Any Oboe Players Here?

[momoftwins]

DS is a beginner oboe player (took clarinet for one year and now changed to the oboe). We have tried Jones Oboe Reeds and Emerald Reeds.
He loves the Jones reeds, but I guess they are not going to be making oboe reeds any longer. He does not like the Emerald reeds. He said they are too hard to use (he uses medium soft for both brands).


Anyway, do you know of any other brand of reed that might be good for a beginner? Our local Music & Arts only carries Emerald.

Thanks for your help!

 

[CapeCodTenor]

I don't play the oboe, but I'll give you a *bump* in case someone else might be able to help. Maybe Galahad can ask one of his oboe friends.

 

[Briarmom]

Hmm. Well, back when I played Oboe (God do I miss it) I used a brand I can't recall, and then one day they didn't have my brand so I tried Emerald. At that time I think I got a Med. After a few tries with it, I tried Emerald Medium Soft. And then that's what I used.

So, I am not much help.

Oh, but I would ask his band teacher what they suggest. Perhaps they know someone who can hand craft reeds. That's very normal for College level players and up.

Barring that, I suggest you order several different brands online.

What do they use to soak reeds nowadays? Now that film is almost obsolete?

 

[Cindy B]

My son has been playing oboe for over 4 years. He's in 7th grade.

First, it is ideal for an oboe player to make thier own reeds. My son is just starting to do that but it is very time consuming. He can make the reed, ties the string, but the scraping is rough to do and it gets ruined.

Jones stink. don't buy jones.

I am asking him right now.

He says for a beginner Martin Lesher soft, he thinks Emeralds are ok. Emeralds are the last resort for us. He also just said "get your private oboe teacher to make you some"

He's been playing for four years and he uses Martin Lesher Hard.

You can buy Lesher's at wwbw.com

Our local Music and Arts Center has a ton of oboe reed brands. You just have to ask them. Our Music and Arts has them in a big bin under the register.

 

[Cindy B]

Medium soft might be too much reed for him to handle. Any beginner oboe player should really play soft. Soft gets you sound and medium hard/hard is something that an oboe player would use after 1-2 years experience. It basically wears you out when you have a harder reed and you can't play well because you are trying to catch your breath all the time.

 

[Cindy B]

.

What do they use to soak reeds nowadays? Now that film is almost obsolete?

My son uses a small container that is about 2 inches across. I think it was part of a dip/chip lazy susan set-- it was a dip/condiment bowl.

 

[Duckfan]

Well, I wasn't going to be much help on reeds since my dd has been buying them from her Oboe instructor but I have to laugh on cups. Her favorite was a little disney mug that she bought in one of those "gum" machines. She was quite sad to have it break since it was a good size. She also has a little mini star wars mug we picked up at a gift shop.

 

[Briarmom]

Well, I wasn't going to be much help on reeds since my dd has been buying them from her Oboe instructor but I have to laugh on cups. Her favorite was a little disney mug that she bought in one of those "gum" machines. She was quite sad to have it break since it was a good size. She also has a little mini star wars mug we picked up at a gift shop.

Buy a container of film.
That's what I'm going to do when I buy an oboe.

 

[NCDisneyMom]

The woman who used to play oboe in our orchestra kept a shot glass on her stand to soak her reed in. I always wondered what she had in that shot glass.

 

[DemonLlama]

I miss playing the oboe. Just such a beautiful instrument.

I tried making my own reeds and never got it right. Call the local music stores and ask if they have any professional players on a list for private lessons. Most can make a soft reed for beginners and would happy to sell you some.

 

[Cindy B]

The woman who used to play oboe in our orchestra kept a shot glass on her stand to soak her reed in. I always wondered what she had in that shot glass.

We were going to use a shot glass. But I didn't want to be one of those paretns that bought a shot glass for thier kids... I can see the clerks just doing this...

 

[lovetoscrap]

DH found an online place to buy reeds for DD's clarinet and said that he had tons of reeds for everything. He is going to look up the place for me to post. He couldn't remember the name.

 

[momoftwins]

DS did try the soft reed and he did not care for it (although he could not quite explain why). My Music and Arts has Rico's and Emerald. This last time they were out of Rico's and we had to get Emeralds.

I will go and look at wwbw.com. Maybe since he is a beginner maybe I will buy a few brands for him to try.

Right now he is only doing lessons and band at school. It was his Band Teacher who recommended the medium soft Jones.

Lovestoscrap, let me know what website you are talking about. His clarinet reeds were like $10.00 per box. Oboe reeds are about $9 - $10.00 per reed

Well, everyone keeps telling me they like oboe players in college. Little do they know he wanted to play the oboe because Squidward on Spongebob played one

Have a great night.

 

[lovetoscrap]

Here is the link, but it looks like maybe they only have Clarinet and Saxaphone reeds. Maybe someone can get some use from it. We were very happy using them.

http://www.discountreed.com/ (really hard name for him to remember! )

ETA, I do see an oboe reed--but it is Jones!

 

[sharlon]

I just wanted to say thank you for this thread. DD11 just signed up to learn oboe next year when she starts middle school. My sister is a professional musician so she is some help, but she is flute/piccollo not oboe, so she can only help so much.

 

[Cindy B]

DS did try the soft reed and he did not care for it (although he could not quite explain why). My Music and Arts has Rico's and Emerald. This last time they were out of Rico's and we had to get Emeralds.

I will go and look at wwbw.com. Maybe since he is a beginner maybe I will buy a few brands for him to try.

Right now he is only doing lessons and band at school. It was his Band Teacher who recommended the medium soft Jones.

Lovestoscrap, let me know what website you are talking about. His clarinet reeds were like $10.00 per box. Oboe reeds are about $9 - $10.00 per reed

Well, everyone keeps telling me they like oboe players in college. Little do they know he wanted to play the oboe because Squidward on Spongebob played one

Have a great night.

Wait until you get to $30 reeds! That gets bad! The reed making supplie are about $200 as well.

Actually Squidward plays a clarinet.. although Spongebob makes an oboe joke on Band geeks. The sound is a clarinet sound but it is a poorly drawn clarinet. If you look at the mouthpiece you will see it shaped more like a clarinet and not a straight reed piece like an oboe.l

he really should be using a soft reed. It will be easier for him to make a sound and not exert himself and sound breathless while playing.

Ricos are worse than Jones's. Stay far far far away from Ricos. Playing a Rico reed is like playing a toilet paper comb.

Martin Lesher makes a decent reed. We've only used Lesher's if we don't make our own. Once you get to hard reeds they get more expensive and it's almost cost effective to make your own. It's a frustrating process though.

 

[Cindy B]

I just wanted to say thank you for this thread. DD11 just signed up to learn oboe next year when she starts middle school. My sister is a professional musician so she is some help, but she is flute/piccollo not oboe, so she can only help so much.

Flute can actually help a lot. Don't discount your sister. My son has played with the flute group in his middle school for two years. The flute is played in the same key as the oboe so you can get some instruction from her.

 

[minkydog]

Good luck to your son! I played oboe in HS. I'm not a great musician,but i was good enough to snag a band scholarship in college. It paid my way through nursing school Now my DD15 plays oboe, so I guess she's a legacy.

Not sure where you're from,but there is a fantastic oboe camp that meets at Brenau College in Gainesville, GA during the summer. My DD went there a couple years ago. It's run by Lisa Sayre, who plays oboe with Cobb Symphony and sometimes with the Atlanta Symphony. She is a wonderful teacher and she has a great staff. I think it runs about $550, but it is definitely worth the money if your player is serious.

 

[rcraw45425]

DH plays and has started DD11 on it. We purchased her a decent Selmer to start out on. Paid $15 for a Rico at the local music store and DH stated it was a piece of crap. Ordered some Soft Emeralds from a place in Florida for less than $5 each. They were better than the Rico, and shipped quickly.