Malcolm Messiter – Oboe Keywork Modification

Howarth of London are able to perform bespoke modifications specific to the player’s wants and needs, in demonstration of this we have custom made a pair of Gold-Plated XL oboes for Oboist Malcolm Messiter

Malcolm was having problems with the reach across to little finger key sets, as his index finger is about 3.5cm longer than his pinky. After spending some time discussing what he would require from the modification, we managed to make successful adjustments specific to Malcolm.

The specification given, meant that we adjusted the position of the key heads for both little fingers by moving half the bottom joint mechanism round the joint – finger plates stayed where they were, whole mechanism for kidney keys (R4) & feathers (L4) & thus all the linkages down to the Eb, C# & bell moved 18 degrees round the joint.

If you are interested in modifications to your instrument then please get in contact with us to discuss the possibilities!