Tip Top Oboes

Tip Top Oboes Specialized woodwind repairs located in the Pacific Northwest. Contact Nick at [email protected] Oboe & English Horn reeds

05/29/2026

This is a Roffee. Never seen one of these. Looks like it's made in Denmark. I just rigged it really quickly to get it playing. The wiggle tests were out, such as the F #/G # but too much wobble in the tenon to worry about it too much. This is the bocal it came with but it actually sounded much better after I put one of mine on it. It needs much more work and it can definitely better but its out the door for now.


05/22/2026

Yamaha 831L. You dont see a bunch around in the US, but they are nice. Compared to the 841's they sit a bit higher in pitch. This one has a heavier bell without the ring.


Complete repad. Always check suction. Even if its plastic, something can be leaking!
05/14/2026

Complete repad. Always check suction. Even if its plastic, something can be leaking!

Installing a body lock on this GM Bundy Bassoon, four holes to mount with the Fox gaurd screws and a new hole in the win...
05/07/2026

Installing a body lock on this GM Bundy Bassoon, four holes to mount with the Fox gaurd screws and a new hole in the wing joint to line up properly with the shaft. Both ends of the long joint also had severe cracking in the tenons.

This Fox Maplewood sat in the closet, looked like it came from Jurassic Park.
05/01/2026

This Fox Maplewood sat in the closet, looked like it came from Jurassic Park.

This clarinwt waa dropped and had some bent/binding keys. It also had a broken pin on the pinky levers. I could have s...
04/23/2026

This clarinwt waa dropped and had some bent/binding keys. It also had a broken pin on the pinky levers. I could have sworn I had some of those nylon pins lying around somewhere, but couldn't find them. Maybe I already used them all, so I ended up just making one. It was kinda fun actually. Never did that before.

I thought it would be cool to show you guys how a pin looks from the inside. The trills on this Loree AND octaves had cr...
04/15/2026

I thought it would be cool to show you guys how a pin looks from the inside. The trills on this Loree AND octaves had cracks. I milled the trill tone holes to where it just started cutting the pin, and didn't want to go further for fear compromising the integrity of the pin. With the depth of where the pin was placed, it's deep enough at this point to add inserts. I add some super glue to the crack inside the cutout area before inserting as well.

Whoever did the previous pinning work between the trills was spot on, couldn't have been more centered. I could have milled out a smaller diameter of the tone hole in order to avoid hitting the pin, but I like to mill out the entire area of the tone hole. You eliminate more of the crack that way.

That's the first time I've seen someone try to fill in a crack with a gold stencil crayon.
04/04/2026

That's the first time I've seen someone try to fill in a crack with a gold stencil crayon.

"The great bamboo forest", near the Manoa Falls. It was a nice hike. A bit slippery and muddy with all of the rain the...
03/26/2026

"The great bamboo forest", near the Manoa Falls. It was a nice hike. A bit slippery and muddy with all of the rain the past couple of weeks, but it ended up being a nice adventure. A lot of lookouts and other attractions were closed but we were able to still explore and have fun.

03/20/2026

This will be my third time auditioning for Oregon Symphony for a permanent chair spot. It's interesting going for auditions at this point in my career. Despite being very happy with repairing and performing regularly with Vancouver Symphony USA, I do enjoy pushing myself and performing at the highest level possible. What is ultimately a very stressful situation, it's a learning experience, and I am always happy I put myself through these situations.

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Portland, OR
97206

Opening Hours

Monday 8:45am - 2:45pm
Tuesday 8:45am - 2:45pm
Wednesday 8:45am - 2:45pm
Thursday 8:45am - 2:45pm
Friday 8:45am - 2:45pm

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