I am in Canada and I am wondering what the common bassoon brand sold here is.

Also, in this topic, only 1 person has mentioned Heckel bassoons. How are Heckel bassoons?

Are there any Bohem bassoons?

I am in a smal town in Queensland, Australia, i play bassoon at school and am self taught. When i leave school, i would like to buy a bassoon, i have been reading this thread and do any of you have any reccommendations?

-The school bassoon is a Schreiber S16 and i am the only one to have ever played it. I have been playing for nearly 2 years and really like this instrument and play it in the school band-

I live in a small town in Queensland, Australia. I am self taught at the bassoon and am the schools instrument in the band. I have been plying for nearly 2 years and have 3 years left at that school. When i leave, i would like to get myself a bassoon, doe anyone have any recommendationsas to what type i should get and where from, considering that i live in a kinda remote area where most people haven`t heard of the bassoon.

-the school instrument is a schreiber S16, i am the first person to play it and my music teacer knows nothing about bassoons-

I assume you have enjoyed playing the Schreiber. The S16 is a good model and would take you right up to professional level if you wanted. Medium priced bassoons that can be found readily are Schreibers, Adlers, some Foxes, Kohlerts, and several American ones, including Conn and Selmers. Moennigs are a good German bassoon, also Moosmann, Puchner, and I`m leaving out many more. The Heckel is, of course, the quintessential top bassoon but is out of most people`s price range, along with the top Foxes, which are made in America. Get your local repair shop to recommend brands they have worked on and like, because if you buy one, you will have to get it looked at from time to time by them.

Just responding to questions from smileeface about bassoons--I play semi-professionally (pick-up orchestras, shows, etc., rather than in a full-time orchestra), and also assume that the Schreiber you played was decent. Also look into polypropylene bassoons made by Fox, which also has their secondary line called "Renard." If you purchase through a dealer like Woodwind-Brasswind or Music123 (both large reputable dealers), you can get the Fox model IV for about $4200 and the Renard model 41 for about $3900 (brand new bassoons, not used, and you will have customer service through these companies, rather than "all transactions final"). Even if this is more than you expected to pay, these bassoons are far, far better than no-name wooden bassoons, and will never, ever lose their quality (I myself play a Model I Fox that was built in the early 1970s). The quality also results in a very acceptable resale value.

Good luck!

The street price difference between the Fox Model IV and the Renard 41 is about $300. The 41 has a plateau key for third finger left hand while the IV has the standard ring. On the 41 high D is optional at extra cost (about $200) where it is standard on the IV. Also the 41 comes with two FOX C bocals and the IV comes with two CVX bocals. CVX bocals sell for over $100 dollars more EACH than C bocals. So the Model IV is actually a better bargain. To top it off, Renard is Fox`s "student" line and Fox is their "professional" line, so a IV is a professional horn and a 41 is a student instrument. Unless you gotta have the plateau key, the Model IV looks like the winner.

I recently found a Marly brand bassoon made in Czechoslovakia and I am still searching for any information on it`s quality and origins. Does anyone know anything about this brand. It is light shade like natural tiger maple, with bocal vent, and maybe 20 years old or older. I need a bocal to get it playing still.

My original message back in February stimulated a lot of response. Since then I have purchased a basson whose provenance dates back to the mid 1940`s and (along with my teacher)am pleased with itsperformance. In all of the replies and notes sent, few have reported an actual experience with those low priced instruments. Have any of you actually purchased and played those instruments and can you report on your actual results and experiences?

My original message back in February stimulated a lot of response. Since then I have purchased a basson whose provenance dates back to the mid 1940`s and (along with my teacher)am pleased with itsperformance. In all of the replies and notes sent, few have reported an actual experience with those low priced instruments. Have any of you actually purchased and played those instruments and can you report on your actual results and experiences?

Those inexpensive bassoons ( A. Stewart ) 11:28 on Wednesday, November 30, 2005

vs:

Bassoons on Ebay Trent 19:41 on Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Hmmm ... Is "Trent" the same as "A. Stewart"?

Is a 1940`s Czech bassoon the same as a Haydan?

"Have any of you actually purchased and played those instruments and can you report on your actual results and experiences?"

So which instrument are you refering to? Chinese or Czech?

I see one of the Chinese instruments in used condition is now on ebay -- should sell quite affordably if anyone wants to check one of these out after it has had some use.

Bill Strickland

-Haydn is American, not Chinese
-Don`t buy chinese, I have played one
-1940 Czech is about the most affordable playable bassoon you can got~note that it may need much repairing

If this is a North American instrument, I would like to know the street address of the manufacturing facility, and a reference to verify it. Also be interested in a correct spelling.

Thank you,

Bill

Well, its actually manafactured in Shanghai, but only distributed in the US.

Heres their head office:

ALL AMERICAN INVESTORS LLC

25825 104TH AVE SE
SUITE 331
KENT, WA 98030

Lol, they say their instruments compare to intermediate Selmers and Yamahas. AS IF!

So, now that we have identified an importer of Chinese made bassoons, I wonder if Trent or Stewart wants to claify his question? Was he wanting reports on folks that had bought these cheap (since when is nearly a thousand bucks cheap?) Chinese bassoons (even Fox had to start somewhere), OR did he want input from folks that had bought the less expensive instruments sometimes found on ebay (used, old, misidentified, unwanted, ...)

Bill

fyi:

http://www.haydncompany.com/

#7371715077 @ http://www.ebay.com/