I had a student who bought a Vibra. I’m going to bet Vento and Vibra are sisters. Or brothers. Or something. The Vento is a mere $799.
C’mon, folks … please don’t buy an oboe that’s this cheap! Well, unless you want to use it as a lamp stand. Okay?
Here’s what the page gives us:
What you will find in our Vento oboe is great sound, a solid feel and pro construction features but without the high price tag. We make the body from a composite of Granadilla and nylon resin and then add deluxe fittings like silver plated keys, a semi-automatic octave key, French cork and French steel springs. We include our deluxe wood shell case with accessory compartments and nylon case cover.
Gee, if the corks and springs are French it must be good.
Or not.
My former student’s Vibra looked a bit like a Loree. That was all. It was out of tune. The keys bent horribly. And it was just awful. I felt horrible when they came back from a trip overseas telling me “We bought a new oboe!” What could I say? Sadly, I could only tell them the truth. They had a piece of junk in their possession. (I had told them not to purchase an oboe without checking in with me first, so I didn’t feel as horrible if I might have had I not talked to them about this.)
