Wow you all have no life to actually sit here and insult someone about an OBOE BRAND!!!!!

"ric oboes are the best!!"
"well i don`t think they are"
"oh you suck, booo, we will show what nerds we are by posting why we think our oboes are better"

like who the f**k cares??? You people have no lives. I came here to get information on whether to buy a plastic or wooden oboe and then most of this sad pitiful post is all about trashing someone for their choice of oboe brand?????? Like you all need to get out more. There is this thing called the sun and you need to get out and see it sometime instead of sitting on your fat asses and insulting someone about their oboe!? LOL that`s really sad.

GET A RENARD OBOE!

OK for real, here`s some SERIOUS advice. If your son has a private teacher (and if he wants to get anywhere, he should), ask the teacher. There is no better way to ensure that you`re getting a decent instrument than to involve a double reed teacher in the process.

Another very important thing to do is find the nearest double reed specialist close to you. Again, double reed teachers are great for this. Oboes are very very delicate instruments, and it`s important to have them serviced ONLY by specialists. Fortunately, specialists are well-versed in dealing through the mail and often have a lovely selection of used, high-quality instruments. Double reed retailers are happy to send you an instrument on credit-card deposit for your son and his teacher to check out. Your teacher will be able to tell you more about that instrument in two minutes of playing than you`d ever get staring at pictures of it.

Here`s some really great web sites about buying an oboe that you should read:

http://www.public.asu.edu/~schuring/Oboe/instruments.html (as recommended by another poster)

http://www.ddorian.com/idgets/brands.htm -- this lady is an oboe teacher in NC, she`s got good advice on buying.

As for my personal advice, if your son is going into high school and you`re reasonably sure he`s going to stick with the oboe, you need to get him at least an intermediate model with a full or modified conservatory key system.

Yamaha, Buffet, Rigoutat, Fox (one of the best oboe companies on earth), and Cabart (the low-end division of F. Loree) all have lovely options for less than $2000. If you`ve got $4,000, buy a Loree or a really high-end Fox! Either way, since oboes don`t lose value if taken care of, you can always sell it back and buy him an Oboe Ferrari (like a Loree) when and if he decides to play in college too. But I`ll say this--any oboe that you buy for less than $700 is probably not going to last him through high school. And that`s an Ebay price--the world`s cheapest place to buy oboes.

If money is an issue, consider Ebay. I bought my instrument, a beautiful intermediate-level Yamaha with a clean history, for HALF what I`d have paid at even a discount music retailer. Ideally, you should be buying from a reputable music dealer who is selling through Ebay that you can call and speak to on the phone. Make sure you ask the seller well before the auction is over to give you the full model number, serial number (if available), and if possible, a full service history of the instrument including place of original purchase and if the repairmen were double reed specialists. In fact, it`s a good idea to ask that stuff no matter WHERE you buy the oboe.

And this might seem obvious, but always ask if the oboe comes with the case. Believe it or not, even at the music store, sometimes it doesn`t.

Good luck!

Well, it is pretty evident that many people feel strongly about their particular brand of oboe. I do agree to contact Nora Post. Although she is not a big fan of Loree, which is probably currently the biggest selling oboe in North America; but she is very helpful, has many different makes of oboes to choose from, and she does not offer biased opinions. The bottom line is, your son needs to decide which oboe he likes, whether it be a Loree or a fox, and don`t listen to everything other people say or think. Everyone has a different style of making reeds, and his style of reeds may be more suited for a certain make of oboe. I mention Nora Post because she offers so many different makes of oboes to try in order to make a good comparison. Most dealers in North America offer only Loree, Fox, or some lower quality student oboes. Your son may even be interested in a Laubin oboe, but they are expensive, there is a long waiting list, and the good ones are most likely already owned by someone. It is interesting to note that Loree and Laubin only seem to be popular in North America. I think it is due to our style of playing as opposed to other countries.

If your son is going to continue on the oboe, I would consider a professional model. You do not have to buy a brand new one. Makes I personally would recommend include: Loree, Laubin, Rigoutat, Marigaux, and Howarth. It can be expensive to have oboes shipped to your house (especially if you pay for insurance, which is a good idea. You may want to start by finding a local dealer who sells oboes and make an appointment to try several different oboes at one time.

Good luck!

can anyone tell me if they think this oboe looks alright??

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dllViewItem&item=2542095284&category=16227

thanks

if you want a student oboe of a professional standard, buy MCW oboes.
I bought one last year, they`re very good.
I have seen a used REIC oboe in the store of Oboeworks in Virginia, it`s only 1 year but it is in a worse condition than a 40 years old Marigalz (not sure if I spelled it right), obviously it`s hard to keep it in a good condition. Go to oboeworks.com to see some used oboes they have. If you live anywhere near north virginia, you can go to oboeworks, a very nice store sells only oboes and oboe related products. Again go online and find out.

Please do not assume that just because you saw one RIEC oboe that was not in perfect condition after one year that it is a bad oboe overall. I personally use one and have a colleague that has used one for 12 years now and it still looks brand new. It is an excellent oboe. I agree that the MCW is a wonderful oboe too, but do consider looking at both, i get a better sound out of my RIEC than any Loree i have tried, and it still looks beautiful after a couple years of use, whoever had the RIEC that look terrible just didn`t take care of it!

Thank you and Good luck,
Adam Parnell

We just bought a new 841T, and it sounded great. The price is about $3900, for this price, one can probably get a used Lorree, but why?

Fox is the band to buy and get plastic because it is lighter and if it gets stolin it is less expensiv.

get a marigaux. They are very reliable and of very good quality. They expensice. I`m getting one soon its gonna be a bit over $12,000, its worth it though, if you are serious about playing the oboe.

12,000 for an oboe. Not even a Laubin English horn is going for that price!!
You got jipped BOI!!!!!!!!!

If you`re serious about the oboe get a loree. They have excellent tone quality, but there very expensive. If you`re just a beginer or intermidiate get a fox.