The New York Times profiled Jim Phelan, the owner of A. Laubin LLC, one of the few remaining makers of high-end handcrafted oboes in the United States. Classical instrument demand has declined over decades, and Laubin, once a family business celebrated for its richly voiced instruments, faced near collapse before Phelan acquired it in 2022. The company’s legacy dates to 1931, when Alfred Laubin crafted his first oboe to fill a gap he saw in available instruments; his son Paul later expanded the workshop into a standard-bearer for quality oboes and English horns.
Making professional oboes remains fiendishly complex, with hundreds of small parts and exacting tolerances requiring great skill and long training. The New York Times profile of Jim Phelan and A. Laubin LLC is as much a story about manufacturing as it is about music. Laubin remains one of the last American workshops producing professional oboes almost entirely by hand, but survival today depends on blending traditional craft with modern production methods and computer-assisted tools.
An oboe is among the most mechanically complex acoustic instruments, with hundreds of components and extremely tight tolerances. Minute variations in bore geometry, key alignment, and tone-hole placement can change the instrument’s response and intonation. Historically, Laubin relied on jigs, hand reamers, and the accumulated tacit knowledge of master makers. Under Phelan’s leadership, the shop has begun incorporating more precise digital tools to stabilize quality and improve repeatability while still preserving the sound that defines a Laubin instrument.
Computer-aided design and measurement systems now help document dimensions that were once stored only in the hands and memories of senior craftspeople. Digital calipers, precision scanners, and software-based analysis allow makers to compare instruments, track tolerances, and diagnose acoustic issues faster. CNC machining is used selectively for rough shaping and key components, reducing wasted material and time, while final voicing and adjustment remain human work.
This hybrid model reflects a broader shift in niche manufacturing. High craftsmanship no longer competes with digital tools; it increasingly depends on them. Phelan’s challenge is not simply to preserve tradition, but to encode it into systems that can be taught, scaled, and sustained. The result is a workshop where computers support continuity, ensuring that elite handmade instruments can still be produced in an era dominated by industrialized global supply chains.