im interested in a neck strap for my bassoon, but it doesnt have a ring for a neck strap hook. it's a school instrument so modifying it is out of the question.
does anyone know if i can still use a neckstrap without a ring?

You still might be able to get a ring put in - I've never seen a bassoon that doesn't at least have the screw-in place for a ring in the boot joint.

As Drew says it is rare for a bassoon not to have a ring - maybe it's just fallen off. Surely the school is responsible for ensuring that you have a playable instrument - talk to your instrumental teacher or band director. Any repair tech should be able to get & fit one easily enough.

yeah i have a little hole in the top of my boot joint, it seems like that must be why its there.
any ideas on where i can just the neckstrap ring?

You don't say what make of bassoon it is but the easiest type to get will probably be a Fox - you can order one directly from them on-line. However there is no world standard for neck strap rings so a Fox might not directly fit another brand. Another consideration, if you do obtain one yourself, is that quite often the original has fallen out because of wear or rot in the wood behind the metal ring & this will have to be sorted before fitting the new one.

But first do ask at school - as I said before they ought to be responsible for getting this sorted & may have a contract with a local repairer or will be able to tell you of an approved local place to take it.

its a con bassoon, sorry

Conn haven't sold bassoons for years now - at one time they made them but later just bought them in from a German maker. Spares are non-existent. Best to try your local specialist woodwind store - if there is one.

Same happened with my original bassoon, the ring was missing. Funny enough, after a year of looking for it, it showed up- in a small corner of the bassoon case where the padding had ripped up and created a little hide-away hole. So, double check the case first. These things are little.

hmm ill have to try that flute

Do you have to use a neck strap? My bassoon doesnt have a ring either so I used the type of strap where you sit on it instead and although you can't play standing up otherwise it works well - infact better because you don't have to cope with the wait of the bassoon around your neck.

i use a seat strap but i would just like a neck strap for practice because its much more convenient

As to your original question, I don't think there is any other way to attach a neck strap except on the (hopefully) provided ring on the butt joint. You could spend a lot of money and get what is called a "balance hanger" mechanism attached to the horn, which is a slight improvement on the butt joint ring in that it attaches a little higher up; but since this is just a practice thing with you at the moment, better to get the original type ring installed.

........... but to use most balance hangers you need the ring to be fitted.

True!

If you're in the UK why not try T W Howarth's aka Howarth of London (give them a google)... very cool people... and very experienced with Bassoons. They'd probably help you locate precisely what you need. Their website isn't particularly swish but email/ring them and you'll get a good response