<p>Buying brass instruments might be a little easier, but not by much. Give a trumpet player two “identical” mouthpieces from the same maker that were made on the the same CNC lathe on the same day and he will like one more than the other. And even his dad will be able to hear the difference! </p>
<p>I can give a shout out to Robertson and Sons in Albuquerque. My D’s violas, except for the last one, came from there. They were always super nice to deal with. They let my daughter play a ton of violas. They listened to the differences and play tested them as well. Even though we were not high end customers --they usually have Strads and Guarneris in the building – they always treated us like we were. Even their low end was better --a lot better – than anything we could get from a local band and orch. store. </p>
<p>To the OP: I think you know this already, but don’t buy a string instrument from a store that rents and sells band and orchestra instruments. Those stores are great places for that first instrument. That’s where most of our kids probably started (on a Glaesel!) but you will do SO MUCH better going to a proper string shop with a luthier on site. There may be exceptions, but I haven’t seen them. The big music stores serve a very important purpose, but they usually do not have the level of expertise you’d get from a string shop.</p>
<p>^Some independently-owned b/o shops do have onsite luthiers and a selection of mid and prolines, so ask the teacher and talk to local shops before categorically ruling that out. I believe $5-6k is midrange.</p>
<p>Perhaps if you told us you location, plus your d’s age and intent/level of play, we could assist you with actual sources. And what’s she playing now?</p>
<p>As you may have gathered from the responses, btw, everything your daughter has told you so far is true ;)</p>
<p>I have to agree with Tomdug, while it never hurts to try as many resources as possible, most band and orchestra stores I have known specialize in kids playing in school ensembles, where in general the playing level isn’t that high and the demands on the instruments likewise isn’t that high. That doesn’t mean some band and orchestra stores don’t have good instruments (one my son’s first full size violins came from a store like that, it was a factory violin that was a great deal and fit what he needed at the time) but to be honest, if you are looking to move to the next level it is like a B and O will have relatively low level instruments in terms of quality, and price tag isn’t the point, luthiers and such may have instruments at the same price point that play much, much better, even the top end at B and O tend to be factory made instruments IME. My S has a violin on loan right now but his primary instrument was a gem we found in a local string store that had fantastic sound that based on sound beat instruments costing 4 times as much…</p>
<p>Again, part of the answer IMO is casting a wide net and seeing what is out there…heck, there was a story in a local ‘regional lore’ magazine (also known as Weird NJ) about a guy that bought a 100 buck fiddle from a, I kid you not,bait store and music store in NJ someplace (I seem to recall it was the shore area), and supposedly it was an instrument that had once belonged to Paganini <em>lol</em>. …don’t know if it is true, but you never know…</p>
<p>Hi Mom2Winds,
I know not every kid or Pro ends up liking the same Oboe but in a couple years we’re going to be doing the Professional Oboe search and I’d love to know how your search turns out! Right now daughter plays on a Fox 330 but going to college she’s going to want a pro wood oboe and although her teacher will only recommend a Loree Royal I know many other people LOVE lots of other oboes!</p>
<p>The right instrument is the one that the musician feels comfortable with and can play, pure and simple. To be honest, I would be suspect of a teacher who recommends only one oboe or whatever, it would be like a violin teacher who said only get a particular luthier’s violin, either they don’t understand the individual nature of instruments or have ulterior motives. It is one thing to say “I love X maker of oboes, I have found them to play wonderfully and are well made”…but others might not find them good for them. </p>
<p>The answer is to have the student try instruments until they find one that resonates with them (no pun intended)</p>
<p>In Redeye’s daughter’s teacher’s defense, I bet most, if not all, oboists would think the Loree Royal is a great instrument. That being said, not all oboists want to, or should, play one. </p>
<p>It is a gift to be able to go through this process now with my daughter’s professor. My daughter is a sophomore, and the professor knows her (musically and personally) very well. I know she will help us find the best instrument for her. </p>
<p>Finding the right person to help with this process is key. There are some double reed dealers who are known for helping to match the oboe to the musician. Redeye, when the decision has been made about who your daughter will study with, ask the professor for his/her thoughts about upgrading her oboe. Hopefully you will have their assistance to guide you through this process.</p>
<p>I don’t feel so bad now reading the above stories about finding instruments for my son, i.e., it’s an inherently difficult process!
The first couple instruments were pretty easy to get due to my son’s teacher’s contacts. He found us an orchestral trombone, a practically new one that had a slight imperfection on the bell that we got at a good price. He alerted us to a jazz trombone too, a vintage 1950’s one that a music store had just gotten in. Both times son got a good try out before buying.
This summer we had been planning on driving 3 hours to a well-known instrument retail superstore to pick out a new jazz trombone but found out they had closed shop last year, alternatively they had a mail-order trial instrument option where they send you three instruments to try out for 10 days. This is probably the same deal that Tomdug mentioned his son did with trumpets. My son was kind desparate to have a working trombone before school began so settled on one. The shipping fee with insurance to send the instruments back can be costly…I think I paid $160 for two trombones, so yeah, I wouldn’t want to keep using this method on an ongoing basis to find the perfect instrument!</p>