What brand of oboe will allow you, your reed, and your oboe to all play as one? 

Oboists in the United States, England, France, Italy, and Germany all aspire for a special instrument to enhance their efforts to produce the most precision and refinement in performance. 

My philosophy is to find an instrument for each of my customers that allows them to sound their very best and not simply choose an instrument based on its name or image.

Any one of the four brands that we offer: Loree, Howarth, Buffet and Covey, may suit your individual performing needs.

Shawna Lake of Oboe Chicago is the person to answer all of your questions when considering which oboe will be right for you!

Oboe Chicago General Facts

v     I keep a large inventory of these select brands. 

v     All new oboes come with accessories and a one-year warranty that covers crack pinning, adjustments, and any repairs that become necessary from normal wear. 

v     To set up a two-week trial for any instrument, I require payment for on oboe by a credit card number. (Please see my policies page for shipping costs and other details.)

v     Used oboes are also available.  Please call for a current inventory. 

v     Every instrument has been carefully adjusted and play-tested by myself alongside my expert technician. 

Descriptions of types of wood:

*Oboes can be made of several types of dense wood.  Grenadilla  is the standard.  Also called blackwood, it comes from Mozambique and is the most dense of the woods used to make oboes. 

*Grenadilla oboes project very well and are less prone to cracking.  These oboes change dimensions more slowly over time often taking longer to “blow out”. 

*Cocobola wood, from Mexico, is less dense than grenadilla.  It keeps the beneficial traits of granadilla while having a slightly warmer sound.

*Violet wood, (also called kingwood,) from South America, is less dense than cocobola, and thus has a characteristic warm, sweet sound.

*Rosewood, is the least dense of the standard woods used to make oboes.  It has the sweetest sound, but does not always project as well, (it is well suited for chamber music).

Some points to keep in mind:  denser woods generally project better, are less prone to cracking and don’t change as much with time.  Less dense woods generally produce a warmer, sweeter sound with less of an edge.

OBOE CHICAGO PROUDLY OFFERS PRODUCTS FROM THE FOLLOWING MANUFACTURERS:

BUFFET        COVEY        HOWARTH        LOREE
Click on any of the above links to learn more about each different type of oboe.