Howarth S10 oboe

If you are purchasing a beginner's instrument for the first time and would like advice, our showroom staff will be pleased to offer all the guidance you need.

A popular choice of student oboe from an English company with a worldwide reputation, the Howarth S10 model is specifically designed to make the oboe accessible from a young age. The S10 will take players up to Grade 6 standard, and is a favourite with education authorities and music services throughout the UK.

Developed to be as light as possible, it is manufactured from the same traditional grenadilla wood used for professional instruments. The use of close finger-spacing and covered keys allow smaller hands to easily navigate the full range of the instrument.

• Grenadilla wood body (Dalbergia melanoxylon)
• Silver-plated keywork
• Thumbplate (English) system
• Fully covered keys
• Simple action octave mechanism (not linked)
• Full chromatic range from low B-flat
• Left-hand C/D trill key
• Forked F vent
• Low C to B link
• Weight: 0.54 kg approx.

The keywork on oboes can be quite varied, unlike the standardized mechanisms of other woodwind instruments. Of the two basic oboe mechanisms, the 'thumbplate' system is used most widely in the UK, and all student oboes purchased here are usually of this type. The alternative is the 'conservatoire' system; and 'dual' systems have characteristics of both. In general, starter instruments have fewer keys to reduce their weight and simplify fingerings. As players advance, the instruments they use have additional keys, offering versatility with a wider choice of fingerings.