Catching Up Now that School is Out
Sunday June 15 2008
Well, with the reed sale, orders are coming in and I’m getting a bit busier again. My first year is finally over, and while I don’t feel like I’ve improved a huge amount, I’ve been told by the faculty that I made great strides.
I was debating it, and now— I did it. I pulled my gouging machine blade and sharpened it. It’s always a bit nerve-racking pulling the blade and sharpening it because you don’t know if your curve will be the same, and it always takes 20 or 30 pieces to get the setting back. Oh well, it’s a good thing I have a free day!
Summer Reed Sale!
Saturday June 14 2008
Ever want to try my reeds but didn’t have the courage? Well, my reeds will be going UP soon, (www.CooperWrightReeds.com) so now I’m marking my prices down $2 a reed. Now is the time to put in an order! Write me if you would like more information.
Old, OLD Loree pics
Tuesday June 10 2008
Some nice chips out of the top— interesting reed well.
Trill keys look similar. The modern upper trill key extends further up.
Toneholes are in immaculate condition. Notice the itty bitty half-whole key.
Ab key hugs the trill key rod much closer. It’s also shorter and more curved.
Interesting trill key there. It’s an entirely new (or rather old) hole!
No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. The old instrument (on the right) really is that much thinner than my CL Loree (and C series instruments are that much thinner than modern instruments).
I love that itty bitty half hole key. Notice the difference in distances between the holes.
Even more of a difference in distance between the A and the G key!
Maybe they had itty bitty thumbs back then too—
The usual no adjustment screw on the F#-G# bridge.
Notice the lack of posts in this area. Unlike modern oboes, The open ring D is also connected to the E key and the F# resonance key. The E key is part of the same hinge.
Naturally, no F resonance (as Tabuteau would have wanted it!)
The bell was missing its ring. No doubt the wood had shrunk leaving the ring loose to fall off.
The grains on this piece of wood are gorgeous.
Somehow I got the feeling the instrument had been on a shelf in an attic for a long time—
A REALLY… long time—
Notice the difference in grain pattern and texture between the bell/middle joint as opposed to the top joint. I believe the middle joint and bell to be palisander, while the top joint to be grenadilla.
And then— my camera battery died. :(
Tabuteau quote:
Wednesday June 04 2008
He said I was working, but on the wrong track×that once in awhile we all get on the wrong path. He didn’t blow up and tell me to quit but just said, “Don’t worry, in a hundred years all your troubles will be over.”Read the Rest-Laila Storch, Marcel Tabuteau
Old, OLD Loree.
Tuesday June 03 2008
Well, it finally arrived.
The instrument arrived today. I unwrapped it and immediately checked the serials. The top joint was marked O67, the bell marked A74, and the middle joint with no number at all.
That’s right. the bell is marked A74, as in the 74th oboe Loree ever made! Although the middle joint wasn’t marked, the unique staining and color along with the grain pattern leads me to believe that it is the same instrument as the bell. These joints definitely do not appear to be grenadilla, but rather palisander or some other rosewood. Meanwhile, I need to write to Loree to ask what year O67 might be. It seems to be grenadilla wood, and perhaps if the original A74 was made out of pallisander, it would have more easily cracked to pieces, and been replaced by the O67 topjoint.
What is perhaps most amazing is the fact that the instrument is not cracked, all of the keys move and work fine, and the joints even get some suction! I can play an entire scale on it! Talk about historical finds!
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