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Oboe identification

Hello, I have been given an oboe with no history. It has an impressed makers mark (Evette) and “made in Italy” stamped into the wood of the upper and middle sections. There are serial numbers stamped on each section (8514 or 8574) . The wood appears to be African Blackwood. My questions are; is it any good? What type of oboe is it? How old is it? Has it any value?

Thank you in advance for any help that might be given
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"Evette" is the student/intermediate line from Buffet-Crampon, which is a French company mostly known for their clarinets, particularly for the R13.

On the saxophone side, Buffet had Ditta Giglio (Alfredo Santoni), and Italian company, build their student horns around the 1960s-ish. I';ll mention that there's some other interesting back-story with their horns, but it's not terribly relevant.

Do I specifically know if Santoni built these oboes? No. I've not ever done any major research on oboes. I just think it's probable, in this case.

* Is it any good?
Well, play it or take it to someone that can!

* There are serial numbers stamped on each section (8514 or 8574)
This may mean that a section was replaced. If this was a hand-made horn, I'd be a little concerned about intonation. For a student/intermediate horn that's probably not hand made, I wouldn't worry about it. Also, the serial numbers are so close, I'm a lot less concerned.

* What type of oboe is it?
A black one? Kidding. It looks like your standard oboe, not something esoteric like a tenor oboe or something like that. Note that there at lease two different oboe fingering systems and I'm not knowledgeable enough to know which one you have. IIRC, you also could have an automatic or semi-automatic octave key mechanism. Again, I point to my lack of knowledge and recommend that someone that has more info on oboes check.

* Has it any value?
Yes, but you should get the horn checked. Repairs can often exceed the value of the instrument. However, also note that if the horn is a nice playing instrument with value X, the repair bill is value Y and the cost to replace the horn with an equivalent one is Z, and X+Y is significantly/moderately less than Z, it still might be a good idea to get the horn repaired. My article on how to determine value.
 
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