Joseph
Tomasso is a musician who exemplifies talent and patience; he is an
accomplished woodwind specialist and also a friend from my high school
district-band days. Specializing in all of the wind instruments, including the
saxophone family, this demanding career presents one with the unparalleled
challenge of countless reeds. Despite his busy schedule, he was nice enough to
share his thoughts during a recent purchase of a new oboe. Oboists are
frequently loyal to their brand of instrument and it is refreshing to see
someone explore multiple instrument maker choices; Joseph outlined his quest to
find the best oboe for his doubling career which included the Loboe.
Below
are his thoughts comparing instruments; I am most appreciative for his time and
expertise. While he did not ultimately go with the Loboe for his needs, he
made the right choice for his career needs so I won’t hold that against him!
Be sure
to check out his website
to learn more about his incredible career!
The lower register was really
"free" without being "flexible" - it might be because I am
a doubler, but as a saxophonist generally if there is not enough resistance the
tone goes crazy in the low register of the saxophone. This [Loboe] had a great
mix of comfort and power, without losing any sense of tone. It was really
remarkable in the low register.
The extreme high register was also
really excellent. I am not sure if it was because the bottom joint adds a
little extra wood to vibrate, but the F and above spoke cleanly with standard
and short cut fingers. I preferred to use the back octave as the third octave
was a bit sharp (but that could be because I am a saxophonist and have a
tendency to bite the notes out) or maybe the vent was opening too much or too
little.
The short version is really that
the problem with [the Loboe] had nothing to do with the lower register, but
everything to do with the left hand notes. A, B, C were very hard to play with
any sense of focus/tune (they were oddly sharp and I'm not sure how to
compensate for that because my older marigaux 901 was flat on b and c). When I
switched the top joint, oddly enough, the instrument was really gorgeous (even
though it looked hideous with a grenadilla top and violetwood bottom). The
problem there was that the top joint was from different horn and of course was
not set up to play the low A the right way (which was sort of sad because low
makes everything more exciting).
I actually found this instrument
to project very well, more so than the Howarth XL in cocobolo that I tried
(which was also a very nice instrument). I just wish the pitch center was more
stable! One other really cool thing about the low A was how easy B and Bb
seemed to be in comparison. There is something really pretty about the 2nd to
lowest note on oboe. I tried to pick the best oboe for someone who plays oboe
every day, but maybe isn't trying to be in a major symphony.
I ended up picking the Buffet
Orfeo (In green line) because it had a really covered/dark sound (very similar
to the Laubin I tried) but also an extremely even scale (more even than the
Yamaha Duet+ I tried as well). It does not offer quite as ... sparkly or
shining of a tone, but I think I can try and alter my reeds a bit to get the
instrument to sing.