i had never even heard of these oboes, until i was told by an oboe seller that they were the best oboes in the world. other than one recommendation from someone who told me they are comparable to Laubins, i haven't really heard anything else about them. i called tom hiniker, and i might be trying one that one of the oboe players in the detroit symphony is giving to him to sell.

so anyways, does anybody have experience with these? thoughts?

Hiniker makes excellent oboes. I played Laubin exclusively until I tried a Hiniker last summer and bought it on the spot. The best there is. You would be lucky to get one - he has not made many yet.

I own the very first sold Hiniker oboe. Tom Hiniker was my teacher and is still my friend. I have played many oboes and I will NEVER give up my Hiniker. For the first time ever a "c" on an oboe is not sharp and I have a left hand c sharp key that has saved me from time to time. He also makes incredible English Horn bocals. He has extreme attention to detail and you would be hard pressed to find another oboe that plays so warmly and in tune with itself.

well i tried out a hiniker, and i must say it was quite good. i ended up going with a used laubin though. the hiniker i tried out was 27 i think. anyways, it was very very good. it had an incredible scale and nice projection. however, i went with the laubin for sound. while the hiniker had a more focused sound, the laubin had a wider more encompassing sound. i guess its really a matter of preference.

to sum up though, the hiniker felt like a loree, only with a good even scale (which i can't say for loree)