My 5th grade daughter is playing on a beginner Selmer that we are borrowing. An aquaintance has bought her musically gifted 7th grader a Loree and wants to sell a Selmer intermediate (wood, model # escapes me). From this forum, I know I don`t want to buy it, but when should I expect to upgrade?

I think that the time to upgrade is when you know if your child is going to stick with the oboe. And I was just wondering what people have against Selmer oboes? All the one`s I`ve heard and seen (including mine) work and sound just fine. Well, good luck to you.

My daughter plays on an inexpensive Selmer oboe and is doing fine. When her oboe teacher plays it - it obviously doesn`t sound as good as the concert model, but the difference isn`t enough to put me off the sound of the Selmer. (It just sounds thinner somehow).

My daughter is in Grade 6 and this is her second full year on the oboe - we`re not planning on upgrading until I know the oboe will be her principal intrument (she also plays flute and piano) and that it will be something she will continue to play after she`s done with the School Band program.

Unless it`s the deal of the century (you could buy it in advance - and then always go and sell it later), I`d wait. The only other advantage might be to have both, let her play the better one at home and at private lessons and take the less expensive one to school. When I see them all get ready for band, see instruments swinging around and hitting music stands etc., as they all settle in - I always have to take a deep breath and count to 10!

I played a Selmer 121 (wood, not top model, nor is it full-conservatory, but a decent instrument) for a few years when I was a beginner. It got me quite far. It is not very expensive at all on the scale of oboes--you might pay between $1500 and $2000 for it. A full-scale professional oboe will run near $10,000.

Ok,here I thought my mind was made up. You`ve made me rethink myself. They are asking $1300 for this wood Selmer intermediate which is one and a half years old. Is that a "deal"?

Two quick comments, based on our experience. We live in a small city - we don`t have a really good music store, much less a double-reed store. That makes purchasing or trying out instruments very difficult.

Secondly, we`ve tried almost every reed we`ve been able to find. I did order some from a specialty shop on the coast as well that were highly recommended by professional players. We even tried the plastic reeds just to see what was what. The end result?

My daughter prefers, and plays the best on the least expensive, non-recommended Emerald! However, we really should buy her a case for her reeds - I appreciate that advice! Thanks.

That makes me sad that a 7th grader got a Loree and I have a Fox. I love mine, but I wouldve loved a Loree more.

Never buy an instrument without advice from a teacher (an oboe specialist- not your band director.)
Also - some of the commercial reeds available are very good for middle school and high school players. The best are Lesher and Emerald.