Nobel Instruments

Nobel Instruments was born as an idea to create low-cost and affordable, but at the same time high-quality and feature-laden, double reed instruments for Middle School, High School and College methods classes. It was inspired by a company based in Taiwan that was producing a hard rubber bass clarinet. Since bassoons are typically lined with a hard rubber material, it only made sense to make the entire bassoon out of that material.

In 2002, the process of prototyping the world’s first hard rubber Bassoon started.  After 4 years of research and development, production instruments were available.  The bassoon was a big hit; it had great sound and lots of features at an affordable cost.

While the bassoon was being developed, a wood composite oboe was also developed and released. For this instrument, wood composite material was chosen.  Oboe wood powder (made from grenadilla) is mixed with epoxies and resins. This mixture is then injection-molded into the parts of the oboe body. This creates a body that sounds warmer and rich than ABS plastic designs – more like a fully wooden oboe. At the same time, the typical “cracking” concerns associated with wood oboes is eliminated.

Since the introduction of the Nobel line of instruments, over 3500 have been manufactured and sold. Our customers range from schools looking for a quality instrument on a budget to younger players looking for a good sound at a great price.  Nobel has been endorsed by many professional oboe and bassoon players and teachers.

Move forward to 2010: we had proven that we could provide a high-quality and affordable double reed instrument line with good tone quality. We knew we could do better. Prototyping began on our second generation of instruments.

The second generation bassoon debuted in 2016 with two significant improvements: better, silver-plated key designs, and a new thin-walled, injection-molded body made of wood composite material. This was yet another “world first” design. Our process creates instruments with tremendous consistency as (unlike wood instruments) each instrument and body material is exactly the same. Our thin wall and the new wood composite body gives the Nobel bassoon a much greater resonance and a lower weight factor – an important concern for younger players! The quality of this second-generation model put it in league with wood bassoons that cost several times more.

Our oboes have been upgraded with all-new acoustics, synthetic pads for better sealing and longer life, and professional-style cases and covers. Our top-line model features a wood composite top joint (for its non-cracking properties) coupled to solid grenadilla wood lower joints. This provides the ultimate combination in sound and reliability.

Recently, we’ve added two professionally-keyed English Horns. Our base model is made entirely of wood composite material, and our top-line model is a “hybrid,” with a wood composite top joint and solid grenadilla wood lower joints.

The Nobel Instrument line is a global collaboration rapidly developing into a global brand. Our instruments were conceived and designed in the USA and are manufactured in China and Taiwan using parts from Germany, the USA, Italy and Asia. Today, it’s available all over the world.

Please explore our products. Contact us to find out more about the value in our instruments. Join our family of satisfied Nobel Double Reed instrument owners.