My daughter is looking for an English Horn and really wants an exotic wood. Does anyone have personal experience with the Patricola Rosewood English Horn? It seems to be one of the only exotic woods at our price point.

Not per say, with a rosewood English Horn. I've tried one of Covey's rosewood oboes, and, other than being a little pitchy in some places, have a gorgeous mellow tone to them.

The only English Horns I've experience with would be Howarth English Horns. These are made out of grenadilla wood, have a very rich, dark tone, and aren't too expensive as far as English Horns go.

What exactly is the price range you are looking at?

Thanks for your help. I'm thinking like 7-8,000.00 so if she goes with grenadilla, she will most likely try a Fox 500 which seems to be the gold standard at this price range. I know that she has her heart set on the warmer sound of rosewood or even violetwood. I have read reviews of Patricola oboes that are all over the map, but their English horns seem to be one of the instruments of choice in Europe. She'll probably get it on trial and I know she will bond with it, but she has absolute pitch which is a blessing and curse, so she won't tolerate it if it is pitchy. :-)

I would definitely not worry about getting an exotic wood english horn. Try some Lorees, Marigaux, Rigoutat, and Bulgheroni. I've heard very bad things about Patricola's. The only way to really tell if the english horn is good or not is to play it. There are a lot of bad english horn's out there so watch out. There is also no point in buying a "intermediate" English horn whatsoever. I'd stick to French makers if I were you but try as many eh's as you can find.

If you decide to go with an exotic wood, be especially careful to protect against cracking. I have heard that violet wood is especially prone to cracking because of the loose grain of the wood. Grenedilla has very tight-grained wood, so cracking probably wouldn't be as much of an issue.

I tried a Patricola Rosewood English horn at the IDRS Convention in Provo, 2008. Not a pleasant experience at all...

Palissander (specifically "Palissander" refers to "Madagascar Rosewood," Dalbergia Baronii) may be one of the very best
"exotic" woods for an English horn, though I do not know of any recent examples. Loree has made a few from about 1900 to the mid 1960s- rare though. I know of 2 turn of the 20th century Loree Palissander English horns,one from 1900, H. deBussher's horn, and the other 1902, played at the Met, that rank with the best Lorees I have ever played.

I would second the opinion already offered. An exotic wood English horn is not likely to be much of an advantage for English horn.

In the realm of new English horns, I would recommend:
Loree
Bulgheroni (junk the bocals, get Hiniker bocals)
Marigaux (same as predecessor Malerne)
Howarth
Rigoutat
Bulgheroni is likely the very best value for money in a new English horn. Best to try 3 at once from WW&B, WITH Hiniker bocals. Do not attempt to play a Bulgheroni with the factory supplied bocals !

Used:
Loree 1900 - 1973 Loree, or post 1985 Loree
Malerne often the very best value for money.
Many, many Malerne made "stencils" exist
Kreul Kreul made some amazing English horns
Many Kreul made "stencils" (such as the GERMAN
model "Gordet" or "Kreul/Mirafone")
Bulgheroni again, many Bulgheroni made stencils exist,
such as "Italian" model Gordet, and "Buffet"
Rigoutat post 1980
Marigaux "Marigaux/Malerne"
Cabart from the late 1940 through mid-1950s
sometimes posible to find a Cabart of sensational
playing characteristics
Many Cabart made "stencils" such as "Noblet"
Howarth

My own English horn is Loree Z60, made in 1910. It is a (the)
"Rolls-Royce" of English horns. At 100 years old, it is not even remotely obsolete or used up- it will likely be played for another few lifetimes beyond my stewardship.

With best wishes,
Peter Hurd oboes.us

'I tried a Patricola Rosewood English horn at the IDRS Convention in Provo, 2008. Not a pleasant experience at all...'

For what reasons Peter?

Thanks for your response. It was exactly what I was looking for. Here's our update. At this moment we have 3 in our house. The Patricola rosewood that seems to be a nice instrument and actually has the most stable pitch centers of the 3. Her teacher likes it too and it suits my daughter's playing style. I must say that she is not the best judge because she plays everything she picks up and can get pitches out of a cereal box if she blows in appropriately.

We have a bulgheroni that is very nice and has very pretty sound but is kind of heavy. She also doesn't like the key configuration. They are a little farther apart and her hands are small.

We also have the Fox 500 which is a horn everyone seems to like. It is not rosewood and the pitch centers are probably the most variable on that instrument.

She played a Loree in the shop, but it is just way out of our price range and wasn't her favorite anyway.

Her teacher has a Laubin that she has been playing. She likes it, but we're not waiting 7 years or whatever the wait is right now to get a new one.

Her teacher also really likes Howarth and is on his way to Britain to purchase an oboe. He is going to check out the English horns there, but I imagine they will also be way out of our range.

All in all, the Patricola we have seems like a good solid instrument but I am extremely hesitant because people seem to love them or hate them.

She is using her teacher's bocals to test all of them. I don't know what kind they are, but we wanted to make sure that it was the instrument she loved and not the bocal.

I'll let you know what happens.

Michal