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Oboe Test - Which Do You Prefer?

1. sounds very natural and real
2. legatos can be a bit hit and miss, and not very nice tone and attacks are harsh
3. sounds a bit synthy to me, doesn't have a nice realism to it

So 1 is my favourite.
 
1. Sounds credibly real to me
2. Same but different. Lower registers are less convincing
3. Thin and lifeless

Depends on the context but if I wanted it to sound like an oboe playing the main part in an orchestral piece I would use 2. Otherwise maybe 1.
 
1 sounds good to me, maybe the best all-around. 2 sounds rough in the slower parts but decent in the faster ones, my least favorite of the three. 3 sounds like a good performance to me but there's something odd about the mic mix and something too-smooth in the faster parts
 
1) sounds the best, combo of raw and pleasant
2) harsh
3 smooth but too smooth to sound n atural
 
1 is most real and forward, a touch rough, but the most useable in most contexts and genres.
2 a bit synthy to me in the transitions as well as steady states.
3 could be real, but very smooth and elegant, not that I don't know players who can do that, but more for classical symphonic use.
 
1. VSL Kontakt oboe. Opus 1 circa 2005?
2. VSL Synchronized oboe. Current.
3. Sonivox oboe resampled from their plugin (I paid $5 for) and turned into a Kontakt instrument.

My thoughts: like 1st one but only if I took time to smooth it out with EQ. Really dislike 2. Love 3, but think it's better suited for a mix rather than solo, where it's too smooth nature will be less noticable.
 
None of them, actually. The first sounds harsh to me, and the legato transitions pop and bang all over the place. The lower dynamics sound as if the instrument is suddenly a few metres further away. The reverb sounds artificial. Not compelling for me.

No. 2 sounds similar to the first, but with some kind of EQ or filter on it, and a bit further back. The transitions have similar unpleasanteries as in the first example (listen at the transition from 0:28 to 0:29 for example). And the dynamics don't sound very good to my ears. If you listen from 0:46 onwards, the timbre changes are not smooth and not pleasant.

Track 3 sounds the worst to me. Is the musician playing under a blanket? What happened to the note attacks and legato transitions? It sounds like the musician wasn't tonguing the notes. It's nowhere near what I want a well-recorded oboe to sound like.

If I had to choose between the three - something I'd prefer not to - I would reluctantly go for number 1.
 
2nd is the best but still the weakest ( other than English horn) sound in the Synchron WW's in my opinion .

best

ed
 
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