i play flute and clarinet, and i wanted to have a go on an oboe just cause they sound cool , but looking price they are realy expensive compared to flute and clarinet(i cold get a
near proffesional flute for the price of a student oboe), why is this? they just look like a clarinet with a few extra keys and a blocked top foring for the reed(instead of a mouth peiece) so why are they so expensive even the basic stucent ones i have seen are £500 and that is the rubbish chinese instruments(the brands i have heard anything about are like £800) but isn't this slighlty over priced for a plastic one which is essetially a blocked up plastic clarinet with more keys and a hole for the reed?

For two main reasons:

1. The bore & holes are smaller than on the clarinet & flute it has to be made to finer tolerances.

2. Flutes & clarinets are made in far greater numbers so design & tooling costs constitute a much smaller part of the cost of each of these instruments.

if you think an oboe is a blocked up clarinet with a hole for reed maybe you should forget about it

Most oboes have to be finished by hand due to the size of the springs and the tone holes. Talk to an oboist though, before you decide to play a "blocked up clarinet".

ok, oboes are NOT blocked up clarinets!! They are pretty much completely different! As stated above, oboes take a lot more work to finish and are produced in smaller quantities. The reeds (the handmade ones, not the store-bought) are so expensive because of the work that it takes to make them. It can take hours to make a reed from start to finish! Playing the oboe is just a very expensive commitment!

ok i am sorry if i offended anyone, because i have only ever seen one oboe in person and i didn't see it that closely , and from what i could tell on internet pics thats what it looked like to me, but i can't start playing oboe unless i come into some serious money as only being young i can only just fund my clarinet playing (my perents fund my flute lessons). again i'm sorry if i offended anyone.

lol it's ok. Would your school have one that you would be able to rent if you would want to try it out?

unfortunatley all my school keep is a piccolo a bad violin, and some guitars and keyboards. most people who get music lessons at school have bought there instruments. i would love it if they did have one that i could have ago at, but untill i get a big some of money i will have to stick with clarinet and flute.