Cabart Special Oboe Serial Number: The Difference Between Pre-Loree and Post-Loree Models

In the discussion of stencil instruments, mention must be made of the Chiasserini fake "Loree" oboes and English horns. Chiasserini was a woodwind "impresario" in New York City in the 1940s-1960s. Chiasserini won a contractto provide the US Army with Loree instruments. Seeing a opportunity that would impress Boss Tweed, Chiasserini simply bought a plethora of unmarked Malerne oboes and English horns, stamped the instruments "F. Loree" and attempted to pass the instruments off to the US Army as genuine Loree. The fake Loree trademarks can appear to be most convincing. Chiasserini even went so far as to establish a front company called "F. Loree USA." Chiasserini's scheme was exposed, and legal action ensued. Many of the bogus "Loree" instruments show up for sale nowadays - Ebay buyers: BEWARE! Almost all of the Chiasserini fakes have serial numbers in the "B" series. Many of the oboes have a serial number beginning with "BS"- I find this completely apropos. I have a Chiasserini fake Loree (Malerne) English horn, with a "BG" serial number. It is a glorious instrument, very stable, beautifully voiced, impeccable scale, and possessed of a "foundation shaking" resonance. A cursory inspection would have many an oboist convinced that this is a in fact a B series Loree. However, some slight differences in keywork patterns exist between the genuine Loree English horns and the Malerne instruments of the 1960s.

Loree oboes have truly thin walls, thus a truly 'bright' sound. Best left to collectors. LOREE - The most famous maker of all, founded 1881. For chronological chart of serial numbers see Lars Kirmser serial number pages. Re: F.Loree Oboe.Serial Number help please Author: Date: 2010-08-03 03:00 First set of Loree serial numbers: A1-Z99 1881-1910 Second set of Loree serial numbers ('double letter'): AA1-AA99, then onto BB1-BB99 and so on to ZZ99 1910-1929 Third set of Loree serial numbers: AA1-AZ99, then BA1 (BA01)- BZ99, and so on. 1929 to present So, two Loree oboes exist with a 'DD' at the beginning of the. Vintage Cabart Special Oboe Due to a Non-Paying bidder I am re-listing this oboe. This is a vintage Cabart Special oboe. This Cabart oboe is a unique find. There are no cracks or evidence of major repairs. The serial number is J695. Dating the oboe to 1965.

cabart special oboe serial number

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BUFFET - 'Orfeo' excellent instrument. Has solid metal tenon on upper joint composite material- cracking (rare) still possible 'Virtuoso' Composite or wood. Excellent instrument. Different bore from the 'Orfeo' Lacking left C# - in my estimation an oboe with this level of mechanical sophistication should truly have a left C# key. Also, the 'natural C' touch seems far too tiny to be of much use.The most recent wood professional model 3613 oboes tend to be excellent. Exquisite key-work. Impeccable scale. Lacking in the complexity, 'character' department.The 'composite' Buffet Greenline 3613 is, in my estimation, an unabashed 'reed trumpet,' extremely 'brassy' sounding, lacking subtlety altogether. However, I did find one example at the 2011 IDRS convention that I liked. Perhaps best to try a bunch.. The 'Greenline' oboes can (and do) crack! Not possible to repair if cracked, except to have a new joint made at great expense if not still under warranty.AVOID any of the Buffet 'student' model and 'modified Conservatory' oboes - dreadful!The 'Buffet' oboes from the 1960s and 1970s were in fact made by Marigaux- even having the Marigaux serial numbers- some good- some excellent oboes. Same as the 'King-Marigaux' oboes.

CABART - Prolific maker from the early 20th century to 1974 when bought out by Loree. Wildly inconsistent maker. I truly admire some of the ring system oboes by Cabart from the 1920s through 1940s. Sumptuous, 'penetrating,' lush, 'haunting' sound. I like some of the 1960s- to mid 1970s Cabart plateau models as well. The keywork is not especially well crafted, though it is adequate.

CHAUVET - Excellent maker. Imported and sold by Laubin in the 1950s- serial numbers: numbers only. Ben Storch took over the importation of Chauvet instruments from the late 1950s to the mid 1960s- serial numbers: 'BW' followed by numbers. Ben re-voiced the 'BW' oboes to his own specifications. From the c. 1964 to the mid 1970s the Chauvet line was imported by Linx and Long in Manhattan - serial numbers: 'AC' followed by numbers. The pre- Storch Chauvet oboes - not memorable. Some of the Ben Storch 'BW' series Chauvet oboes may be described as first class, especially from about serial number BW100 to about BW330. I played on a sublime Chauvet 'BW' as a primary instrument for some years, until I discovered Hiniker oboes. The AC Chauvet oboes- not as desirable as the BW oboes, though at times very good. Usually the 'AC' oboes seem brighter in timbre. The BW series Chauvet oboe is darker in timbre than almost any of the other French oboes, comparable to the 'thick wall' late 'B' series Loree oboes model, or the present day Loree 'Royale' model. Warren Sutherland used Chauvet BW oboes throughout most of his career as princpal oboe of the Indianopolis Symphony and Tucson Symphony. The Chauvet oboe was very well made. It is not uncommon to find Chauvet oboe still playing well even after 40 years of school/university use.

CHUDNOW, MARK - Some of the 'Sierra' oboes can be exquisite. I especially like the exotic wood examples such as Rosewood. Some Chudnow oboe marked 'MCW' have full Conservatory system, some have 'modified' Conservatory system.

COVEY - Excellent maker. Exquisite design and artisanship of keywork. I find the spacing between the low D (split ring D) and the low C touch to be too close in spacing (by 2mm) for all but an oboist having very small hands, thus ergonomically uncomfortable for oboists having medium to large hands. The 'Covey' sound is gorgeous, though I have found that some of the pre- 2004 Covey oboes I have played have a scale that I would characterize as being overly 'flexible'- the pitch centers simply do not seem to 'lock in.' And I also find some of the older Covey oboes seem to be difficult to finesse the transition between dynamics - seem to want to only play mf.The newest Covey oboes made post (say) 2008 by Ginger Ramsey, especially of Honduran Rosewood, I find extremely appealing..

LAUBIN - Legenday maker. I especially like the Al Laubin oboes made between 1958 and 1972. I find some of the late model Paul Laubin oboes to be sensational, with special mention to the Rosewood oboes made in the mid to late 1990s. New from the factory, Laubin oboes have about 50% skin pads. In my estimation it is best simply to replace all skin pads cork. The Laubin oboe has a distinctly different sound from the Loree oboes. Smooth, dark, slightly 'covered' sound, with a 'glint' of oboe d'amore timbre. Laubin oboes made within the past few decades have half length (on rare occasion full length) polymer sleeves in the upper joint. The resale value of a fine Laubin oboe of any vintage is very high in comparison to most any other make except Hiniker.

F. LOREE - The most famous maker of all, founded 1881. For chronological chart of serial numbers see Lars Kirmser serial number pages. About 80% of professional oboists in the US play Loree instruments. At present, Loree is making 3 different styles of instrument bore: 'regular' bore, 'ak' & 'dm' /'German' bore. Loree makes all bore available in two models: 'Standard' and the premium 'Royale.' The 'regular' bore oboe is an 'all around' instrument, excellent for most any musical endeavor. The 'ak' bore oboe (introduced in the late 1980s) is designed for maximum projection in an orchestral setting. Personally, I find the sound of the 'ak' oboe to be 'brash' and overly 'aggressive' - a 'reed trumpet' perhaps. Sweetness and lyrical subtlety seem missing to great extent, though once in a while a will come across an 'ak' with a tinge of sweetness, especially the early 'ak' oboes from H-J series. I am very partial to the 'dm' bore oboe. The 'dm' seems to have more 'sparkle' and 'character' than the 'regular' bore, with still an element of sweetness. I do not find the 'dm bore to be in 'darker' in sound than the 'regular' or 'ak' instruments. I find that the 'regular' and 'dm' bore seem to have plenty sufficient projection for orchestral solo playing. To me, the 'late model' Loree oboes have a very 'pretty' sound, though lacking 'core' 'depth' and 'complexity' to the sound, skating over the surface of the 'acoustical pond.'

My favorite Loree vintages:'Classic C' series late 1960s, early 1970s lyrical, with a most appealing 'core' to the sound. Paul Covey remarked: 'The Loree C series is unlike anything else Loree has ever made.' According to Tom Hiniker, the C series oboes have more undercutting of the tones holes than the B series oboes. Expect to pay premium prices for a fine examples of a Loree C series.'Classic B' series circa 1960-1969 a most appealing 'majesty' and core' to the sound. Expect to pay premium prices for B series oboes, especially serial numbers BK-BP. The (rare) late B series oboes with the heavy wall- much sought after- very 'dark' sound

'dm' bore oboes, especially 'I' series 'synthetic' oboes, all plastic- pre-H series- practically impossible to discern any difference in tone from the wood oboes. Loree seems to have used [so far] three different types of polymer to make their synthetic oboes. At first (from about CC [1969] to about 1980) Loree used a polymer, 'mottled' grey in color, that was different from any other polymer ever used by any other maker. Hard to find on the second hand market and expensive. Perhaps only about 40 such oboes exist. Next, Loree used a gray colored polymer. The solid gray may not be as desirable acoustically as the earlier mottled gray/white polymer oboes.

PUCHNER - (Germany) Newly redesigned acoustically 2008. One of the two Puchner oboes shown at the 2008 IDRS convention was absolutely 'ethereal' in every respect. The (very) Germanic keywork design was not especially comfortable ergonomically if your happen to be accustomed to French style keywork. Expensive. 2ff7e9595c