I have been snowed under with work and since playing time on my new oboe is limited, I have just been playing long notes and scales on it 3 X 20 minutes a day for the past two weeks.

My teacher was sick last week so I didn't have a lesson but the week before he had given me the cor anglais part of a Mozart oboe/cor anglais duet. The notes and rhythm looked easy but a couple of days before my lesson I thought I ought to get the cor out and play through them and I discovered to my horror that the cor and the oboe have become different instruments

Obviously doing what my teacher had said and just playing "boring things" and concentrating on my embouchure has changed my embouchure and my "new" oboe embouchure doesn't work on the cor anglais.

I played appallingly in my lesson on the cor anglais (out of tune, squeaky notes, no dynamics). My teacher actually seemed quite pleased (he said it showed that at last I was playing the oboe like an oboe and not like a cor) but I was so out of tune that in the end I begged him to let me stop and told him I'd try again at home first. The worst thing is, I'm supposed to be playing these duets in a concert on June 5th .

Poor ypu! It happens like that sometimes even between the same instruments. You will have to divide you playing time between the two now.

Argh Ghastly lesson, my reeds were a disaster, nothing would play, I even had a bash at rehashing some old ones out of desperation but it simply wasnt my day...Gave up in the end after an hour and a half of fiddling around and not really being able to play anything without the reeds playing the devil with me..I have never known such a catastrophe..oh well never mind it happens to us all.. so we called it a day I had a cup of tea and came home, utterly racked off with it all..

Ping Pong seems like a much easier option..


Andrew

Sounds like your lesson was as good as mine. Shall we blame it on the weather

Let's hope next week's is better. (Mine could hardly be any worse, I don't know about you).

Three weeks ago Emsoboe had a similar lesson. The person teaching her spent most of it trying to sort out one of her reeds. Sounds like she's in good company with the two of you

Well, look on the bright side - at least you're having lessons!

I've got oboe wkithdrawal DTs again after less than three weeks away. Would be practising right now but it's a bit sensitive in the B&B I'm staying at. About two half hour sessions sneaked in this week when no-one seemed to be near. Will need to console myself with a visit to Howarths next week.

I shall be getting withdrawal symptoms soon. Lessons here stop for around 10 weeks over the summer


You're very brave - I wouldn't dare practise anywhere but at home.


Howarth's will let you "practise" for hours (but it could turn out to be an expensive practice )

The concert went very well thank you! My reed was fine by then, fortunately and got me through the afternoon rehearsal and evening without my lip giving up! it was a very hot evenign, but I think everyone enjoyed it. My OH and one of my best mates came to watch as well - the first time anyone I know has been able to come and hear me play, so that made it extra special! They seemed to enjoy it and said nice things at the end! No more orchestra till September now.

Sorry you've not been able to play your oboe much - that must be very frustrating. But hopefully you'll have a good time at Howarth's tomorrow. I've been putting off going as I know I'll end up spending a fortune.

Sounds like everyone has had difficult lessons this week. Fortunately mine seemed to be a bit better than last week - spent quite a bit of time on starting notes more definitely and that seems to have improved my embouchure and tone quite a bit, so I'm rather pleased about that. We were also working on the Loeillet - I have lots of new trill fingerings to try and remember!

No lesson for nearly 4 weeks now though -as it's half term next week and then I'm away for a fortnight. Hopefully I'll still be able to play when I get back!

The funny part was the worse it got the more inclined I was to laugh, partly I might add out of sheer frustration of simply not being able to play what I had spent simply hours practicing, and I mean hours..

I did manage my scales and sight reading on an old ropey reed that I bucked up but the tone wasnt great but then that reed finally give up the ghost before I got to the Cimarosa..I am going to pop into Howarths this weekend and get some new reeds, I might give the Jordanovs a go again but I have found them to be as hard as two planks of wood lashed together in a rough hewn manner..not an easy play at all, it all depends what is in stock..If not I will have to quickly make some for myself not that I really have the time or the inclination for that matter but crisis is the mother of all invention so Gregsons at the ready..

Hey ho, I was going to play again this evening but I think I shall go to bed and start afresh tomorrow..

Andrew

Any tips on starting notes "more definitely" ? My first notes are never good - my teacher describes them as "apologetic"


Have you tried the Ke-Xun Ge reeds? I bought one in September (after a recommendation on the summer course I went on) but didn't like it much and put it away in a reed box. I got it out again about a month ago when I was going through a reed crisis at the beginning of the holidays and now find it quite nice. I have ordered a couple more to have as spares (and am keeping my fingers crossed that they are consistently made).

I find the Ke Xun reeds tend to play flat on my Loree, Lorees tend to be a bit flat especially below botton D..but the Ke Xun reeds I tried were almost unplayable and needed a truck load of air to even get it to vibrate. I also noted that they were very open which made them as hard as rock and no amount of soaking, sqeezing down or even removing the wire made the slightest difference..I have even taken a knife to them in the past but destroyed the sound with my clumsey man handlings..I also find the shape very wide which doesnt help with the Flatness but I did like the sound..now if only I could get that sound without risking blood vessels..



Andrew

That was pretty much the impression I had of it when I first tried it in September (although I didn't go as far as taking the wire off and nor did I try scraping it - given the price I'd paid for it, I didn't want to inadvertantly wreck it).

However, after sitting untouched in a reed box it has suddenly become not only playable but a nice reed.

I'm not sure what to make of this. I didn't think reeds could change just by sitting there. I know my embouchure has changed but I didn't think it had changed that much. (On the other hand, the Fortay reeds which I had as spares are now too easy so maybe it is me).

I'm waiting to see if the two I have ordered will have to sit in a box for eight months or whether they'll be playable straight away

Me too this week. Yes, it MUST be the weather. Though in my case the reed wasn't at fault. I was.

Reed dramas where would be we all be without them..ah yes thats right we would be Clarinet players ... They buy a box of ten and get a handfull of decent ones..No such luck for Oboists. I am going to hook out all my old reeds from my reed cases and have a good sort out tomorrow..seperate the wheat from the chaff, keep some that may have a bit of light playing left in them and ditch the rest.

Well I dropped into a very quiet Howarths this lunchtime and bought half a dozen Jordanovs which played very nicely and whats more in tune..Dreadful price but the discount helps and eased the pain..These should keep me going for the next few weeks..Now to select a couple of really nice ones from the bunch for concerts and such like..I feel very relieved that I was able to find so many nice reeds today..I dont think I will even had to adjust them the tuning was great and the tone was lovely and rich and woody, not a buzz in sight..I loathe reeds that Buzz in anyway..

Also bought two lovely Albinoni Concertos, the D Maj and the Bb Maj, they look lovely, very playable and will be nice to ornament, they dont look to frightening and lord knows I could use something I can really play at the moment..Thankfully my lip is coming back and my fingers are remembering much quicker this time so maybe the break from playing was good for them..

Andrew




[b]There are two shapes in Ke Xun reeds one is wider than the other, I had the wide ones (Black thread) when I would usually play the narrower ones (Silver thread), I did wonder why they were so flat. My fault entirely it transpires..

I didnt even give the Ke Xun a look today at Howarths, the Jordanovs were very nice so I stuck with them this time..all that aside I have had Jordanovs in the past that were like stone so it really does depend on the batch and the cane at the time..[/b]

I think my problem is a bit more basic than you would have Kerioboe.

My embouchure just wasn't very stable - I think because I have been very consciously trying to improve it. So my pieces would tend to start poorly and then I woudl keep changing and adjusting my embouchure as I went through to try and improve the tone and tuning once the note had started. BY the end of a note it would sound better. MY teacher was getting me to think about the set up of the note more, especially by looking in a mirror. Work out what it shoudl look and feel like - and then make sure that the only thing I do to start the note is take my tongue away. And see if I can manage to not immediately change my embouchure but hold it really steady.

I don't know if that makes any sense at all - it would be much easier to demonstrate than write down!!

Anyway, seems to have helped! Glad to hear that everyone else has reed problems too - it isn't just me. Generally the ones my teacher has made have been OK. I've had a few Fortay reeds which sound nice but tend to close up very quickly. But I had a bit of a play with one the other day - I was comparing it to my teacher's to see what was different and noticed that the Fortay ones were wired a lot lower down. So I got out my old jewellery making kit, took the wire off and rewired it slightly higher up. It seems to have done the trick, and it plays beautifully now!

This is what one of Emsoboe's Teachers did to one of her Fortay reeds. Eeekkk just made it sound like she has two teachers. She has a teacher and a deputy who are both excellent

I'm not really that advanced.


This makes sense but I don't think it's what I'm doing as my embouchure is usually fairly stable. My teacher says my problem is largely psychological (as I don't have a problem if he is playing with me) and is more to do with the amount of air I put (or don't put) into the instrument.

My two Ke Xun reeds arrived yesterday (they are the wide ones). They are playable straight away and if anything err on the easy side.

Which Fortay reeds are you using Flobiano?

I've tried a few - I found the purple mediums a bit too soft. So bought a blue medium and medium hard to try. The medium hard is too hard, the medium closed up too quickly though initially was nice. It is the blue medium that I've now rewired. And it is very good now!

Last year I bought a purple medium-hard and a blue medium and found the blue medium much too easy and have never used it. I liked the purple medium-hards last year but this year find them too easy and a little on the sharp side. About six months ago I bought one of their professional reeds, which is harder but I don't like the tone at all - I find it much too bright.

I need some free time to make some more of my own

Time to make our own reeds, what a luxury that would be.. As you may well know I have had a lot of dealings and reeds from Fortay and I know they work incredibly hard to bring us the best possible reeds out there..I still say they are the nicest finished reed I have ever played..a good product well presented and definitely not thrown together in a rush..all good things take time.

I note that some people are saying that they didnt like this or that but please consider that each piece of cane is individual no two are ever alike, wouldnt it be a joy if they were it would make the whole process so much easier..I have had reeds from most of the reed makers but always found Fortay consistent and reliable as do many professional players who rely on Steve and Lara to provide them with reeds for work and concerts. This is the best reccomendation a reed maker can get..

Of course not everyone likes certain things or sounds so its highly subjective and if we could all make our own reeds to our own satisfaction it would be easier to keep the supply going..at the rate I go through reeds it would also be infintely cheaper.

Reeds are the bane of all oboists we have to accept that..sure we all get the odd really sensational reed, the reed which is as near to perfection as we are ever likely going to find but for the most we are playing on reeds that are consistent and free blowing which with some alteration make a nice sound and allow full dynamic range in all the registers..

I have had some horrors reed wise, I might add not from Fortay, my recent purachases from another and very big maker were as flat as a pancake nearly a semitone, they would barely go up the octave and believe me I have plenty of support air wise but no amount of tweaking would help..I abandoned them and got some others which are better, not that they didnt need some tweaking as well. Thank god for Gregson knives..

The thing is we have to play on what we have in our box at the time..the perfect reed is an illusive fellow. So as Oboists we have to make the best possible sound with what we have but also be prepared to play on what we would regard as a less than perfect reed, either that or make our own and having seen the work that goes into making reeds on a big scale be prepared to put a huge amount of work into it..

Personally I would prefer to be playing the Oboe rather than wrestling with bits of cane and knives every day..

Andrew

I agree the ones I have are all almost identical I think the problem is not with the reeds but with myself. Because I am still learning my embouchure keeps changing and as it changes I want/need a slightly different reed style. Also French reed style is slightly different and my teacher does not altogether approve of the way the Fortay reeds are scraped and was encouraging me not to use them all the time.

Keri,

Trust the French to be Fickle.. I would suggest that if your teacher has issues with an English scrape that maybe he could make some for you..just a thought..you could then see what he means and maybe strike a happy balance...every scrape has something to its credit..my teacher hates that I use a U scrape and not a W, personally I can play on either but as most reeds come with a U scrape its what I use..I do prefer a nice short tip and plenty of wood in the spine, then if I need to take a little out of the sides I can do so..I think the spine gives the reed stability and adds richness to the sound..I could of course be talking total twaddle...

I know the French reeds are different in some way but how different I couldnt say.Maybe your teacher could give you some information and you could tell us..

Andrew

When I first started my teacher made all my reeds. Last year he made about half of them and I made the other half and this year he decided that I had become good enough at making them to be completely independent

It's actually his fault that I bought a Fortay reed in the first place . He scrapes all his reeds to play at A=442 and on occasion I have asked him to rescrape one to play at A=440 to use with English players. I intended to ask him to do this in my last lesson just before the Christmas holidays last year but he had forgotten he wasn't going to be there and cancelled it the day before. He made up the lesson after the holidays (so I didn't lose out on lesson time) but it meant I didn't have my slightly lower-pitch reed. Having read about Fortay reeds on here, I bought one on the theory that if it was made for English oboists it ought to play at English pitch.

I took it along to my lesson after the holidays saying I had found a brilliant reed and my teacher did look at it closely. The main difference is that the tip is quite a bit longer on the Fortay reed, which makes them easier to blow. My teacher disapproves of them because you can play them with less abdominal support and they are not so sensitive to an incorrect embouchure as his are (precisely the reasons why I liked them ). He claimed that whilst they might be easier "now" in the long run they would actually prevent me from developping a really good tone. In the end he agreed to scrape me some like the Fortay one provided I only used them every other day and used one of his reeds on the inbetween days. I think the reason I no longer like them quite so much is that my abdominal support and embouchure have developped the way my teacher wanted and which is, presumably, a bit different to the English way of playing.

My own preference at the moment is for Fortay cane with a fairly long scrape (too long in my teacher's eyes - he keeps saying I'll "grow" out of it ) with a longish tip (I say longish because it is longer than my teacher's tips and shorter than the Fortay ones) and a fairly pronounced "hump" behind it. My teacher has rather grudgingly admitted that this seems to suit my playing style at the moment and will put finishing touches to my reeds if I ask him. However he still occasionally decides that he might be able to "wean" me back onto his own preferences and will scrape one of my reed blanks into what he deems to be the "perfect" scrape.

Gosh, French Fence post owners oFFending the Fickle French!!!! What is the world coming to?

Seriously, though, is there any chance of uploading photos of your respective reeds? I suppose it would be a bit difficult to get the right lighting so we could see what you are really talking about?

I started getting a bit nervous as I think my reeds (made by my teacher and always work way better than anything I've ever bought...) might fall into a category thoroughly despised by kerioboe's teacher. So if I ever move back to the UK I may be in serious problems, if that's before I can make my own. I do so want to be independent too but time for practice always inevitably wins out over time for reedmaking. And now my lesson time has been cut down there's no time for instruction either.

I bought quite a lot of different reed (gouged and shaped for making reeds, not finished) for folks to try in Costa Rica. The chinese reed was quite expensive and not relatively more impressive. Bonazza OK. But surprisingly the reed that was most popular from the Roseau Chantant.

I do think reeds change just sitting in the box. I have one that I never quite liked though it "should" have been better than my failing old one and an "emergency" one that my teacher gave me just before a concert (and really saved my bacon...) and is now a great favourite. I have tried occasionally trying to domesticate the "good" new reed without much success and finally put it aside. I took it out a couple of days ago and it had become truly horrible! I know that usually my problems with new reeds are more due to me (breath support, embouchure) than the reed but this one clearly has got quite sick in its reed case. Maybe it doesn't like the English climate or something. It wouldn't even crow anything remotely resembling an actual note but made a large vibration that sounded just like a "windy emission from the nether regions". Aware that my poor Dad was surreptiously keeping an ear on my practice, I nearly died of embarrassment. I wonder what actually caused the reed to deteriorate so much without me really playing it?

The best reed I ever had only lasted two weeks, sadly. It split the morning of a recital.

...Packing my bags and off to Howarth's as a last London treat tomorrow...

Hi guys

It's the day of my final recital today, if any of you fancy watching it'll be streamed at 11:15 a.m.. I'm playing the Mozart Quartet and the outer movements of the Schumann Romances.

http://www.york.ac.uk/music/lyonslive/

I think your techer's reeds are best for two reasons:
1) Your teacher is teaching you to play in a certain way and so his reeds correspond to this particular way
2) Your teacher knows what your current strengths/weaknesses are and can adjust the reed to take this into account.


I would cross that bridge when you come to it. Your playing style is going to change anyway as you get better and you will become better at analysing your reeds. When I first started I knew whether I liked or disliked any particular reed but that was about it. My teacher has always encouraged me to try and identify what is wrong with the reed and when he adjusts them for me he always says "look I'm doing X because I want to change Y." I can now say very precisely why I dislike a reed (I am still not always sure of the best way of rectifying some things but I am assuming that will get better in time too).


I was lucky in that a couple of years ago my teacher organised a reed-making workshop for an hour once a fortnight for me and a teenage pupil who was about to go off to university and who he felt needed to be able to make her own reeds before she stopped having lessons. I do think you need regular input for some time when you first start. But I know what you mean about practising winning over reed-making. My reed-making is still a slow process (apart from the tying on which no longer needs any real concentration). My teacher tells me I scrape them the way I play (too diffidently) and that I could scrape them a lot faster than I do if only I had a bit more confidence in myself. Anyway, I try to plan ahead a little and to make a reed or two in advance when I know a very busy time at work is coming up.


Reeds are incredibly sensitive to humidity. If they like the climate in Costa Rica I'm not surprised they didn't like the English climate. I notice a difference in mine just taking them from the South of France to England so imagine what you subjected your poor reeds to! I have resigned myself to rescraping one when I arrive (and not my favourite one as I know the favourite one will work again when I get back home).

Am I right in thinking that Costa Rica doesn't really have seasons? Where I live spring and autumn are particularly annoying periods when the weather is quite variable and a reed which works perfectly one day can be horrible the next day and then be nice again a couple of days later. There are weeks when my teacher refuses to scrape a reed saying the weather is too changeable and that scraping it will most likely mean wrecking a perfectly good reed. Sometimes I think I could just use my reeds as a barometer



Good luck .
I'll try and have a listen but I'm not sure if I will be able to. Because of the time difference that is just when my daughter comes home for lunch.

Well done Des I took the phone of the hook and sat down to throughly enjoy your recital, you did a lovely performance of the Mozart, the 3rd movement was excellent. and you even managed to play the Schumann after and that is no mean feat whatsoever..if there were any blips they didnt come across so in my opinion you nailed the recital.

Lovely tone and phrasing and the articulation was spot on..

Congratulations to the strings as well they did a lovely job as well, they gave just enough to let you shine through..

1st class recital..I wish I could have been there to hear it in the flesh..I had a lovely half hour or so..Thank you

Andrew

Thanks very much I'm glad you enjoyed it

As for getting through the Schumann, that was why I didn't play the second movement, I don't think my lip would have lasted all three!

I really did enjoy it, you had kept this recital very quiet and it wasnt until I saw Keri wish you luck that I picked up on it.. I told the builders here to switch of their radio which was blaring so I could listen to you..One of them even came in and had a listen as well to the Mozart and said "Very Nice" which from a builder who was listenting to the most awful din on the radio I felt was a good comment..

Brava you did a great job..more recitals if you please..

Andrew

The XL has sneeked in and is starting to make itself at home

Oh thats wonderful Berni thats good to hear..I hope Ems is enjoying it..

The music school had an open afternoon yesterday in which I played a series of Mozart oboe/cor anglais duets (in which I played the cor) and a Montanari oboe duet with my teacher.

Both were under-rehearsed - I had only had the Mozart for a couple of weeks and my teacher cancelled one lesson because he was sick while the Montanari was a last minute decision when one of the other pupils dropped out. We hadn't played it since December and just played it through once before the concert. Because we hadn't played it for ages, instead of playing from the separate oboe parts, I had photocopied the score, cut out the oboe parts and stuck them on a piece of paper so that we knew what the other one was doing but the end result was that it was rather small print.

In the first Mozart duet there was one passage which I found particularly tricky and which I played wrong more often than right when we were practising. To my utter amazement I played it perfectly in the concert and was so surprised that I forgot the piece continued afterwards It took me a couple of bars to realise I was still supposed to be playing and find a place to join in. Then in the Montanari my teacher had a mental lapse in the middle and started playing my line instead of his. This momentarly threw me but then I thought I might as well just carry on and let him sort himself out (which he duly did).

Anyway, afterwards, my teacher said I had performed brilliantly; that I had finally understood one of the basics of performing: that making mistakes doesn't matter but the way you handle them does. He said he was really impressed by the way I had taken everything in my stride and recovered without visibly giving the audience any sign that things weren't going to plan.

Brilliant! I'm glad that you coped with this so well.

Well done Kerioboe, that sounds brilliant

I'll have to leave the front door unlocked and see if one will sneak in here.

So what does Ems think to it (silly question)?

She swapped between them in the lesson yesterday and discoverd the XL was easier to play. It does sound really nice but her teacher thought she had imroved on her own Oboe too.

She was playing it today at an open rehersal, the Orchestra she is an associate of and some dancers who train locally. The experience was a bit strange as she ended up being the only Oboe and playing the solo (Romeo and Juliette- Masked Ball). They were working with a conductor they had never met before, Ems was sightreading along with a couple of othes. The Oboe sounded lovely on the Solo.

There was a question and answer session at the end and the dancers parents were really interested in the Orchestra. The Conducor wasn't entirely honest over practice times and the part swapping. All in all a good experience.

Well, it's time for my confession... I left my hand luggage open on that famous last trip to Howarth... and an XL snuck itself in!!!!!

Of course it's all your fault because of none of you turned up on Friday at Howarths to hold my hand, or rather my bank card. I actually managed to hold to my promise to myself and left the shop for the train having spent hours "test driving" several oboes but without buying one. Then I realised I was going to miss my train and I'd left my sweater behind. I decided this was definitely a sub-conscious message to myself and rethought things as I went back for it.

Now feeling like I fell in love, got engaged and then went through a shot-gun marriage in the space of a day!

Oh well, as they say - it's better to regret what you've done than to regret what you haven't done. And it's only the bank account that's regretting it anyway.

I am now the proud owner of a grenadilla XL!!!

I should say I fell immediately head over heels with the cocobolo XL S7 (a thinwalled, very light oboe that my wrists would have liked much better). It sounded like me. But in the end the darker sound and extra oomph of the grenadilla XL won me over and I thought I could do more things with it, as well as blending better here. A Marigaux was a pretty close runner up.

Just off to the Symphony Institute to show it off and defend my self against all the French Fenceposters!






Congratulations!
I suppose "outer movements" mean I and III?
I'm really sorry I missed this!


That's a great idea. I am going to suggest to my teacher that he does something like this with a group of us on a more regular basis.


Funnily enough, usually my Costa Rican reeds work reasonably well in the UK. Probably the somewhat damp climates on both ends mean they travel quite well. They're hopeless in the dry climate of highland Bolivia or the dried out air of centrally heated or air conditioned rooms in Canada. So, I think it might have been the reed...

We just have two seasons here, the dry and the rainy season. Though sometimes it feels like the rainy and the rainier season! Geography seems to make a bigger difference than the actual seasons... I feel a big difference between the cooler, dampish climate where I live, the warmer and drier climate where I study (though only about 20 miles to the west) - just perfect for oboe sound and my reeds - and the really humid tropical climate of another town in the south where my teacher teaches at weekends and where I have played a few times.




Good for you! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh My goodness Katica, good for you..I can guess how thrilled you are with your new XL. I knew you would spend some money on something at Howarths, maybe a few reeds or music but I didn't for a moment imagine you would leave with an XL..Enjoy it, the XL is a wonderful Oboe, beautifully made with a great pedigree, many top players love them..

Oh and as for the guilt, hang it on the back of a door you rarely open..thats what I do

Andrew

XL owners take over the Forum

We just need to persuade Pushpull now....

I will always keep the French Flag Flying..

You're just a lost cause Andrew

Good for you Andrew! We'd be very boring if we were all Howarthites ... and your love affair with Lorée is very understandable!

Well, I not only survived the test drive with Lorée Addict No 2 (my "prof") but he declared that the XL was "riquísimo" ("really delicious"). I am going back for some supervised opening of the prized possession today so we'll see if Lorée Addict No 1 (Principal Oboe of the OSN) approves too.

I really was a bit reluctant to own a British oboe here because it seems such an expat thing to do and I really am more a "tica" (Costa Rican) oboist than a British one. But I really did fall in love with the XL and I think it's really good for folks here to expand their experience - in our small oboe community everything is to some extent collective property.

My poor prof... when I told him that I had "unexpectedly fallen in love and got married on Friday" he nearly fainted... until I told him it was with an oboe!

I think I'm the only player I've met who has a Puchner! Does everyone except Andrew have a Howarth?

Where do they make those?

Actually, I am still for now playing my Patricola (which has been very decent) and I believe kerioboe is still playing her Marigaux, so we're by no means just a bunch of Howarth addicts.

Kerioboe also owns a Howarth XL. Isn't the Marigaux her Cor?

No, my old oboe is a Marigaux and I'm still using it in orchestral rehearsals and concerts until I have played in the XL. My cor is a Ward and Winterbourne.

And congratulations Katica!

Ah it was a Puchner you were playing the other day...lovely smooth sound..

Yes I think I am the only non Howarth Player..and I'm certain I am the only Loree player here..

Actually my Oboe is sounding really lovely at the moment, I have some wonderful reeds and the sound quality is lovely..love it..its just how I want it to sound..

Andrew




Aint it the truth..

ho ho ho hooray!

My Lorée-loving teacher must have really liked the XL! After six months of sitting on some blank reeds I had tied for him, since yesterday - after testing the XL and pronouncing it a good buy - he has finally made me a super-duper reed to blow my new oboe in! Just off to the National Theatre to collect it...



Green with envy - I wonder if I will ever get there!

New oboe and new reed should definitely help...

I am so pleased you got yourself a new Oboe, finding the right one can be the very devil itself but it seems you got luck on your side. Also very pleased your teacher likes it as well, thats a huge relief..he must have loved the sound and will no doubt have made the reed to suit..what fun having a new oboe to blow in, dont worry the time soon passes and you will be ablle to play your normal practice levels on the XL...

As for the sound, well I have bee really struggling of late to get the roundness of sound,Like a rich ripe plum popping is the only way I can describe it..its delecious. The sad part is that a lot of it has to do with the reeds and we all know how fickle they can be..

Andrew