Baroque Oboe Equipment
Are you a Baroque or Classical oboist looking for specialist equipment? Look no further! Howarth of London stocks a wide variety of accessories and reed making tools useful for Baroque and Classical oboe players of all levels. If you are looking to purchase specific items, these can be ordered to request.
Cane and reeds
- We aim to keep Rigotti Baroque Oboe Tube Cane (15mm) and Bonazza Gouged and Shaped Baroque Oboe Cane in stock. Several other types of cane can be ordered in at request.
- Howarth Mini Bassoon Reeds can be used as very convenient bassoon-style oboe da caccia reeds. They require only a small amount of adjustment to make them suitable for use with the oboe da caccia – shorten and narrow them to your taste.
Alternatively, oboe da caccia reeds can be made from scratch using the staples listed below.
Staples
Baroque oboists can use one-piece or two-piece staples. Two-piece staples are made up of a reed staple and a separate bottom staple (crooklet) which fit into each other.
- The Chiarugi ‘Ponseele style’ Baroque Oboe One-piece Staple is available in either 57mm or 60mm, and the Chiarugi ‘Bernadini style’ Classical Oboe One-piece Staple is available in 42mm.
- For bottom staples in a two-piece setup, the Bonazza Baroque Oboe Bottom Staple can be used, and is available in 38mm or 43mm. These are uncorked and can be threaded to fit.
- For top staples in a two-piece setup, you can either use the Chiarugi Brass Cor Anglais Staple (Tube) : Type 2, which is commonly used for Baroque oboe reeds, or the Chiarugi Brass Cor Anglais Staple (Tube) : Type 3, which is useful for Baroque oboe d’amore reeds, depending on the instrument they are used with. The Type 2 Staples can be used with the Chiarugi Cor Anglais Mandrel.
- Bass oboe staples can be used to make oboe-style reeds for oboe da caccia.
Reed making machines
- The Reeds ‘n Stuff Oboe Tip Cutter is wide enough to fit both Baroque oboe reeds and oboe da caccia reeds.
- The Reeds ‘n Stuff gouging, shaping and profiling machines can all be bought with attachments to make them suitable for Baroque oboe reed-making.
Other accessories
- My Grip Oboe and Flute Thumb Rests can be a great solution to the right thumb slipping up the instrument. They are made from silicon, which grips the instrument and the thumb without the need to stick anything permanently onto the oboe.
- The Howarth Beeswax Block is a very useful supply for a Baroque oboist to use when adding thread onto a reed staple or instrument joints.
- Howarth Oboe Pull Throughs and Howarth Oboe Mops can be used to clean a Baroque oboe.
- The Howarth Cor Anglais Pull Through can be used to clean a Baroque oboe d’amore and da caccia
- Cor Anglais reed cases can be used for reeds that are made with a two-piece staple setup.
- The K&M Compact Oboe Stand is suitable for use with most Baroque oboes.
- Howarth Cor Anglais Wire (0.4mm) is perfect to use for Baroque oboe and d’amore reeds.
- Most oboe plaques work well with Baroque oboe and d’amore reeds, the Chiarugi Convex Metal Oboe Plaque and Rieger Oboe Plaques fit particularly well with the Baroque reeds’ width. The Reeds and Stuff Bassoon Plaques work very well with oboe da caccia reeds.
Sheet music and books
- Howarth of London stock a wide variety of Baroque era sheet music, including Urtext scores.
- Burgess and Haynes’ book The Oboe is a great resource to learn about the history of the oboe through the ages.
- A wide range of sheet music and books can be special-ordered on request.
Gift ideas
These themed gift ideas would be perfect for the Baroque enthusiast:
If you would like any more information on the Baroque or Classical Oboe equipment mentioned in this article or would like to know the possibility of products being ordered in for you, please contact our Oboe Specialists at [email protected] or 02079352407. Alternatively, come to our London shop to browse our range of products!
Hannah Blumsohn, Oboe Specialist – Howarth of London