Try an adjustment with that $1,000.00 Rigotti reed knife.

Try the alternate fingering found here: First Octave - Alternate Fingering Chart for Oboe - The Woodwind Fingering Guide

Answer: Beats the fat out of me. The oboe is one finicky instrument. I played the oboe a lot better fifty years ago before I thought I knew what I was doing.

 

I'm having trouble producing low C on my oboe. I can get the note, but it is unstable and produces a shaking, wavering sound.

The odd thing is, all the other low notes around it come out crystal clear, including D, Db, B and Bb. The horn was recently serviced and didn't have this problem at the time.

Any ideas on how to fix this? Thanks.

I assume you’ve tried various reeds, and had the same symptoms. If not, I’d start there. I’d also check for any accumulated water in the toneholes and bore. Another possibility could be adjustment issues - even if surrounding notes are OK, oboe has some weird issues with resonance keys, and articulated keys.

 

Thanks, guys, for your responses. Even this difficulty itself has proven to be finicky. Lately I've been getting the C okay for a while on some reeds, and then not. Then on other reeds, I won't get it, and then after I play for a while, I get it. Last night in orchestra rehearsal, I was playing one of my back-up reeds and got the C almost all the time.

Merlin, I swab regularly and haven't kept track of how that affects the note (or not). It's a good suggestion.

Bloo Dog, I never knew there was an alternate fingering for low C. I stared at it on the fingering chart and couldn't make head or tail out of it. I can't figure out which pinky key you're supposed to use.

 

Thanks, guys, for your responses. Even this difficulty itself has proven to be finicky. Lately I've been getting the C okay for a while on some reeds, and then not. Then on other reeds, I won't get it, and then after I play for a while, I get it. Last night in orchestra rehearsal, I was playing one of my back-up reeds and got the C almost all the time.

Merlin, I swab regularly and haven't kept track of how that affects the note (or not). It's a good suggestion.

Bloo Dog, I never knew there was an alternate fingering for low C. I stared at it on the fingering chart and couldn't make head or tail out of it. I can't figure out which pinky key you're supposed to use.

This fingering chart MIGHT help.https://www.eufsd.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=1928&dataid=3207&FileName=Oboe%20Fingering%20and%20Trill%20Chart.pdf

 

Bloo Dog, I noticed that the pinky key used to play the low C on that new chart is not shown anywhere else on the chart. My only conclusion is that this would be a left-hand low C key added after market.

 

That alternate low C fingering is the well-named "Banana Key." It's used to free up the right pinky, but is most useful for a quick transition from low C to C# without sliding.

On the main topic, my guess is a leaky pad or maladjusted key higher up. Low C has a lot of closed holes, and an air leak makes it go unstable. I don't understand why it's more unstable than B and B-flat... I don't have my oboe handy, but B and B-flat press on some other keys. You could try a suction test on top and middle segments ... it's a good quick test for leaks.