I can fall back on some quality purchased reeds if I ever need to.	REMARK: Here, I mention only a few reedmakers. There are many others that just as good a job. I limit my blog to my own experience REMARQUE: Ici, je mentionne quelques fabricants. Il en existe bien d’autres qui font un excellent travail. Je limite mon blog à ma propre expérience.	On peut donc conclure clairement qu'il n'est PAS nécessaire de maîtriser la fabrication des anches pour s'épanouir avec le hautbois. Il peut être nécessaire de trouver le fabricant approprié et d'apprendre à les mettre au point. Je fabrique mes anches depuis près de 30 ans et je me plais à le faire, alors je continuerai ainsi pour aussi longtemps que le Bon Dieu me prête la motricité. Mais je suis bien confient que je pourrai revenir aux anches achetées, si le besoin se montre.
K-Ge reeds and oboes Kexun Ge reeds are world-famous machine-made reeds. I mostly know him as a fellow dog lover on Facebook! I met this man at IDRS 2013 and he kindly demonstrated his process and produced a really nice reed for me (I still have it and will keep it for study). His own story is actually impressive and inspiring. For sure, he's not the only musician to have overcome pressures and obstacles of all kinds (just like I am not the only ex-pro to earn a living with something else and struggle to resume a musical life despite physical impediments) but I believe that sharing his story can be tremendously encouraging to others currently living similar experiences (just like I am still very encouraged and motivated by other people like me sharing their stories). It is no small feat to build a business of 70 employees centred on the oboe - I could imagine a business plan for the saxophone or electric guitar, but the oboe?!?! So I consider his life experience and accomplishments very commendable.	l’histoire de Kexun Ge’s story	Les anches et hautbois K-Ge Kexun Ge est reconnu mondialement pour ses anches fabriquées à la machine. Moi, je le connais surtout comme confrère fou-des-chiens sur Facebook! Je l'ai rencontré à IDRS 2013 et il m'a gentiment fait la démonstration de son précédé pour me produire une très belle anche (je l'ai toujours et je la garde pour l'étude). Sa propre histoire est inspirante. Évidemment, il n'est pas le seul musicien à avoir surmonté des pressions et obstacles de toutes sortes (tout comme je ne suis pas le seul ex-professionnel à m'efforcer à retrouver une vie musicale malgré des épreuves physiques) mais je crois que partager son histoire peut grandement encourager d'autres qui vivent actuellement des expériences semblables (tout comme j'ai moi-même été grandement encouragé par d'autres qui no t partagé leurs histoires). Construire une entreprise de 70 employés centré sur le hautbois n'est pas trivial! Je peux imaginer pour le saxophone ou la guitarre électrique, mais le hautbois?!?! Alors je considère son expérience de vie et ses réussites très louables.
I have stated in another blog post () that if a reed plays wonderfully on the day it is made, it will become hard the next. Kexun Ge agrees this is true for machine made reeds too, so he has a process of touching-up reeds either by machine or by hand (depending on the individual reed) on the following days. So the machine is really just a tool to speed up the rough work. One thing that struck me of his reeds is that they are extremely well tied: many reeds, blanks and finished, were lying on his table at IDRS 2013 and they were all perfectly parallel, no offset side slipping at all. To me, how well a reed is tied is just as important as the quality of the scrape.		J'ai écrit dans un autre article () que si une anche joue bien le jour de son grattage principal, elle deviendra dûre le lendemain. Kexun Ge est d'accord avec ça pour les anches machinées aussi. Il a donc une routine de retouches (à la machine ou à la main dépend de l'anche individuelle) au cours des jours suivants. Alors la machine n'est qu'un outil pour accélérer le travail en gros Une chose qui m'a marquée est que ses anches sont très bien attachées: plusieurs anches montées et finies se trouvaient sur sa table à IDRS 2013 et elles étaient toutes parfaitement parallèles, sans aucun déplacement lattéral que ce soit. À mon avis, le ligatturage (attache) de l'anche est tout aussi important que le grattage.
There is a lot if discussion about Chinese oboes and how troublesome they can be... This is not the case with K-Ge oboes: they struck me as fully helpful. I said somewhere that they have no personality, best for schools and the military, but I also showed that instrument+reed+person form a partnership () that can cause different results from person to person. Listen to Kexun beautifully play his K-Ge oboe on his machine made reeds here and decide for yourself! In my opinion, world-class and full of deep artistry.		Je lis beaucoup de discussions à propos des hautbois Chinois et combien la construction peut être foutue. Ce n'est pas le cas avec ceux produits par K-Ge: ils m'ont marqué par leur jeu. J'ai indiqué ailleurs que je ne trouve guère de personalité dnas ses instruments, mieux pour les écoles et le militaire, mais j'ai aussi expliqué le partenariat instrument+anche+personne() peut donner des impressions très différentes d'une personne à l'autre. Écoutez Kexun jouer son hautbois K-Ge sur une anche machinée et décidez par vous-même de son expression artistique.
Reed Pros - Tanya Johnson Now, I personally do no like American scrape at all, I find these reeds wimpy and restrictive. However, remember that reed styles are a matter of taste and fully depend on your specific physical makeup. There are two American reeds that got my attention: the one Paul Laübin lent me to try his oboes and the one handed to me by Tanya Johnson at IDRS 2013.		Reed Pros - Tanya Johnson Personellement, je n'aime pas du tout le grattage américain, je les anches ainsi faites feluettes et restreignantes. Par contre, je me rappèlle que les styles d'anches sont personnelles et dépendent du physique particulier à l'individu. Deux anches américaines ont capté mon attention: celle que Paul Laübin m'a prêtée pour essayer son hautbois et celle de Tanya Jonhson à IDRS 2013.
Tanya was walking around with a "cigarette tray" promoting "try before you buy" reeds. Well, I did try her "hardest reed" and I actually liked it! It did not seem hard to me, maybe medium strength, but like Läubin's reed it actually crowed perfectly to my taste and played quite well. I still prefer European scrape for myself, but I have no hesitation to recommend Reed Pros to others who prefer the American aesthetic.		Tanya se promenait avec un plateau attachée au cou pour nous inviter à "essayer avant d'acheter" ses anches. J'ai donc essayé son anche la plus forte et je l'ai bien aimée. Elle ne m'a pas paru dûre, peut-être de force moyenne, mais comme l'anche de Läubin, elle faisait in cri véritable et jouait remarquablement bien. Je préfère toujours le grattage européen pour moi-même, mais c'est sans hésitation que je recommande les anches de Reed Pros. pour ceux qui préfèrent l'esthétique américaine.
Fibercane – no – Légère! I'm sure most readers remember starting the oboe with “Fibercane” reeds: very easy to play for beginners, but such horrid sound with absolutely no chance at all for dynamics or tuning control. This experience often leaves the impression that it's impossible to produce serious reeds from synthetic materials... can you imagine the difference between European and American out of plastic reeds?		Fibre de verre - non - Légère! On peut croire que la majorité des lecteurs ont commencé avec les anches "Fibrecane" de fibre de verre: très faciles à jouer pour les débutants, mais à timbre horrifiant et sans aucune chance de nuances ou contrôle de la justesse. Cette expérience laisse souvent l'impression qu'il est impossible de produire une anche sérieuse de matériaux synthétiques... imaginez la différence entre les anches européennes ou américaines!
Well,  Légère (here ) currently has a huge reputation for clarinet and saxophone reeds where they openly challenge people to tell the difference between cane reeds and their synthetic reeds. Légère bassoon reeds are becoming quite well adopted by bassoonists who try them, but oboe reeds have always been just above reach ..... now guess what? That's right, leave it to none other than Christoph Hartmann to actually help Légère build a good synthetic oboe reed! He used it during a masterclass at IDRS 2013 and sounded extraordinary. In fact, I know he used it in an afternoon recital (I don't remember which piece) and still sounded great! If that wasn't enough, maestro Hartmann asked me to try his plastic Légère reed: it is actually quite good. It is apparently not ready for production yet, but it sounds mighty nice! I found it plays like a stout American reed: perfect articulation and very decent dynamics, but there is a maximum of how much air I can push through it. Being able to push all my air pressure and volume is really important to me, so I still prefer my own cane reeds. Nonetheless, if they were for sale right now, I would definitely buy a couple.		Et bien, Légère (ici ) a une grande réputation pour les anches de clarinette et de saxophone. Ils lancent ouvertement le défi à quiconque de faire la différence entre leurs anches de plastique et les anches de roseau. Les anches de basson Légère se font adopter par les bassonnistes qui les essaient, mais le hautbois reste un défi..... mais devinez quoi.... C'est ça, nul autre que Christoph Hartmann entreprend d'aider Légère à construire une anche de hautbois synthétique digne de ce nom! Il l'a utilisé lors d'une classe des maîtres à IDRS 2013 pour produire une sonorité formidable! I'l l'a même utilisé lors d'un récital d'après-midi (je ne me souviens plus quelle pièce), sonnant toujours formidable! Comme si ce n'était pas assez, maestro Hartmann m'a demandé d'essayer son anche Légère: très bien, je dois avouer! Prétendu pas prêt pour la production de masse, son timbre est plutôt joli! Je trouve que ça joue comme une anche Américaine solide: parfaites articulations et nuances dignes, mais ça admet un maximum de volume/pression d'air. Conséquemment, je préfère mes propres anches de roseau... toujours est-il que si elles étaient en vente en ce moment, j'en achèterais quelques unes sans aucun doute.
Borneo Reeds I have never actually tried the reeds made in Singapore (or Malaysia, depending on the week) by Howard Ng, however I have every confidence that they must be great! He is still a young professional, but the You-Tubes of his performances show a really promissing evolution! Howard and I have corresponded a good amount over the past 3+ years, mostly discussing our tastes in performance styles and the sounds of various top-name soloists. We also discussed rather deeply what we like and dislike in reed behaviour and feeling as well as how reedmaking techniques help or inhibit our goals. Believe me when I say that as a result of these discussions, Howard is one of the small handful of people from whom I will take advice on reed making!	crow test du cri A few years before he started Borneo Reeds Quelques années avant de lancer Articulations	Borneo Reeds Je n'ai jamais moi-même essayé les anches faites au Singapour (ou en Malaysie selon la semaine) par Howard Ng, mais j'ai toute la confiance du monde qu'ils sont extraordinaires! Il est encore un jeune professionnel, mais les You-Tube de ses présentations publiques montrent un talent indéniable! Howard et moi avons correspondu considérablement, ces derniers 3 ans et plus, surtout à discuter nos goûts en styles d'interprétation et les timbres des solistes à grande renommée. Nous avons aussi discuté en profondeur de ce que nous aimons ou pas dans le comportement et sensation des anches ainsi que comment les techniques de fabrication contribuent ou nuisent à nos buts. Croyez-moi quand je dis que, suite à ces discussions, Howard est l'un du très petit nombre de gens de qui j'accepte les conseils en fabrication!
Cooper Wright I have never tried Coopers reeds either, besides, he does American scrape, so I'm not really interested. So why mention him at all? Two reasons: I know at least 3 professionals I respect who love his reeds, one of them uses nothing else. He has answered quite a few of my questions on the BBoard about cane gouging and a slough of other topics, with incredibly detailed information. So I'm thoroughly conviced in the quality and usability of his reeds and, because of our correspondence, I have every confidence to recommend his reeds for those who want American reeds.		Cooper Wright Je n'ai jamais essayé les anches de Cooper non plus, de toute façon il fait le grattage américain, alors je ne suis pas intéressé. Pourquoi alors le mentionner? Deux raisons: je connais au moins 3 professionnels qui aiment grandement ses anches, l'un d'eux n'utilise rien d'autre; il a répondu à plusieurs de mes questions sur le BBoard à propos de gouger le roseau et plein d'autres sujets avec détail et brilliance. Je suis donc bien convaincu de la qualité de ses anches et, suite à notre correspondance, je recommande ses anches à ceux qui veulent les anches américaines.
Many others... Doing an internet search will yield a LOT of reedmakers, some of them selling very cheap on e-bay and other such mechanisms, but I suspect there is no substitute for good reputation. When it comes to oboe reeds, it's worth paying 3x more to get something that helps you enjoy playing rather than makes you fight for it. But even so, many very reputable makers might not make the exact reed to suit you, so the only way is to try reeds from many makers until you find the right one: once you do, stick with it. ... But don't forget, even the best reed won't do the playing for you! Great reeds are one thing, but you must still learn to play them!		Plusieurs autres... Une recherche internet soulèvera PLUSIEURS fabricants d'anches, quelques-uns vendent à très bon prix sur e-bay ou autres mécanismes semblables, mais je crois que le prix ne remplace pas la réputation. Quand il sagit des anches de hautbois, il vaut la peine de payer 3x le prix pour quelque chose qui aide plutôt que nuit au plaisir de jouer. Même à cela, des fabricants de grande réputation ne produisent pas nécessairement l'anche qui vous va, alors il ne reste qu'à en eassayer plusieurs jusqu'à ce que vous trouvez le bon: ensuite restez-y fidèle! ... Mais n'oubliez pas, la meilleure anche ne jouera pas à votre place! Les meilleures anches n'excluent pas le besoin d'apprendre à les jouer!

Other Family Members / IDRS 2013 art. 5 / Autres membres de la famille

I had only played English Horn a very little bit, so my experience and skills are likely too limited to make a proper assessment of these instruments. Still, instruments that make playing easy can't be a bad thing. At that time, over 15 years ago, it seemed the few Lorées I played had congested 2nd key range and almost absent dynamic range upwards of the 1st octave key notes. I found this so frustrating, I thought I did not know how to make EH reeds! I did not know it, but I had bad cane and horrible staples.		Je n’ai joué qu’un peu de cor anglais dans ma vie, alors mon expérience y est très limité, je n'ai peut-être pas les compétences à bien évaluer ces instruments. Toujours est-il qu'un instrument qui rend la vie plus facile ne peut pas être vilain. À l'époque, il y a plus de 15 ans, il me semblait que les quelques Lorées que j'ai joués semblaient souffrir de congestion des notes de 2e clef d'octave et de nuances impossibles à partir de la 1ère clef d'octave. C'était frustrant au point de croire que je ne savais pas faire des anches pour l'instrument. Je ne le savais pas, mais mon reauseau était mauvais et les tubes affreux.
But at the University of Ottawa Oboe event (2 years ago ), I had obtained great cane and staples to make fine reeds and was able to try several English Horns. Gary Armstrong brought a new Lorée and Fox EH and a fellow Ottawa Amateur, Jeremias Gramcko, brought an absolutely amazing antique English Horn by Orsi, Milan (Italy). The Orsi has a Triébert+Prestini key system: the low B-nat on the thumb is great, but learning the left-hand notes would take quite some time - too much effort for this hobbyist. But it's sound is so big and easy, a rich velevety sound that plays softly or loudly even above high D: this instrument sets the bar on modern instruments for sound and playability.		Mais au festival du hautbois à l'Université d'Ottawa (il y a 2 ans ), j'ai enfin acquis de bons tubes et roseaux pour me faire des anches très respectables. J'ai donc pu essayer des cor anglais neufs. Gary Armstrong a apporté un Lorée, un Fox et un camarade-amateur d’Ottawa a apporté une antiquité par Orsi, Milan (Italie). Ce dernier avait un mécanisme Triébert+Prestini: le Si grave au pouce est génial, mais le manque de clefs pour la main droite oblige apprendre de nouveaux doigtés - trop d'efforts pour un loisir, si passionnant soit-il. Mais sa sonorité est si large et facile, un timbre riche et velouté qui joue doux ou fort même au dessus du ré aigü: cet instrument établit la norme à atteindre pour les instruments modernes!
At IDRS 2013, I know I tried more instruments than the list below but frankly, my focus was so riveted on the oboes and d'amores, that I don't even remember my impressions on half the English Horns I tried. These are the ones for which I do remember my impressions: Baroque Oboe Viennese oboe (G. Wolf) (Link with Dupin?) Bass oboe (Mönnig) and Lupophone (G. Wolf) More commonly known: Lorée: d'amore and EH Howarth: d'amore and EH Marigaux: EH Mönnig: EH D'amore sound Fossati: d'amore and EH Josef: d'amore Bulgheroni and Püchner: d'amore Hiniker: d'amore Conclusion	Edited from the original on the geat blog here .	À la conférence IDRS 2013, je sais avoir essayé plus d'instruments que la liste suivante, mais j'était tellment captivé par les hautbois et htb. d'amour, alors je ne me souviens même pas de la moitié de mes impressions sur les cors anglais! Ceux dont je me souviens sont: Hautbois Baroque Hautbois Viennois (G. Wolf) (Lien avec Dupin?) Hautbois basse (Mönnig) et Lupopohone (G. Wolf) Mieux connu: Lorée: CA et htb d'amour Howarth: CA et htb d'amour Marigaux: CA Mönnig: CA Timbre d’amour Fossati: CA et htb d'amour Josef: htb d'amour Bulgheroni et Püchner: htb d'amour Hiniker: htb d'amour Conclusion
Baroque Oboe I simply adulate the sound of a well played baroque oboe. The baroque oboe d'amore often sounds to me like a modern English horn, but the baroque oboe really has a soul of its own.... that's what I'm hoping the modern oboe d'amore will capture. At IDRS 2013, I surprized myself at only trying them once, on the last full day! I was just obsessed with modern oboes and d'amores. As much as I love the sound, I will not buy one any time soon: the reed and how it is blown is just too different from the modern oboe, and I just don't have time to spend learning new embouchure, breathing and fingering techniques. Seeing as I want to develop repertoires including impressionist and tonal-contemporary, I prefer to seek a modern instrument with the mechanics that favour the chromatic passages and all key signatures: there must be a bell and reed combination that affords a sound close to the baroque.		Hautbois Baroque Je suis amoureux du timbre du hautbois baroque bien joué. Le htb d'amour baroque ressemble souvent le cor anglais, mais le htb baroqu a vraiment sa propre âme... c'est ce que je souhaite retrouver dans le htb moderne. À IDRS 2013, je me susi surpris à n'essayer qu'une seule fois le htb baroque, près du dernier jour! J'étais trop obsédé par les instruments modernes. Autant que j'aime le timbre, je n'en achèterai pas bientôt: l'anche, la manière de le souffler et les doigtés sont trop différents de ce que je suis habitué. Puisque je veux développer le répertoire impressionniste et contemporain-tonal, je préfère chercher un instrument moderne qui favorise les passages chromatiques et toutes les gammes: il doit y exister une combinaison de pavillons et d'anche qui permet un timbre qui rappèlle le baroque.
Viennese Oboe (link with Dupin?): This instrument also really peaks my interest and the reeds they use are half-way between modern and baroque reeds. I finally tried them with reeds were lent by Wolf. It is an amazing instrument: wild beyond belief and with a full-bodied flexible sound that should be the envy of "normal" oboes. The tuning is perfect BUT: when I say it is a wild instrument, I mean the note can be absolutely anywhere you want it - high, low, shrill, baroquescant... it's all a matter of what you do with your mouth and breath! Wolf makes them with traditional and "French" key systems and they also produce baroque, classical and many other oboes. The mechanics of the "French" system is really reduced compared to the full-Conservatoire system, but it does keep many more expected fingerings between G and C. To my taste, I prefer to learn the fingerings and go full-out with Viennese system, closer to the Triébert system. I tried one classical oboe they make from box-wood, essentially a Viennese with more simple mechanism: just plain wonderful to play. The experience of trying the Viennese oboe was just fantastic, I loved it fully! But it is not an easy transition: the fingerings, reed and breath/embouchure techniques are really different from the "normal" modern oboe. In particular, the fingers are much closer together, so it is easy to stumble on keys and mess-up notes. But I really like their boxwood classical oboe. Perhaps as a pre-retirement project, I might get their boxwood classical model instead of a baroque oboe. A theoretical relationship can be made between the the Viennese oboe and the very exclusive (and elusive) Dupin Imperial: both aim to resurrect the classical bore on the instrument. The Viennese oboe keeps the classical instrument almost intact, whereas Dupin’s Imperial modernised it: it is much more controlled and focused notes than the Viennese while still allowing a tremendous variance in sound and feeling. Dupin also makes baroque oboes: this might provide him with a better understanding of old bores and sound. All his instruments are usually purchased on faith: the professionals who play them have absolute confidence in their craftsmanship, so they were not to be found at expositions like IDRS.	Left to right: French System Baroque d’Amore. Viennese System Children Boxwoold Classical (Shawm) De gauche à droite: Système français htb d’amour baroque Système viennois pour enfants classique en buis (shaum) Top to bottom, Dupin: Imperial English Horn Imperial Oboe Baroque Oboe De haut en bas, Dupin: cor anglais impérial hautbois impérial hautbois baroque	Hautbois Viennois (lien avec Dupin?): Cet instrument a vraiment piqué mon intérêt et les anches sont mi-chemin entre ceux du htb. baroque et moderne. J'en ai enfin essayé avec des anches prêtées par Wolf. C'est un instrument fabuleux: incroyablement sauvage avec un timbre de plein-corps et une flexibilité qui devrait faire l'envi des hautbois 'normaux'. La justesse est parfaite MAIS: quand je dis que l'instrument est sauvage, ça dit que les notes peuvent être centrées absolument n'importe-où l'on le veut - haut, bas, métallique ou baroquescant... c'est toute une question de ce qu'on fait avec l'embouchure et le souffle! Wolf les fabrique avec mécanismes traditionnels et 'français' et ils produisent des hautbois claissiques, baroques et autres. Le mécanisme 'français' est grandement réduit à comparer au system Conservatoire complèt. Personellement, je préfère apprendre le système viennois, plus près de Triébert. J'ai essayé un modèle classique fait de buis, essentiellement un viennois avec moins de clefs: un vrai charme à jouer. Essayer le htb viennois était formidable, j'ai adoré! Mais ce ne serait pas une transition facile: les doigtés, anches, embouchure et souffle sont vraiment différents du hautbois 'normal'. Le viennois est beaucoup plus petit et léger; résultatl, les doigts sont beaucoup plus proches et c'est facile de trébucher et craquer les notes. Mais j'ai vraiment aimé leur classique en buis... peut-être comme projet de pré-retraite au lieu d'un baroque... Une rleation théorique peut être établie entre le viennois et le très exclusif impérial de Dupin: les deux veulent ramener la perce classique à l’instrument. Le viennois est presqu’une copie conforme du classique alors que Dupin l’a modernisé avec l’impérial: centrage des notes beaucoup mieux contrôllé que le viennois tout en accordant une variance exceptionnelle dans le son et l’émoi. Dupin fabrique aussi des hautbois baroques, ce qui devrait lui fournir une expérience et une compréhension plus profonde de la perse et la sonorité. Tous ses instruments sont habituellement achetés sur le principe de confiance en sa qualité par les professionnels qui le jouent, alors ils ne sont pas exposés à des évéenements comme IDRS.
Bass (barytone) oboe & Lupophone I only tried the Mönnig bass oboe (with the conical bell) with a reed they provided me. I have no idea if the reed was any good so I cannot know if my impressions were of the instrument or the reed: I just found the instrument really stuffy and restricted. I think trying to just extend the length of an instrument without redesigning its acoustics might be asking for trouble. I don't know if Lorée, Patricola, Marigaux or Fossati or any other barytone oboes play better: I need to try! The Lupophone (by Wolf) is a redesign of the instrument and it is just fantastic! The fingerings are Conservatoire plus a few extra keys to facilitate some registers. Absolutely no stuffiness and no restriction! However, it uses a small bassoon reed... this should not be a problem for the oboist, but I just hope it does not tell conductors "not a real oboe - change the instrument". I have heard stories of conductors causing this kind of trouble; the Lupophone really deserves a chance in the orchestra!		Hautbois basse (baryton) et Lupophone Je n'ai essayé que le htb basse Mönnig avec une anche qu'ils m'ont prêtée. Je n'ai aucune idée si l'anche était bonne pour moi alors je ne sais pas si mes impressions concernent l'instrument ou l'anche: j'ai trouvé l'instrument vraiment congestionné et restreint. Je me demande si allonger le tube du hautbois est suffisant pour une autre voix sans revoir sa conception de base. Je ne sais pas si Lorée, Patricola, Marigaux ou Fossati ou autres baritons feraient mieux: je dois essayer! Le lupophone (par Wolf) est une revue complète de la construction de l'instrument et joue à merveille! Il possède un mécanisme conservatoire avec quelques clefs additionnelles pour faciliter les registres. Absolument aucune congestion et facilité de nuances sur toute la tessiture. Par contre, il utilise une petite anche de basson... ça ne devrait causer aucun ennui pour le hautboïste, mais j'espère que les chefs d'orchestre ne prendront pas le prétexte pour dire: "Ce n'est pas un hautbois. Changez d'instrument". J'ai entendu des histoires semblables; le Lupophone mérite sa chance dans l'orchestre!
More commonly known: When it comes to English Horns and oboes d'amore, it's really hard to mention the merits or troubles with it because the bocal makes a really huge difference. For example, I tried a Howarth EH at Hannah Selznick's booth with a Püchner bocal and a custom handmade: I personally clearly liked the custom bocal better. The effects of the bocal is perfectly sensible: if changing the small staple on an oboe reed makes the difference between dizzy-spells and full dynamic expressiveness, then how powerful can be the difference on a big EH bocal? So, I will give my impressions, but it is very possible that they are meaningless. The English Horn might well be a perfect example of an instrument where you're best to purchase one, then learn to improve on its performance by trying more bocals and reeds until the right combination is found.		Mieux connus Quand on parle de cors anglais et de hautbois d'amour, c'est très difficile d'évaluer les mérites ou défauts parce que le bocal a un impact majeur. Par exemple, j'ai essayé un cor anglais à la table de Hannah Selznick avec un bocal Püchner et un autre fait à la main: personellement, je préférais de loin celui fait à la main. Les effets du bocal ont bien du bon sens. Si changer le petit tube d'une anche de hautbois me fait passer d'étourdissements à une pleine gamme de nuances expressives, alors combien plus la différence d'un grand bocal de CA? Alors je donne mes impressions, mais il se peut fort bien qu'elles soient futiles. Le cor anglais est peut-être l'exemple parfait d'un instrument où il vaut mieux en acheter un, puis ensuite chercher à améliorer sa performance avec des bocaux et anches différentes jusqu'à ce que la combinaison idéale soit trouvée.
Lorée: I have spoken and corresponded with several players of Marigaux, Dupin and others who still prefer the Lorée English Horn and d'amore above all others. I have to admit, the d'amore and EH really do shape the tone colour nicely. I have played a handful of Lorée English Horns and the ones I tried at IDRS 2013 did not change my impressions: the tone colour is very nicely framed, but the tuning and stability are just anything and anywhere. Rare exceptions can be fantastic instruments, but normally I find the 2nd octave key notes really restricted in dynamics, above high-D gets even more stuffy. The d'amore was the same.		Lorée: J'ai parlé et correspondu avec un nombre de hautboïstes Dupin, Marigaux et autres qui préfèrent le cor anglais Lorée au dessus de tous les autres. Je dois avouer que j'aime beaucoup le cadrage du timbre de leur CA et htb. d'amour. J'ai joué un petit nombre de CA Lorées et ceux que j'ai essayés à IDRS 2013 n'ont aucunement changé mon avis: le timbre est excellent, mais la justesse et la stabilité sont n'importe-quoi. On trouve exceptionellement des instruments phénoménaux, mais normalement, je trouve la 2e clef d'octave restreinte en nuances et au dessus du ré aigü particulièrement étoufé. Le htb. d'amour était pareil.
Howarth: The exact opposite of Lorée. The tuning and stability were just perfect on the howarth instruments I tried. The sound of the d'amore, however, was too close to the English horn to my taste. Both the d'amore and English horn could use more framing of the sound.		Howarth: Exactement l'inverse de Lorée. La justesse et stabilité semblent parfaites sur les instruments Howarth que j'ai essayés. Le timbre du htb d'amour, par contre, ressemble trop le cor anglais à mon goût. Les deux instruments pourraient mieux cadrer le timbre, à mon avis.
Marigaux EH: A solid professional instrument, I would gladly buy and play a Marigaux! Perfect tuning, perfect stability, full dynamic range in the 2nd octave key and altissimo range: I could play up to the altissimo G# with not effort at all. As with their oboes, Marigaux takes care of the tone color for me: a full-body Cor Anglais sound, very pastoral, yet very rich. Full quality mechanics with great feeling under the fingers. It is an instrument really well suited to someone who plays the English horn lots, but I would play it happily myself... I only wish someone would have brought a Marigaux d'amore...		CA Marigaux: Un instrument de professionnel solide; je jouerais un CA marigaux n'importe-quand avec plaisir! Justesse et stabilité parfaites et pleines nuances à la 2e clef d'octave et le sur-aigü: je peux jouer le sol# sans aucun effort. Comme pour leur hautbois, Marigaux s'occuppe du timbre à ma place: timbre de cor anglais riche et plein, très pastoral. L'instrument est mieux adapté à quelqu'un qui joue beaucoup de cor anglais, mais je le jouerais volontiers moi-même... j'aurais juste souhaité que quelqu'un ait apporté à la conférence un htb d'amour Marigaux...
Mönnig EH: Comes with two bells: traditional and conical. This is also a real solid pro instrument that takes care of the tone colour for the player: with this one, I actually sound close enough to Albrecht Mayer! The pear-shaped (normal) bell gives a really rich Cor Anglais sound whereas the conical bell opens it up for solo playing: it still sounds like a Cor Anglais, but more superstar in feeling. If I played the Cor Anglais quite a lot, this would be an ideal instrument, the mechanics are really solid and help playing cleanly.		CA Mönnig : Ça vient avec deux pavillons: traditionnel et conique. Celui-ci est aussi un instrument de professionel solide qui s'occuppe du timbre pour l'artiste: avec ce CA, j'arrive presqu'à sonner comme Albrecht Mayer! Le 'pavillon d'amour' (normal) donne une sonorité vraiment riche tandis que le conique ouvre le son pour le jeu solo: ça sonne toujours comme un cor anglais, mais avec un sentiment plus vantard. Si je jouais beaucoup de cor anglais, celui-ci serait idéal, la mécanique est très solide et aide au jeu net.
What should a d'amore sound like? Most people I correspond with agree that the oboe d'amore should NOT sound like a miniature English Horn or a big oboe, but defining what we DO want in the sound is not as easy. In most recordings, I find the d'amore does sound like a small English Horn... very few exceptions. I had a good conversation with Pascal Emery (Fossati) about the desired sound of the hautbois d'amour. Listening to baroque period-instrument artists, I think in the days of Bach, the d'amore did seem to serve the purpose of the modern English horn, possibly because the oboe da caccia was less easy to maintain..... historians, PLEASE CORRECT ME ..... Whatever it might have been in the past, modern instruments have become so versatile that the English horn is capable of playing the d'amore range and oboes can play lower than it used to. The d'amore, then can serve the purpose of providing a more baroque-like sound, keep the qualities lost from baroque instruments. The d'amores I tried that do have unique sounds are: Püchner, Bulgheroni, Fossati and Josef (recal, I never got to try Marigaux or Rigoutat and Mönnig did not bring one to IDRS 2013). I actually don't remember the differences too much: they all played perfectly in tune with full stable dynamic range.		Comment doit sonner un hautbois d'amour? Plein de gens s'accordent à dire que le htb d'amour ne doit pas sonner comme un cor anglais miniature ou un hautbois allongé, mais décrire ce quoi ça doit sonner est une autre paire de manches. Dans la majorité des enregistrements, je trouve que le htb d'amour sonne comme un CA miniature... très peu d'exceptions. J'ai eu une belle jasette avec Pascal Emery (Fossati) à propos du timbre désiré pour le htb d'amour. À écouter les artistes d'instruments d'époque baroque, je pense qu'à l'époque de Bach, le htb d'amour remplissait le rôle du cor anglais moderne, possiblement parce que le hautbois da caccia était moins flexible... historiens, VEUILLEZ S.V.P. ME CORRIGER ... Quoi qu'il en eu été jadis, les instruments modernes sont devenus si flexibles que le cor anglais joue facilement le registre du htb d'amour et le hautbois moderne joue assez grave pour presque tout le répertoire. Le htb d'amour, donc, peut remplir la lacune sonore et ramener le timbre du baroque, timbre et qualités perdus avec la modernisation. Les hautbois d'amour que j'ai essayé avec sonorités uniques sont: Püchner, Bulgheroni, Fossati and Josef (rappel, je n'ai jamais pu essayer Marigaux ou Rigoutat et Mönnig n'en a pas apporté au IDRS 2013). À vrai dire, je ne me souviens pas beaucoup des différences: ils ont tous joué parfaitement juste avec excellentes stabilité et nuances.
Josef: There were 2 of them, supposedly the same model, but one had a wood ring (instead of metal) around the bell; one had silver keys and one had gold keys. They were both made of grenadilla, but I just liked the silver keyed one better. Both were quite good, offering a d'amore (not EH) sound: I would gladly play that instrument any time!		Josef: Il en avait apporté 2, supposément le même modèle, mais un avait un anneau-bosse de bois (au lieu du métal) autour du pavillon; l'un avait les clefs dorés l'autre avait les clefs d'argent. Les deux étaient fait de grenadille, mais j'aimais mieux celui avec les clefs d'argent. Les deux étaient très bons, offrant un vrai timbre de htb d'amour; je jouerais volontiers cet instrument n'importe-quand!
Bulgheroni and Püchner: These have a real d'amore sound, smooth and fully expressive: no limits to their abilities. I remember really loving them and could have bought either one unconditionally... well, on condition of gathering the money!		Bulgheroni et Püchner: Les deux ont un vrai timbre de hautbois d'amour, velouté et très expressif: aucune limite à leur potentiel. Je me souviens les aimer vraiment beaucoup et j'aurais pu acheter l'un ou l'autre inconditionnellement... enfin, avec la condition d'avoir l'argent!
Fossati: The EH was really impressive! Absolutely no stuffiness or restriction anywhere: easy blowing and full dynamics in the 2nd and 3rd octave notes. This is a free-blowing professional instrument that is perfect for those who don't play hours of EH every week. The d'amore was in-line with the others (the good ones‬).... but they are mostly renowned for their exotic woods: I wish they had brought some. But here too, I could happily buy one!		Fossati: Le CA était vraiment impressionnant! Absolument aucune congestion ni restriction nulle part: facile à souffler et pleines nuances dans la tessiture des 2e et 3e clefs d'octave. C'est un instrument professionnel à souffle-libre parfait pour ceux qui ne jouent pas des heures de CA chaque semaine. Leur htb d'amour est en ligne avec tous les autres (les bons)... mais ils sont surtout reconnus pour leurs bois exotiques: dommage... Mais Fossati est un autre que j'achèterais sans hésiter!
Hiniker: The d'amore is litterally unique in the world: Tom Hiniker made exactly one! He actually got a d'amore made by someone else, re-bored it and adjusted the tone-holes to his liking and fiddled with the mechanics until he was satisfied: this will serve as a model if ever he manages to build more. The instrument is outstanding! A very mordern d'amore sound (not oboe, not EH, but a little bit of both). Anne Krabill let me try it, she brought it to try different bocals on it. The Hiniker d'amore bocal (he makes and sells more of those) was perfectly to my taste, but Anne added a new Püchner bocal to her collection.... ah, the pleasures of being a professional!		Hiniker: Ce htb d'amour est littéralement unique au monde: Tom Hiniker en a construit exactement un! Il a obtenu un htb d'amour d'un autre fabricant, l'a repercé et modifié la mécanique à son goût: celui-ci servira de modèle si jamais il finit par en fabriquer d'autres. Cet instrument est sensationnel! Un timbre de htb d'amour très moderne (ni hautbois, ni CA, mais un peu des deux). Anne Krabill me l'a laissé essayer, elle l'a apporté pour essayer de différents bocaux. Le bocal Hiniker qui venait avec était parfait à mon goût, mais elle a ajouté un bocal Püchner à sa colection.... ah, les plaisirs de la vie professionnelle!
Conclusion: The oboes I liked at IDRS 2013 really blew me away: a spectacular improvement that would make my musical life so much more enjoyable and my oboistic goals so much easier... but I have been coveting an oboe d'amore since the age of 14! I am sounding rather well on my Lorée oboe, these days... yes, it still requires considerable effort compared to others, but I can get maybe 80% of what I want. Some of the d'amores described here would really be a dream come true… I guess I need a year to think things over and try again at IDRS 2014 in NYC!		Conclusion: Les hautbois que j'ai aimés à la conférence IDRS 2013 m'ont vraiment émerveillés: une amélioration spectaculaire qui me rendrait la vie musicale tellement plus agréable et mes buts hautboïstiques tellement plus faciles à atteindre... mais je convoite un hautbois d'amour depuis l'âge de 14 ans! Je sonne assez bien sur mon Lorée, ces derniers temps… oui, ça exige un effort particulier à comparer aux autres, mais j’obtiens environ 80% de ce que je veux. Quelques-uns des htb d’amour décrits seraient la réalization d’un rêve… disons qu’un an de réflexion et d’autres essais à IDRS 2014 à New-York pourraient aider à décider!

OBOES AT IDRS 2013 - art. 4

I'll make another blog post on oboe d'amore, English horn, baroque and Viennese oboe. There is just so much to say about oboes themselves. Please refer to the disclaimer and vocabulary from this post (). As an applied scientist (computer engineer), I should never post articles on subjects that cannot be supported by concrete measurements: assessing musical instruments is ever more showing to be a matter of personal taste and experience which is about as anti-scientific as it can get. However, I remember eagerly asking people to write down their own impressions of instruments, being hungry myself to learn about other instruments I cannot easily play in Eastern-Canada, and by Blogger statistics, it seems many other people find this interesting too.

Je m'efforce autant que possible à publier en français aussi, mais vous verrez que cet article est plutôt long! Puis étant donné que le 4/7 de mes lecteurs est anglophone, l’autre 3/7 comptant aussi Italiens, Espagnols, Allemands, Scandinaves, Asiatiques de toutes sortes… Je le traduirai lorsque le temps le permettra. Si vous croyez être intéressé par le contenu mais trouvez l'anglais (canadien) difficile, veuillez me le laisser savoir en commentaire, ici ou sur Facebook ou par courrier électronique et je me hâterai de traduire. Cet article traitera des hautbois seulement. Le suivant traitera du hautbois d'amour, cor anglais, viennois et baroque. Il sera vraisemblablement plus court que celui-ci alors il y a de bonnes chances qu'il sera bilingue.

When I translated/digested Josh Jönnssohn's blog post () about all oboes he had played, I was somewhat put off at what seemed to be a noticeable lack of criticism. Seriously, the makers cannot ALL be producing wonderful instruments, can they? Well, my experiences at IDRS 2013 left me convinced that the great names in oboe makers really do make extraordinary instruments... in fact, they left me unable to choose a favourite.

Recall:
The following are my opinions based on my own tastes and experience. I strongly encourage every reader to try as many instruments as possible and form their own opinions. Opinions can contradict and still remain valid: I would be very interested in reading other people’s conflicting views.

Assessing an oboe:

My criteria for evaluating an instrument have always been clear:

1. Tuning: I do not mean A=438, 440 or 442, but rather how octaves, fifths and generally how notes tune in relation with each other across the whole range of the instrument.
2. Stability of all notes during crescendi/diminuendi (both fast and slow) as well as with different articulations and dependability of the tuning regardless of how a note is approached.
3. Sound characteristics : general description, stuffiness of specific notes and congestion (inability to crescendo) in general and for specific notes.
4. Altissimo register (3rd 8va key range): especially above G.

I also like to test points 1-3 with what I call “strange fingerings”. This is a matter of keeping fingers down in certain passages in key signatures with lots of sharps or flats: the extra keys (e.g. D#+G#+forked left-hand while doing B-natural) theoretically should not affect the notes, but can make some passages much easier and cleaner. Some instruments handle them better than others.

The instruments I tried at IDRS 2013

1. G. Wolf : Viennese, French system, classical-boxwood, Lupophone
2. Dupin : Imperial
3. Laübin : 2 different grenadilla wood
4. Hiniker : 2 types of Ice Princess and oboe d'amore
5. Adler : orchestra model
6. Mönnig : 150, Platinum, English horn (Wagner), bass oboe
7. Ludwig Frank : “brillant” in grenadilla and maple-wood
8. Marigaux : M2, 901 (grenadilla, top-synthetic, all synthetic), 2000 grenadilla, Altuglass, English Horn
9. Rigoutat : J, Expression, RIÉC
10. Josef : Clement, 20th anniversary (grenadilla, rosewood, synthetic-orange), oboe d'amores
11. Püchner : 733 and 733 with special bell (grenadilla), oboe d'amore, english horn
12. Bulgheroni : Opera, Musa (grenadilla, cocobolo), oboe d'amore
13. Patricola
14. Fossati : S, A, MB, Tiéry, oboe d'amore and English horn
15. Covey : grenadilla, rosewood, cocobolo
16. Buffet-Crampon : Orféo, Prestige, English Horn
17. Howarth : XL, oboe d'amore, english horn
18. Lorée : Royal, AK, standard, oboe d'amore
19. Yamaha : Duet+ with American and European bores
20. Fox / Renard : 800 (grenadilla) and Renard 333 (synthetic)
21. K-Ge

Conclusion
 

The following instrument makers are not presented in order of my favourite, but just in an order that seems to make sense to me for the discussion flow.

Guntram Wolf:

Because their oboes are primarily Viennese and classical, baroque, etc., I will give my impressions on these in the next post.

Dupin Imperial:

The Dupin Imperial was the very first instrument I tried at IDRS 2013 thanks to the very friendly nature of Christoph Hartmann. It is frequently called the Rolls-Royce of oboes and has also been compared to a Lamborghini.... I found it to be something of both: perhaps the Lotus or Bentley of the double-reed world? This instrument is definitely in a class of it's own and I say that a better instrument cannot be found.
Naturally, the strange looking bell and the stylishly sculpted head-joint give mystique to the instrument, but it seems they do much more than that. The more open bell allows the lowest notes to be played extra softly while affording a resonant sound and stability throughout the range. It seems that the extra wood on the head joint apparently increases projection and the fortissimo.
Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to try it again: Playing it after all the others would confirm my impressions. Immediately, I was struck by how easy it is to play: the tuning/stability is rock-solid with all my reeds (including my d'amore reeds) Absolutely free blowing and free sounding, it encourages a warm, living sound while not dictating what the player should sound like. The ergonomics of the keywork are splendid, greatly helping the player perform. Furthermore, it performed beautifully with my extra-wide oboe reeds, my d'amore reeds and even my English horn reed, handling strange fingerings without a care!
I really regret missing a golden opportunity: about 3 years ago, Dupin was selling a "Mozart" model over the Internet: this is an Imperial made of a rare stock of boxwood and at much lower price than the Imperial. This was before I started my blog, before I even joined Facebook, oboe groups and even before I got in e-mail contact with Marigaux, Mining or anyone.... I had ONLY played Lorée (not even the Royal) and Yamaha at the time. I had read that changing instruments facilitates playing for some people, but I had NO idea how much this is true and I had never heard of Dupin. I had some e-mail correspondence with Dupin, but I did not dare spend on a maker I did not know and an instrument I could not try. Now, after considerable discussion with Dupin players and having tried the Imperial, I would not hesitate to purchase one. Opportunity gone: back then, I could afford it, now I can't and the Mozart is no longer in production.
They are played mostly in Holland, Scandinavian countries and Japan,but I know some Dupin players in Southern France, England, Israël and Mexico.

Laübin :

A most excellent oboe for the professional who can appreciate it. Because of its history, it is usually compared with Lorée and Marigaux, but I think they are all too different for comparison. Alfred Laübin created the American oboe par excellence: an instrument that is made to suit proper American reeds such that the warmth and blending quality is maximised while solidly supporting projection for solos. This a prestigious professional instrument that can be played at any level, having the absolute most comfortable keywork ergonomics I have ever felt (along with Covey). I tried 2 used Laübin's at the stand of Hannah Selznik (the oboe fairy ): they both had different characters (personalities), but both were splendid and a pleasure to play. Absolutely dependable tuning and free-blowing with no sign of congestion in any of the notes. Perhaps not suited for my very loose German reeds, they did present some instability, but this is not the case with well crafted American reeds.

Hiniker :

This is another instrument in a class on its own. It is an American oboe because it is made by an American for Americans who play American reeds in American styled ensembles... but honestly, it also presents absolutely all the qualities I love of European instruments and performers! I tried 2 synthetic oboes made of clear acrylic compound (called “Ice princesses”): they both played very differently because they were designed for different purposes. One of them (I will call it the “Princess-Anne”, after Anne Krabill, who very kindly brought it to IDRS for me to try)  is usually called a “reed trumpet” because of its very hard and powerful sound... hard, maybe, but also very warm and rich: I would be very happy to hear this instrument in any symphony orchestra (and it would certainly serve military bands quite well!). It is a special "Ferillo B" model, designed for more power without losing artistic expressiveness. The other, standard model, had all the power, but with a more framed and controlled sound; to my taste, it just feels better to play it.
Tom Hiniker is an accomplished orchestral oboist himself, having been principal oboist in S. Dakota and still playing principal, English horn and Heckelphone from there to Rochester MN to Detroit. He makes all his instruments by hand from beginning to end, and does so with lots of variety in wood and custom features. All of them, however, are reported to have flawless tuning and stability, full dynamic range and articulation ability and absolutely consistent sound colour over the entire range with never a stuffy note, as I confirmed with very wide oboe reeds and d'amore reeds.
One very interesting feature that I would like more oboe makers to adopt is the left-hand pinky keys: it has 2 “vertical rods”: the left-hand F and also a left-hand Db. It takes some getting used to, but like the Prestini thumb B-natural, those who use it claim it really helps with awkward passages in certain keys.

Adler / Mönnig / Ludwig Frank:

While working on my graduate studies and research projects in computer engineering, I started listening to Internet radio, where the name "Albrecht Mayer" was repeated often. At the time my opinion was "lively style, but mediocre sound for a baroque oboe"... Recall, I praise the tone color of the baroque oboe over the modern version. So when I learned he plays on modern instruments, I was completely amazed and inspired to seek out the far reaches of what I might be able to attain.
Well, playing on the same instrument does not make me sound like Albrecht Mayer! He is not the only spectacular oboist out there, but his You-Tube videos of baroque concerti and impressionist pieces (my two favourite genres) and the living energy with which he plays really inspired and motivated me to pursue my own oboe rebirth.
Albrecht Mayer plays and helped design the Gebrüder Mönnig 155. This is a solid-professional instrument with some unique wood turning that puts it in the prestige class. It's tone does require solid breath control: I have a big air capacity, but I do not sound at all like Mayer; I would need to do some retraining of my breathing to do it justice. However, one cannot find an instrument with a fuller-bodied, lively sound. One version comes with rollers on the keys of the right picky fingers. The roller between the C-Eb keys are useful for the altissimo range (moving from D-F-Eb), but for my limited technical skill, they get in the way more than anything: my technique is not advanced enough to appreciate them. I had been warned, but was left surprised: like Laübin oboes, the Mönnig 150 is the one of the very few instruments that require no compensation at all in the embouchure to play 2nd 8va key notes: this can make them feel sharp, but it really is a matter of just keeping the same embouchure over the whole range.
Adler is essentially their affordable line: with everything from children's model to professional. Their children's model has more keys than others; I did not get a chance to try it. Their professional model is quite good: fully free-blowing, excellent tone support and impeccable tuning. These instruments honour public performances well.
Although it seems they are all conglomerated into a single company, Adler, Mönnig and Frank instruments are all very different. The Ludwig Frank instruments, as they put it, are more designed to maintain the German sound and feeling. The “brillant” model actually has a much more velvety and darker sound than the Gebr. Mönnig 150. They have a maple-wood model with special treated wood to prevent cracks and it is lighter-blowing than any other German instrument. Both the Mönnig 150 and the L.F. played fine with my wide reeds and d'amore reeds.

Marigaux :

The number of great orchestral and solo oboists that play Marigaux is just astounding and speaks volumes about the instrument. To me, this is not surprizing, not surprizing at all: I have not found an instrument that makes life easier for the oboist. If I could afford to buy an instrument right now, Marigaux would be a very easy choice.
I owe a huge thanks to Marigaux for many reasons. Having remembered that my teacher played the same Marigaux for 25 years, I contacted Marigaux with complaints about how my experience with dozens of Lorées and a few old Yamahas show reed intolerance and frustration with tuning, stability and sound restrictions in all oboes I had played up to 3 years ago. He was immediately reassuring, supportive and showed genuine interest in my oboe rebirth as an adult amateur of similar age with little hope of stardom!
Marigaux's intense Internet presence is also very welcome. They are very active in supporting music events and competitions worldwide: other makers are also generous, but few are so visible on the Internet and I know first-hand that they invest personal concern in their musicians' successes, including promising students. A number of their star players are very accessible and I've benefited from their correspondence. People might say that this is a marketing ploy, but I can assure you I put them to the test: naturally, they emphasise their own benefits and popularity, but their intentions have proven sincere. Discussions with a number of their current players concludes that their after-sales service is exemplary.
Now, over these past two years, I had the chance to play more Marigaux (old and new) than any other maker. I can say that all of them were really impressive and any one of them would improve my sound quality, tuning and expressiveness by a mile. In fact, it's because the Marigaux trials that I started to require more fortissimo and more pianissimo with quicker and more fluid phrasing and articulation from my own Lorée when I play.
Although their M2 model is more prestigious, many great names remain faithful to the 901, showing that Marigaux is not satisfied to produce a "standard" model. The Marigaux 901 is a first class professional instrument that can easily be used for solid professional use as well as advanced student use. The 2000 series is the exact same bore and body, but with more ergonomic key design (also found in Mönnig Platinum and Joseph oboes).
The M2 has innovative left-hand tone holes to account for the changed head-joint segmentation: it separates below the octave holes, with the middle joint spanning both hands. It is also designed for interchangeable head joints of different lengths and materials (grenadilla, Altunoir and violetwood). Changing between short and medium head-joints is intended mostly to accommodate European and American tuning, but it also changes the instrument's character (difficult to explain in words). The Altunoir (synthetic) head joint makes it ideal for Eastern Canada, New-England or any area with volatile and quickly changing climate.
I have found Marigaux very consistent from unit to unit. Only one 901 "blew" slightly less freely than the others, but even this one was a joy to play. I did prefer the M2 in New-York more than the one I tried in California, but the climates are so different that I have to believe that weather has a lot to do with my impressions. This is something I really want to validate at IDRS 2014 in New-York.
What I like most about Marigaux oboes is that they essentially take care of sound quality and tuning for you, thus leaving the player free to concentrate on musical phrasing. Other makers also yield great sound and many are highly tolerant to reed styles, but at this point I still think Marigaux is the most reed-friendly of all, showing full appreciation of my d'amore reeds and even English Horn reed. It’s sound is as barockesque as one could wish: in my car, I have a stack of CD’s including Alfredo Bernardini playing Vivaldi on his baroque oboe followed by Louise Pèllerin playing Händel on her Marigaux 901: they sound almost exactly the same!
Of the large European makers, to my taste, Marigaux has the most comfortably designed keywork ergonomics, especially the 2000 line and M2: the intricate left little finger keys really help with C-minor arpeggios and similar passages. The left-hand F can be adjusted for length, which is fantastic for hands of different sizes. In my opinion, a there is no better than the 2000, with the M2 being their prestige and solid professional model.

Rigoutat :

Rigoutat was a very pleasant surprise. Philippe Rigoutat appears reserved and shy, but his instruments certainly are not! Rigoutat oboes are the very definition of freedom: ultimate free-blowing and ultimate free sounding. Absolutely dependable tuning, stability and articulation ability: this must be the most athletic and versatile oboe, also playing fine with my very wide reeds and d'amore reeds.
Rigoutat is best known as the oboe of Heinz Holliger and Maurice Bourgue. Unfortunately, their recordings did not benefit from today’s equipment and techniques, often leaving the sound very buzzy and bright: the magic of these extraordinary performers came from the depth of their musical spirit. Now, look at old Walt-Disney movies (1950-1970’s) and note the buzzy-bright sound... these were most certainly American reeds played on Lorée... this just shows that the different tone qualities might not be due to the brand or national style, but rather an evolution over time and changing preferences. Luckily, current greats like Thomas Indermühle (renowned soloist), Sébastien Giot (soloist and Strasbourg Philharmonic) and Hélène Devilleneuve (Orch. Phil. Radio France) show off an enviable sound with Rigoutat.
The model J is a solid-professional instrument and the Expression is a professional model is a great instrument for any level of playing. They also make a school model, the RIÉC (RIgoutat d'ÉCole) which plays as well as any professional instrument: perfect instrument to teach young musicians good habits and raise the bar on expected quality. They also make a children's oboe, Initiation, with almost no keys: the fingerings being closer to the recorder in order to help bridge the gap between instruments.

Josef :

Joseph is an outstanding instrument, quite unique in sound and feeling under the fingers. All their instruments, in my opinion, are prestige models. Though the prettiest to look at is the 20th anniversary model, I preferred the plainer Clement for sound and feeling. They have been criticised for inconsistency; I wasn't able to validate that, but I did try two d'amores and just liked one clearly more than the other.
Mr. Nakamura (founder) is obviously committed to the highest goals: I played an excerpt jumping to the altissimo A, which only came out right half the time (not surprising...). At seeing this, he took the instrument, studied my fingering and attempt to reproduce the excerpt, with his own fingering as well as mine: it was difficult for him too, so he spent time studying how he could adjust the instrument to make it work better. I believe their oboes are fantastic "but"... and that "but" will likely change from person to person. For me, the sound is both ultra-rich, but with a tendency to rattle, if the embouchure is not in good shape. Also, it seems that one fine reed of mine had it play well, but another also fine reed had some notes sagging, especially with my wide oboe reeds, but seemed OK with my d'amore reeds.

Püchner :

“P” is for “Püchner” and also for “Power”! In my opinion, you can't get better than Püchner! Completely free-blowing and free-sounding, there is something about that oboe that just projects like crazy, and they also make a special curvy bell that increases projection like the amplifier of a superstar rock concert! Playing softly in the low register is nonetheless excellent, the tuning is absolutely dependable and stable and provides a well-focused sound, without actually being boxed-in. It plays lovely with all my reeds. I would really recommend Püchner to any North-American oboist who fears blending is becoming hiding.
Püchner is renowned as a bassoon maker. As an oboe maker, their fame has been increasing lately, and for good reason: high quality wood sound and mechanics. Their reputation, among the people I know who play them, is of great attention to their buyers to build the right instrument for them as well as dependability over the years.
Püchner also has one curious feature to which I am very sensitive and that I would encourage every other maker to emulate: their thumb-rest! I am working with my physiotherapist on an article I hope to publish in a journal on the importance of the thumb's angle and how thumb-rest design is actually steering people wrong, actually towards tendonitis! Püchner's thumb-rest design, on the adjustable height post, puts a swiveling plate that encourages the thumb to correct angles: the importance of that will be explained in the article.

Bulgheroni :

Bulgheroni feels very similar to Püchner when playing, perhaps requiring a little less blowing power, but it controls the sound quality with a creamy full-body sound. These are top of the line professional instruments and I consider you can't go wrong with them. This is a rare case where I find their Prestige model (the cocobolo Musa) better suited to my own needs than their more “regular” Opera model: both excellent instruments, but I found that the Musa helped me express my musical phrasing and just felt better in the throat... with other makers, I find its the more expensive models to require more solid-professionalism.
It would seems Christoph Hartmann holds them in esteem because at the IDRS 2013 conference he played both the Dupin and a Bulgheroni, but with a special bell. Hartmann requested Bulgheroni to make a Dupin-like bell for him and he was kind enough to let me try it. Contrary to the Dupin, this did not really free the sound, but rather framed and focused it... ironic, come to think of it... maybe I'm just crazy!
This is a family company immersed in tradition, yet responsive to the evolution in demands from professional performers. I met father and son at IDRS 2013 and found them very pleasant and accommodating. Their passion for the instrument and performers are clearly visible and that sentiment shows in the sound and feeling of their instruments. One cannot find better than Bulgheroni!

Patricola :

This is a well-known Italian brand makes the whole family from piccolo oboe to bass oboe and from student lines to solid-professional lines. It is well appreciated by those who like it as they put a lot of effort into wood variety and keywork. I have only tried two at the IDRS: they left me with the same impression as Lorée.

Fossati :

In my opinion you really can't go wrong with a Fossati! I find Bulgheroni and Püchner feel very similar when playing them, but I find that Bulgheroni and Fossati sound and play more alike. Similar to Rigoutat, their different level models have really different feelings to them. The sound is very dark and rich, but also very free-blowing and lively. I consider it to be, similar to Bulgheroni, the combination of the qualities of Rigoutat and Marigaux.
Fossati prides itself at producing high quality but at affordable cost... in fact, they stress the affordability a lot. In my opinion, they can emphassize quality and sound more. Their MB (or Anniversary) model is a solid-professional model and absolutely astounding to play. They call the A model their “entry model” although there is nothing juvenile about it! For myself, I prefer the feeling of the S (or Soloist) is suited just right for me, affording warmth and depth of sound while not requiring me to do an hour of long-tones every day!
Like Püchner, they saw fit to improve on the thumb-rest. They don't have a swiveling plate, but the whole height stack can swing to the side to help find the right angle.
I fully agree with Josh Jönnssohn that Fossati deserves more visibility in North-America: you can't go wrong with this instrument. I have found Internet communication with them difficult, but Fossati players from different countries told me that their customer service is first-rate, before and after the sale. The quality of their instrument is said to be top notch and their response time to repairs is very fast.

Covey :

Little perl of an instrument, made in the state of Georgia, USA. Paul Covey was very well appreciated by his clients, but passed away a few years ago. He is sorely missed by his clients and by his devoted widow, Ginger, who took up the manufacturing of instruments, having re-discovered with practice some of Paul's specialities.
The Covey oboe is the lightest-blowing oboe I have ever played. Fully suitable to professional use, it is capable of a full dynamic range and articulation spectrum. It's tuning is quite solid and fully stable. The cocobolo model adds a softness to the already warm tone of the grenadilla model. They use tone-hole inserts to help stabilise pad closing and avoid damage from potential cracks or warping. It is a very light-weight instrument, though with perfectly solid keywork. Along with Laübin, it has the most comfortable keywork I have tried.
I still consider it the ideal instrument for recording studios or stage performances where microphones are used. It is also an ideal choice for anyone who does not have a strong thoracic capacity (not much blowing strength) even though it takes my own pressure quite well. I would go so far as to recommend to bigger oboe manufacturers to strike a deal with Ginger to integrate the Covey into their larger distribution networks as a “light” model of their own.

Buffet-Crampon :

Renowned for their saxophones (with classical players) and clarinettes, Buffet-Crampon is becoming a high contender with professional oboists. This also means that the instruments are fairly easy to find and resell. The “Greenline” material is a blend of grenadilla sawdust and resin compound which promisses to prevent cracks. They do, however, have a reputation of breaking the tennon joint clean off. This is very frightening, but actually fairly easy to repair: after an expert repair, there is almost no danger of new breakage or cracks.
The fact that Fabien Thouand plays it (with his very barockescant sound) is enough to convince me of its value. However, I just don't like the way it feels in the chest when I play it. I do get stuffy notes with it and some instability: however the Orféo is much better in all these respects than their usual “Prestige” model. The Orféo handles my wide reeds (not so much the d'amore reeds) and strange fingerings better than the Prestige. I know a few oboists who would play absolutely nothing else, so it boils down to a matter of fitting the instrument to the player and personal preference.

Howarth :

Howarth has been called “a better Lorée”.... I'm not quite sure why because their characters are very different and so is the feeling of the keywork. I might be half-way between Lorée and Marigaux, in terms of sound capabilities and feeling, but with a keywork of its own.
Howarth has a very solid and tight keywork, althought the keys are somewhat higher or thicker than most oboes. It takes some getting used to, but their entire line of instruments, from the high-school to the solid-professional XL, are remarkably dependable instruments with properly tuned notes across the whole range, fully free-blowing and hardly ever unstable (I did get wobbly notes, I really had to try hard with mediocre reeds). I must have tried half a dozen Xls and they all played the same; yes, the same: with Howarth, you know what you're getting! I don't know about price, but I find their student models to be the right choice for amateurs and students.
They also have a reputation for excellent customer service before and after purchase. Howarth is the one to open the doors in North-American professional oboe market to instruments other than Lorée/Laubin, I suppose the feeling when blowing is close enough to Lorée to prevent estrangement. It is also bright and crisp of sound, which allows more focus than many others.
Thanks to this, I think performers and audiences will allow themselves to better appreciate the variety and depth of the different oboe makers. The one and only reason I am not considering an XL for myself is that I am aiming for different sound characteristics, although I have heard very warm and boxed sounds coming from it, especially with a cocobolo bell.

Lorée :

Definitely a professional line of instruments, they have sound qualities that make them greatly appreciated in North-America, most especially how it provides focus by framing the sound. It is much less played in Europe, although Bart Schneeman and Hansjörg Schellenberger are big names that do prefer Lorée. The Royal model is far superior to the standard bore in terms of free-blowing, stability and rich tone qualities; apart from its weight, the Royal is actually very playable by serious students. I would actually recommend starting on a Cabard and progressing immediately to the Royal, using the AK only if the Royal is just out of financial reach.
Overall, however, my own experience with Lorée is that they all have flawed stability, tuning and stuffy notes, the Royal only being less so. It handles strange fingerings very well... or more precisely, sometimes it needs strange fingerings to clear-up stuffy notes or fix tuning flaws: mine improved dramatically (it's better than any AK I have tried) since D. Teitelbaum from Laübin re-bored the bell. It is often said that one must try dozens of Lorées; when the right one is found, it is a real dream come true. In my experience, "the right one" for me would be a really old A or C series made before 1970.
This being said, quite a lot of musicians (including my contemporaries) have been playing Lorée quite well. This is really a case where the instrument is not for me, personally. It could be for you: I only encourage every person to not get discouraged if things prove difficult. If it does work for you, Lorée will prove a faithful musical ally.

Yamaha :

These are played by a good number of professionals, including a number of soloists. These are fine professional level instruments that produce a fine tone and support for all technical needs. I was shown two Duet+ models, one with an "American" bore and one with a "European" bore. I found the American one played too much like Lorée for my taste: the European one feeling much more solid and dependable for sound and tuning. Both have good tuning and the European model has decent stability, but they do react too much to strange fingerings.
I still find their mechanics flimsy and their sound lacks solidity, to my own taste. However, the plastic sleeve makes it a wise investment for students and amateurs and obviously a good number of carreer oboists find them very satisfactory. Their key advantage is how easy they are to find: pretty much any Yamaha instrument distributor can get some, which facilitates trying many of them over time.

Fox / Renard :

Fox has become the de-facto serious student / amateur instrument in the USA, where one usually “graduates to Lorée” when entering a music program at a university. I have tried the “bread-and-butter” model (Renard 333) used by most students as well as their professional level instrument. The Renard is quite good for students using American reeds: the tuning is fine and it helps develop habits of not overblowing the reed. The Professional model comes in either grenadilla wood or synthetic-compound and is an excellent instrument for outdoor playing or multi-instrumentalists.
Their sound is fairly fluid and resonant, but I find all of them a little stuffy, and they do not cater fully to very wide reeds or strange fingerings. But with normal sized reeds, even short-European scrape, they can serve as excellent back-up instrument to anyone or as fully appreciable main instrument to passionate amateurs.

K-Ge :

“Chinese oboes” have spawned much discussion, mostly bad, these past few years. K-Ge is Chinese, but his instrument merits very positive attention. Fully plastic body with full conservatoire keywork, this instrument actually plays quite decently. It has no real character, but the tuning and stability are fine and it accepts all my air capacity. It is a very affordable instrument making it excellent for outdoor performances or for military bands.

Conclusion :

So this blog often seems to be looking for the ultimate oboe… one maker asked me if that is even possible? Well, having tried all these makers, I have to say “YES, and I know quite a few companies that make it!” I have a list of more than half a dozen makers that just blow me away: each has different personalities, they equally well answer all my requirements and help my performance soar! From that list, I cannot choose one that I like above the others: it becomes a matter of personal preference and perhaps my skills are just not developed enough, I might lack the professional skill to choose a favourite.
But that doesn't matter because I can't buy anything anyway... I started my engineering profession rather late in life; before that I had amassed quite a lot of debt to obtain 3 Bachelor's and one Master's degrees. University education in Canada is much more affordable than in the U.S.A, but it is not free, and a mortgage plus some necessary professional investments plus treatment for fibromyalgia don’t speed up the repayment of loans etc. … a lot to pay off before I can consider purchasing another instrument without even thinking of retirement! So right now, I cannot afford any instrument at all, none worth replacing my Lorée.
This is a somewhat frustrating because, my Lorée and I have been together for 28 years and we have lived many adventures together: it has enormous sentimental value to me. And yet, having tried such exquisite instruments really makes me yearn for: Dupin, Marigaux, Mönnig/Frank, Püchner, Fossati, Bulgheroni and Rigoutat.
I definitely need to try again, and in climate conditions closer to home: IDRS 2014 is in New-York, at reasonable driving distance from home! Perhaps, if I continue to to practice diligently and produce You-Tube recordings, I will attain a level whereby I can more easily discern among the fantastic instruments… and, God willing, perhaps in a few years I’ll be in a position to buy!