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Great Oboe for Sale

UPDATE:  This ended up being a long story - but the oboe is SOLD and no longer available.  Thanks everyone who inquired after it!

I am selling my one-year-old Yamaha 841 Custom oboe. It is made from Brazilian Kingwood, and is one of the prettiest oboes I've ever seen. I purchased it new last year and broke it in carefully and thoroughly. Never cracked, and expertly tuned by Carlos Coelho, this instrument is in better-than-new condition. It has been played in orchestra, and quintet, and on television.

The 841 is a fully professional oboe with all of the bells and whistles, including a third octave key. The brand is relatively new, but several prominent US orchestras, including, I believe, Philadelphia and Baltimore, use Yamahas in their oboe sections.

This oboe has a beautiful, even scale, and would do a lot to correct a tendency to saggy intonation, especially in the upper register. Its sound is vibrant and exciting. Physically, the key work is very well made, and I have had no mechanical problems with it aside from a slight tendency to collect water in the octave keys. Feathering instead of swabbing has been an excellent solution to that.

My favorite thing about this Yamaha is the way it feels to play. It is quite a bit lighter than my AK Loree, and feels lively under my fingers. ALL of the notes work well, right away. The low register is effortless. The high register is effortless. The slurs are effortless.

I am selling it because I have found that although it is beautiful it is not "me". I wrote about this HERE. And we are buying a house, so I need cash more than I need this oboe. I will be selling one of my Lorees later this year, as well.

The price of a brand new Kingwood Yamaha is $5625. I am asking $5100 OBO, and am happy to send it out on trial.

Please contact me with any questions or concerns. jennetningle@gmail.com or 773-450-4581.

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Comments

  1. RobinDesHautboisJuly 7, 2011 at 7:45 PM

    More of a question than a comment, you say the instrument was tuned.... apart from re-drilling the bore or tone-holes, how does an oboe get actually tuned... I mean, compared to loosening/tightening strings? Thanks, love your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cooper WrightJuly 7, 2011 at 9:26 PM

    Jennet, is this oboe an etude model/lined or the regular model? Thanks.

    Cooper

    ReplyDelete
  3. JennetJuly 8, 2011 at 12:08 AM

    Robin, in this case Carlos just adjusted the thicknesses of some of the cork bumpers and pads to bring some of the pitches in line. On other oboes I have had him undercut toneholes or we have painted nail polish inside them to raise or lower individual notes. I tweak things myself quite often, but everything on this oboe was supervised by Carlos. Thanks for asking!

    ReplyDelete
  4. JennetJuly 8, 2011 at 12:11 AM

    Cooper, this oboe is not lined. I guess I'm a purist about that. Thanks for clarifying!

    ReplyDelete

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