Why Oboes Are So Expensive | So Expensive | Business Insider 

Also a little bit of "glad we got a one-tapper for the camera" in there i think.

This is a perfect example of the "I charged you $1 for the tap, but $99 for knowing how to do it."

Craftsman: "That'll be $100." Purchaser: "But it was only 1 tap!!!" Craftsman: "Took me 20 years to perfect it too."

It's the smirk of a soon to be obsolete skill.

anybody can tap. knowing how hard and where to tap takes years of training

Thank you for taking the time to share this information.

the diameter of a clarinet is also increasing to the bottom, probably just not quite as much but still quite a bit

cone versus tube. overall. yes, they both taper outwards, but one is mostly conical, one is mostly tubular

While the bore diameter and outside diameter increase from top to bottom with around a 1 : 40 taper, the wall thickness remains pretty much the same across the majority of the length of the main joints, so they're no less fragile than any other wooden tube made with the same wall thickness along its length. Wooden flutes made with a 19mm cylindrical bore have a much thinner wall and are far more fragile than oboes, so the shape of the bore isn't the factor here - the wall thickness and also the diameters of the toneholes and their proximities to one another is where the strength (or weakness) lies. The bore diameter at the top end of the bore (immediately below the reed well) is just under 4mm compared to the outer diameter of around 19mm to 22mm (depending on the make and model) when measured at the same point which makes the wall thickness between 7.5mm to 9mm which is just as thick or even thicker than the wall thickness of a Buffet clarinet.

yeah. they said that.

How many instruments did she have

it sounds like she had a habit to get her instruments stolen

@@nyaanekonya it was all at one time, she was loaded up for a gig.

@@yamiyo6050 she had only a few stolen from what I remember. She has over a hundred instruments

You mean when you pawned it.

Very cool

Tbh i might buy that just to keep it as a souvenir lol cus its like a collectors item for me.

White privilege

Jesus, they get more expensive than these?

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Do you have a picture of it?

I knew a guy that spent $62,000 on crack. Funny guy.

Wait, is this the same guy from breaking bad in the video?

@@castorchua LMAOOOOO, I knew a guy who spent 60k on crack over the course of like 5 weeks. He was also a funny guy

the owner died when they saw the invoice.

Have you heard... the device, you are using right now... has millions of much more important components per each millimeter... and costs few dozens times less. Does this fact trigger your ability to think critically? Maybe it rises some questions?

@@alsto8298 its different when its assembled by a machine.

@@cerb1221 Ye, it is different when it is plastic instead of rare wood, despite it will be better in every possible way. It is different when modern production methodology is used instead of old-style hand-picking. It is different when you do need the polishing works due to poor production process. It is all different - in every single case, price goes higher and quality goes lower. Am I wrong in any statement?

@@alsto8298 stop trying to start shit im not gonna do this.

@@cerb1221 You are mistaken, It was not me who said "looking at and knowing what each little piece does gives you an understanding of the craft. its crazy how intricate they can get".

There are many oboe players around the world,since every orchestra requires at least two. Industrialization just kills this insane precision and quality that is needed here

Sir, make no mistake. No repairman was he, but a craftsman.

@@truebluekit artisan?

@@IamShanee artisan is good, too, but we gotta leave something for the people who actually make the entire stuff from scratch to finish. I think so, anyway.

@@truebluekit thats fair

@@truebluekit Correct!

Same with all these baroque type instruments and their complex keys. Clarinet and bassoon is also another good one, I prefer the original style from the medieval periods before they added keys to them. They look beautiful and more woody.

Back then i used to watch shows showing that instument but i never know what the name of it was until now and see how even more complicated it is then i ever knew.

As with clarinets

It’s very beautiful, but I think violin family instruments are more impressive.

@@kishascape Without metal keys the instruments will look woodier!

So true; nowhere to hide in the orchestra.

I'm a clarinetist. Playing a trumpet is like driving a mack truck... anywhere.

My oboe professor used to have a saying, it would be translated something like: "The oboe is a beautiful instrument, but it is full of bullshit"

yeah, as a flute player that made my blood boil lmao

@@matebagi3892 As a professional flute repair tech, I also agree with you. A few hours ago I have just finished the overhaul of Powell 18K flute with 14k mechanism, which costs like more than 60000-70000$ brand new.

Exactly! I wrote a similar comment just now (before scrolling down and seeing yours). My blood boiled at that!!! Crazy talk. What professional flutist is playing on a $3k flute??? WTF. Try adding a zero to that and then we're getting warmer.

I also wrote a bristling comment about this. The funny thing is that $14k is just about the range for high end Grenadilla wood flutes like the Yamaha at $10k, Sankyo at $16k, or Powell at $17k. So it's really quite comparable.

Yeah, the only professional flutes available for affordable prices are simple-system flutes, and you'd never play one of those in an orchestra. Simple-system flutes are mostly diatonic and with a strong low end, being made for traditional music.

I just made this comment! I was so confused when I heard that, flutes are so expensive!

Thank you for posting this! Professional flutes almost never cost less than $14,000 anymore

The narrator said $40,000, not $14,000.

@@procarpenter1788 still doesn’t compare to a flute 😒

@@procarpenter1788 If the narrator said a professional oboe goes for $40,000, they were mistaken for sure. That's more like a bassoon price.

yo pelo

que hace sr. pelo aqui xd?

$10 cheap! Most professional oboists make their own from pieces of raw reeds, because it is not possible to buy one that meets their personal requirements.

Yeah because let’s face it, all professional instruments are expensive like the $30,000 tubax saxophones made Benedikt Eppelsheim.

Yes and like Gola accordions which go for 58000 to 65000 dollars.

@@venM9 and then there are violins where the sky is the limit. Most professional violinists have instruments that are $10,000-$100,000, but that’s honestly at the low end of the spectrum when they can cost so much more.

@@Violamanben I was thinking about violins, too. $14k would be about as cheap as you can go for a professional grade violin. And of course, the top ones go for millions.

they do. did you look at their page?

The silencer corks under the adjusting screws could be described as approaching paper thinness (or fully paper thinness, depending on what paper we're talking about). But the pads (defined as the component that creates a seal on the openings of the tone holes), no.

I think the guy that makes them for a living knows what he’s talking about

@@chups4790 so do oboe players. People who put videos together and people who narrate them may get the finer details wrong on something as complex as this, though.

@@tkat6442 he was narrating his own work live? He literally touched on the subject in his own words at 5:49

@@chups4790 the OP was correct in saying that the pads are not paper thin, but listening to that excerpt, that wasn't what he was saying. He was "fitting them to the thinness of paper", as he put it. That means he uses a piece of paper, cigarette paper to be specific, as a feeler guage to feel all the way around to see that it touches the tone hole edge evenly for a good seal (notice, he draws suction on the instrument after testing with the cigarette paper).

They may be under-rated, but not under-appreciated. I am a sax player, primarily the soprano. My goal has always been to mimick the sound of the oboe. With reed choice, custom mouthpiece, neck adjustments, etc. I have come very close. Why would I do this? Simply because I don't play the oboe and can't afford a good one. So I do the best that I am able to. But please, don't believe that it is under-appreciated. I feel that a well played oboe is one of the most beautiful sounds that can be heard.

@@chribm ayyyy a fellow saxist I'm a tenor player who transitioned to oboe not long ago. It's soooooo much easier on the hands, though it has a less convenient fingerings system and mouthwork but it's still similar. With experience on the actual instrument, I'm sure it'll aid your efforts to get your soprano closer.

@@chribm Ah nice! As a oboe player, I actually like the classical soprano saxophone sound. Yes, in the higher register it sounds like an oboe, but for me, it sounds In the lower register more like an English horn (alto oboe). Just one remark: yes, oboes are expensive, but you can get a good one for far less the price they mentioned. I also think the reed is even more important: if you have an acceptable oboe problems are more occurring with the reed than with the oboe.

I don't have any musical talent nor an ear for music, but after hearing the lady in the vid playing it, would I be wrong in thinking it was the key instrument playing the "tones" in the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"??

@@MAGGOT_VOMIT That was an ARP 500 Synthesizer.

I thought that had been recorded by Gordon Hunt? But then looked up and couldn't find an answer about who recorded the original soundtrack

@@ericoschmitt That was a cover, my grandmother was on the soundtrack of the film :)

Wasn’t Gabriel’s Oboe written for English horn, not oboe? Also, I think I heard about your grandmother somewhat recently! Did she retire from the London Symphony Orchestra a few months ago?

@@andrewfortmusic I suppose it was for baroque oboe but was played on a modern one. She retired from the London Philharmonic in 1995

@@emryswalton1802 Was your grandmother Joan Whiting?

well, not JUST the materials at least. they definitely play a part in the price lol.

and now imagine what it used to take like a century or two ago, without all that high-precision CNC machining and stuff.

Well and the use of a cnc machine ;)

Well put

Skills akin to swiss watch making.

I bet you my entire 401k you couldn't tell the difference between one of these and a cheap piece of plastic. You might as well pay 1000% in shipping for your postman to do a lap around the country before delivering your package.

@@razpootis5802 tbf all professional instrumentalists will tell you indeed that the musician is 80+% of the sound, the instrument makes up 20% or less

ha haha yeah 🤣 it took me over ten years to make a decent reed, but I had a great teacher in Ronald Roseman who helped take the mystery out of reed making ¡¡!!

breathe pressure, articulation [redacted] Oboe

40,000 for an oboe reed making set up? I wouldn’t pay more than 30,000

@@chopsonyou2007 tbh 30,000 is too much already in my opinion, I can't imagine the price going over 10,000 unless you are a top player and buys extra templates for different reed shape..

Not only that… but Oboists as well as other Double Reed Instrumentalists make their own Reeds!

That is the absolute best thing when you can meet someone that wants to sell you an instrument at a great price BECAUSE they want it to find a good home where it will be enjoyed to the fullest. The same thing is happening fir me too. But in my case a small Raffin hand cranked organ. !

Right? Especially if we're talking wooden flutes! Those are extra pricey!

@@sg_dan or gold!

yeah plz send me where they're getting high end pro flutes for 3.5k 😭

It's called a HAUT BOIS not a Oboe stupid english retards, haut means HIGH, bois means WOOD, if you called it a HIGH WOOD it would be closer than that french MASSACRE of OBOE what a stupid guy wrote that that's why we killed you so much you english bastards you're so stupid that's baffling. Also if you think that's expensive try and buy a Selmer Sax which is a paris born instrument.

as someone who played the oboe in 5th grade, then switched to saxophone throughout the rest of his school years... an untalented person playing the oboe is like strangling a goose. A talented artist playing the oboe is heavenly.

@@heiseheise It's not about talent but about practice.

I used to hate the oboe until I discovered Ravel. His oboe writing in Le Tombeau de Couperin and Ma Mere l'lye (and of course Daphnis et Chloe) is incredible. The Menuet from the orchestrated version of Le Tombeau de Couperin is the piece that sent me over the edge in regard to the oboe. Now, I not only feature the oboe in most of my orchestral music, I also play oboe (at a low level, of course; mine is student-grade).

@@tamasfoldesi2358 Both. That is like saying literally everyone could be a world-class musician, just practice a lot!!! Which as anyone who has actually practiced a lot, would know. Genetics plays a part

@@ckmoore101 It's also about the quality not just the quantity of the practice sessions. The genetic part is not the determining factor. Just look at Derek Brown. He admits that he's a slow learner, but he puts a ton of effort in that's why he's a pretty fuckin' good sax player.

Agreed!

Agreed! A friend of mine who I go to school with is currently trialing a Heckel 6K series that’s only priced at about $31K and that’s a good deal for that horn!

@@hunteralexander9791 that’s new car worth

@@darklombax2580 it sure is. He doesn’t have a car but thought that since cars depreciate and bassoons appreciate, it’d be more worth it to get a horn that will outlive him earlier on

I played clarinet from 3rd grade to 8th grade and took up oboe because there was too many clarinets , lok

buy one and start again.

I think the video implies that this very unique African Wood is so dense etc. that it can be machine more precisely than other woods, more like metals. Under a microscope try looking at the structure (pores) very thin slices of different types of wood and then metals such as brass (a common material for brass instruments) and you will get a feel for why this happens to be true.

@@DrDaab This is pure uneducated guesswork but it might also have to do with the sound produced. An oboe has a very distinct sound and that exotic wood likely plays a part.

The various woods that were available to historical makers, even the hardest, most dense European boxwood, have absolutely nothing on the tropical hardwoods modern makers can use like rosewoods and ebonies, and grenadilla is the cream of the crop of woods, being almost literally rock hard. Pear or olive or box flutes, oboes, clarinets would have noticeably poor projection and tone, because the less dense material doesn't reflect sound waves as well. Structural integrity also becomes a serious concern with softer woods, which explains why oboes and clarinets have always been made from the hardest woods makers can get their hands on. Of course, in the other direction instruments can also be made from metal - modern flutes are mostly all metal. The essential problem is, once again, tone quality; different instruments have different upper limits for material hardness before the tone starts deteriorating. Metal clarinets have been tried out, but they sounded poor in concert; I don't believe a metal oboe has been significantly considered. Bassoons are of course still made from the very soft maple, and recorders tend to get awful ringing resonances when made from grenadilla. This isn't to say that nobody makes flutes, oboes, clarinets from boxwood anymore. However, these instruments are typically speaking copies of historical models that would've been played 2, 3 centuries ago, not instruments intended for or capable of fitting with conventional modern instruments.

Played oboe in hs and college on my way to being a music ed major. For the life of me I could never perfect reed making.

I actually think the reed is even more important than the oboe: I only started to like the oboe again after I found a good reed maker. BTW: Lorees oboes are cheaper nowadays than it was.

@@Blokfluitgroep The oboist is only as good as the reed they play! Few other instruments require split practice time between instrument proficiency and reed making.

@@danielwow12 Bassoonists are with you on that boat!

I have a humidifier like this for my acoustic guitar.

Hey there! I’m a violinist and oboist, and I have to say that there is just as much craftsmanship and artistry in a violin as in an oboe. They require very different processes, but they are both beautiful instruments :)

@@andrewfortmusic I know that. I'm just pointing out the difference in simplicity of producing notes on a box with 4 strings, to something that needs hundreds of intricate parts.

My teacher had a Heckle bassoon and a heckle contrabassoon. I think even back then he said they were over 40,000 dollars.

@@mattmccallum2007 today you get a Heckel for 90k and 13years waiting time

I had the pleasure of learning on a Fox Artist Model in high school. It was a functional work of art! Handcrafting reeds was like meditation.

Yes! An entry level bassoon starts at around 7,000 dollars, while professional bassoons start at around 30,000 dollars.

Indeed. A Marigaux comes with 2 heads, not sure if that solves all or part of the problem, way too expensive for me.

@@GhtPTR ahhh the gorgeous M2, certainly a great choice for those with $$ !

Amen.

does the wood actually affect the sound at all?

Oboe in mainstream media! Also why is so much of this news to me...

I originally chose oboe but got placed on trumpet and studied on it in college. I still love oboe though

I’m really impressed with your comment, if you don’t mind can we be friends, where are you from?

@@jamespatrick20906 get a load of this dude's oboe fetish

💀

@@jamespatrick20906 AHAHAHAHA

thats what im thinking. like who the f actually starts this instrument and keeps at it if even the shittiest ones cost you thousands of bucks. also, why is nobody planting these trees on a larger scale?

4x more than a pro flute is hilarious, I’m sure there are 15k oboes out there. The most expensive a flute can get is around 130k for a full 24k Muramatsu.

And it doesn't bother me at all! Seems like a legend in the company!

I play on a gold flute that costs over 40,000$

I’d even say most professional flutes can easily exceed 10,000 and a high end one can go up to 90,000$

True. But let's compare even student Yamaha model pricing. Hundreds for a flute, thousands for an oboe. Then, there's the English Horn, of which no Alto flute can compare... and let's not get into bassoon territory. I'm lucky enough to play on a used Loreé I purchased through my college instructor. It has a pedigree lol, stories of it's former players in philharmonic orchestras and such. But hey, it was a steal at $3000 and definitely improved my tone from the old student Yamaha I had been on and my chair mate who borrowed it for recitals sounded angelic compared to her usual Bundy. Now if only I could get reeds to last as long as this horn has X'D

Yes, but this isn't a video about student model oboes or English horns or bassoons. They made a direct comparison between flutes and oboes that was inaccurate. They are talking about handmade oboes, of which Howarth's cost about $10-13,000. Go look at the top of the line flutes by Powell or Brannen or Altus or any one of a number of brands -- it's not even close.

@@asc7147 yes exactly. I play on a Brannen all gold. Not even close.

Exactly. Craftsmanship quality is similar plus the added cost of raw materials (solid silver, gold, and/or platinum).

Yeah I weep for y’all. 😂 My car cost less than a Fox 680.

And I should add, I bought my car brand new several years ago!

@@skylargurnett8483 well, by the time you get a backup, an English horn, an oboe d'more, a bass oboe, a heckelphone, and gougers and shapers and cane for all of them...trust me, I know!

It's especially depressing when you break a good reed

Same, I clean out my instrument in the shower every morning.

Or if it's a Heckel, double that!

Funny you say that, I had to sell my oboe due to arthritis and got me a Bach Strad Vindabona a couple of days ago.

@@Android_Warrior Sorry to hear that about your hand. Oboe players are a rare and special group 🙏😃🎶

@@ephraimpinckney2925 : Thank you my friend. I really missed the Oboe😢

it wont tho if nobody can start learning it with reasonable beginner instruments. its only possible with a significant financial incentive that will come years if not decades down the line. last time i checked there arent too many opening for "professional oboe player"

May be they show only expensive thing

They are 👍 always.

@@akashbavishi6615 that's the joke

@@kapa8514 I am cheap.

Well. the price on these professional obos is very high, it doesnt take 5 years to make ONE the company makes a bunch of other instruments too according to their web site. Some of that 5 year claim is no doubt for seasoning the blackwood turnings and blanks. If one oboe was worked on 40 hours a week for 5 years and you do the payroll math, even at a nominal $15 an hour that's $30,000 a year, x 5 years the labor cost alone would run $150,000, so clearly the 5 years it takes to make an oboe includes a lot of time where the wood is just sitting in rows on the shelves exposed to heat, cold, dry, moisture etc like the narrator detailed. It would be interesting to learn how many actual man hours goes into the turning and construction, fitting and adjusting processes- the actual making and finishing. In pipe organs we know how long each component and process takes, I often make wood organ pipes, a set of pipes used in a 16 foot rank of pipes numbering 32 pipes takes hundreds of board feet of poplar, and several weeks to contruct, and a few days to voice. A pedal board takes about one work week, it all adds up to fill the $2 or $3 million price tag or whatever the final contract price is depending on the size of the instrument.

Thank you I literally laughed when they said that hahaha besti doesn’t realize flutes are made of sterling, gold, and platinum smhrip what a goof

Flute made from the same grenadilla wood would cost atleasg 17k USD from a well known manufacturer, i even seen 25-30k USD of those wood flutes.

The real problem is that no matter how much money you spend on an oboe or a flute, you’re still stuck with an oboe or a flute.

I heard it as _$40K_ , which sounds like it would be about right. I could be wrong, though

@@zacharysmith7872 must be a trumpet player lol