Hey everybody, I've been wanting to learn the oboe for years and years but I just can't afford one. The cheapest new oboe I've found is £700! Why are they so expensive?! Clarinets, flutes, guitars, trumpets, trombones, violins, violas, cellos, and even 3/4 size double basses can be bought new for less than £300. I could understand why instruments like pianos, tubas, bassoons, and double basses cost around that much, due to the size and amount of materials used. But why does an oboe cost so much?! Can someone explain please? (or point me to a cheap oboe dealership! )

Matt

production runs, probably. fewer oboes are bought so they aren't as industrialised as popular instruments. as soon as you stray off the popular they come pricey. bassoons the same.

what about a good second hand one?

Have a look on Howarth's site under secondhand instruments. With a good secondhand one the wood might have settled. I bought a new one in august, it's already gone back for adjustment. They are finicky instruments indeed!

I sympathise Matt, I'd have loved to have taken up the oboe when I was younger but could never have afforded it. I'm making up for it now

I know where you can get a really nice second hand grenadilla Buffet in perfect condition for £500 though PM me if you're interested!

I'm having to rent an oboe because I can't afford one. The cheapest one I have found was £375 and was secound hand and was in a awful condition. The type of thing my teacher says I will need after this grade will cost me about £1800 if I want a new one. I'm not sure what I am going to do as I will soon need a better standard of instrument as I am playing a basic beginners model, but will never be able to afford one. I should have played the flute or clarinet; there cheaper!

Marketing...marketing...marketing... that's all.

It's all to do with 'What the market will bear'. My Dad was in business all his life, so I had this drummed into me.

If you have a product that costs 1p to make and there's no competition, you can charge 10p, 50p or even 100 pounds for it. Highly paid executives do research and determine what people are prepared to pay.

As soon as there's competition, prices will fall until they reach a point where everyone can sell to customers and still make a good profit.

Occasionally there will be an upset when cheaper products come along. eg Cheaper clarinets, brass instruments and saxophones from China and India.

Oboe manufacturers are where clarinets were about 10-20 years ago. They will charge high prices because not many people play the oboe, but also because they CAN charge high prices.

Like you, I would love to try the oboe, and I suspect many others would as well.

The quality of cheap chinese instruments is improving every day.

I'm just waiting for them to start making oboes. Should be fun when they do!

Steve

The modern oboe happens to have the most complex keyworks -- so many parts and many keys interacting with one another. That probably contributes, more than anything, to the high cost of oboes.

Oboe also happens to have a conical bore, while the flute and the clarinet has a cylindrical bore. I suppose it's much easier to bore a clarinet compared to boring an oboe.

Clarinet has open tone holes while the oboe (most of them anyway) have plateau keys -- another significant factor in the manufacturing cost.

Hope this helps!

(the high cost of oboes is the main reason I have been using the same oboe for the last 14 years ...)

It is so much easier to produce a cylindrical rather than conical bore, which is the chief differential in manufacturing costs. Also it is a pig of an instrument to get started on. Yes I know as an oboist once you get control of the instument it is wonderfully expresive and satisfying to play. BUT kids today want quick results. You can get a half decent tone out of a flute or clarinet faster than you can an oboe.

This means not so many are made, and short production runs put up costs.

This is why I'm in no hurry to replace either my Oboe or Cor Anglais. Besides they're like one of the family now!

Aah I'm beginning to see now, thanks people! Still annoyed about the cost though , someone hurry up and produce a 'cheap and cheerful' model!

Matt

They have at one point experimented with a plastic oboe, dunno if they're still for sale- in theory, it won't break or warp or anything. They are also starting a greenline oboe, which is some sort of fancy polymer, because the african blackwood is starting to run out.
Mind, I'd take a wooden oboe any day, and I don't mind how much; going down to Howarths over half term to look for a new one to do grade 8 on, which will cost a couple of grand. I'm so glad I'm at school, cos my parents will pay most of it, but if I were older, I'd have to buy it all myself!

Old Boosey & Hawkes plastic student oboes get snapped up on Ebay as they are seen as really good for beginners and are a lot cheaper than wooden models, but they're usually open holed instruments.

The Buffet Artiste 241 model is grenadilla with an ABS lined bore, which means that you get a good tone without the risk of the oboe cracking. This is the "standard" beginners oboe if you buy a new instrument I think.

The Buffet Greenline is made of granulated wood mixed with a polymer, the theory being that this will give the sort of tone you'd expect from wood. I have a friend in Canada who plays one and loves it.

I live in fear of my Marigaux 901 oboe though it's already had one crack mended perfectly so it doesn't affect the tone, so hopefully it has settled down now. The mended crack meant that I could buy it secondhand for a lot less than it would have otherwise been

Alot of it's supply and demand - there aren't as many oboists as flautists, so you can't get the economies of scale into production, so the price stays high, and so not as many people take up the oboe.


If you can buy it through your school, do. There's a scheme (for which I can't remember the name) where if a school purchases musical instruments, they don't have to pay the VAT, which will save you 17.5%. Last time I was in Howarths they had leaflets about it.

Failing that, if anyone's looking for a second hand Kreul, I might be able to help

The scheme is called the Assisted Instrument Purchase Scheme (AIPS).

Go onto Google, put Buffet Artist Oboe and the first entry that comes up is cheap. (I don't want to advertise!). I bought my daughter's oboe from that particular shop and if you take off the VAT it is a good price. The oboe is very good quality and is lined with a type of plastic, which is a big help when your 10 year old is a bit lazy about cleaning it out every time it is used. Try buying through the Assisted Purchase Scheme at school as it saves quite a considerable amount of money. I think I paid £630, which is good for a new instrument.

I agree that they are expensive instruments, but I can't agree that they are as difficult as everone says. My 10 year old is now at grade 4 after 18 months. Pretty good going really considering everyone was telling me how hard it was. I know that the breathe control is hard, but isn't this the case with most reeded instruments? My daughter doesn't seem to have any difficulty at all and plays it like crazy - fast and furious! My only beef is the cost of the reeds - have been paying £6.

I hope you find an oboe in your price range.

Cool, thanks everyone!

Matt

I guess that just goes to show that not everyone is the same in what they find easy or hard about instruments!

Hi Jod,

The modern lathes are computer controlled and making a conical bore is no problem whatsoever.

In fact the clarinet cylindrical bores are more complex. This is because modern clarinets are not truly cylindrical, but polycylindrical which entails different bore size drills being used throughout the clarinet. This was the great innovation introduced by Buffet in about 1955.

The major factor is, as I already said, the marketing of the product and the small number of people who want to learn the oboe. Marketing executives are not stupid. They know what sort of backgrounds the potential oboe players come from, and price the instruments accordingly.

Just look at the price of flugelhorns. They are probably cheaper to make than trumpets, but are more expensive. Why? Simple. They have been accepted as being more expensive. That's business!

Steve

Hey everyone
Why are you all struggling to buy oboes? They are an endangered instrument and therefore your schools music service should be able to loan you one. Don't worry if your not at school because there are schemes available for adults too.

Our daughter has an Oboe loaned by the Music Service and she also gets lessons for free up to the age of 16. I have also seen adults on the lessons.

My school/music service never had an oboe to lend out when I was there.....all they had were cracked old Chinese violins. Your daughter is very fortunate!

Ahh the problem is that I'm almost 17 now, which means I'm too old for these schools music schemes, but too young to be able to go out and blow £700+ on an instrument I might not even enjoy playing!

Matt

Music services does very little for wind instrument where I live. They will loan out a viola or violin to anyone but I have to get my oboe from my school. Not only do I have to pay for it is also a poor quality instrument
Your daughter is very lucky, I am 13 and pay for all my lessons; They are costing a small fortune

If it's true that Bristol LEA do little for woodwind, what a shame.

It's quite telling how differently the various boroughs/counties/LEAs treat music (but I'll avoid getting too political!)

Barry (clari)

The opportunity to loan oboes is something fairly new. It is however the Music Service and not my daughters school. We agree to insure the instrument provide reeds and they provide the oboe a specialist teacher and a half hour individual lesson during term time.

I suspect all the music services throughout the country will have had the opportunity to bid for this type of funding.

Matt being 17 should not prevent you from accessing schemes as there are specific attempts to encourage adults in to or back into Music. We had a letter recently, as I'm not musical I can't be sure of the content but I seem to remember it was on the production IT side.

There is an adult on the lesson before my daughter and I'm fairly sure an initiative exists to encourage adults to play. Speak with the admin staff at your music service and ask them specifically about any schemes like I have described.

Don't assume because your school or college don't know about it that it's not happening. Neither of my daughters schools are fully informed of what our music service is about. they refer to the head of the service as if he is an unapproachable slightly removed figure, which could not be further from the truth!

So few children are taking up instruments in our area that my daughter was given the opportunity to do bassoon or double bass as well. I thought it was a bit greedy as she is already having two free lessons (oboe) and orchestral percussion. My elder daughters Head of music at the High school is still wondering why she manages to take drum exams when no one else does, it's thanks to the staff at the music service who help and support her when required.

Don't buy an oboe until you have tried it, some people don't like the sensation of the reed, when it vibtates.

Make that or call or visit their web site.

Good luck!

Okey dokes, I'll have to look into this! My local music service will be CIMA I think (I'm in Peterborough). I'll see what they offer!
Ta!

Matt