Introduction by Graham Sheen
Stefan de Haan
Richard Skinner
Kay Warner
John Orford
Deirdre Dundas-Grant
Gareth Newman
Concluding Remarks by Graham Sheen

[The following article was first printed in the Double Reed News: Journal of the British Double Reed Society No. 19, May 1992, pp. 4-10. It is reprinted here with the kind permission of the editor. ED]

When the Editor asked me to write an article on choosing a bassoon we agreed that I should organize and blend the wisdom of my colleagues into a single text. Such was the eloquence of the contributors, however, that I have decided to allow them to speak for themselves and I shall therefore confine my own contribution to a few introductory and concluding remarks.

The players writing here have not only a wide range of experience of and preferences for instruments, but have made several choices in their careers. In addition, Kay Warner, with 40 pupils at present, certainly speaks with some authority about student models! However, I must stress that this is a collection of personal reflections. Although the opinions of our contributors were not censored in any way the names of dealers have been omitted. We needn't have worried about bias (or even defamation!), since all was reason and balance: well, they are all bassoonists, aren't they? In fact, no one manufacturer could be said to be the favorite though most, it was felt, might make some improvements. I found the difference in approach most interesting, ranging from Stefan de Haan's almost philosophical article to Richard Skinner's pithy notes.

It struck me that there is one central issue which concerned everyone: quality of sound versus convenience of handling, that is, true intonation and evenness of response. Few seem to have found the perfect answer to this, though the preferred instrument should come close. Leading on from this was the question of whether one should make changes or remain faithful to one instrument, whatever modifications are necessary. I am reminded of the fine article on Gwydion Brooke and his Adler). Is old better than new? Is old more lyrical, new more accurate and so on? These questions are especially difficult for young players who need to be able to play in so many different situations, as opposed to many professionals whose duties are more closely defined. In my own experience I found my old Heckel suited the sort of repertoire I encountered when in the English Chamber Orchestra. Despite its needing a little coaxing from an intonation point of view it had a fine and very lucid sound. But when I joined the BBC Symphony Orchestra, where at least half the time is spent on contemporary works or modern classics with their complex technical demands, I found I had no time for corrective fingerings. I moved on to instruments made by Jeremy Soulsby which gave me not only a much more accurate scale but a bigger sound. This change was, of course, more gradual than it sounds here and I still play much classical music, but I allowed myself to let the instrument fit the job, so to speak. And here I should remind the reader that these are personal reflections not intended to inform you that older bassoons are all out of tune and unusable. Far from it. Ultimately, the playing should speak, not the instrument, and there are a few recordings which I made during the transition which still puzzle me as to which one was being used!

Finally, I was particularly heartened by the idea that established manufacturers are being challenged by newcomers. Yamaha and Benson Bell in Canada were only omitted because I don't know of any users yet. These are obviously quality bassoons though. Howarth's are as yet in the development stage but will appear soon, I'm sure. In other words, if you're looking for a bassoon, do shop around and beware "received wisdom."

Stefan de Haan

The editor of the Double Reed News recently asked me "to which of the new bassoons presently available would you give preference?" There is, of course, no definite answer to this question because it is a very personal matter, but also because relatively good and bad bassoons can be found on all price levels. It is, nevertheless, a challenging question, and to do it justice we must have a clear idea of what we expect from a musical instrument in general, and from a bassoon in particular.

The Oxford Dictionary defines a musical instrument as 'a contrivance for producing
musical sounds.' The musical element in this equation depends on the talent and ability of the player, while the sound produced is a combination of these individual qualities with the sound quality of the instrument. Before we buy a bassoon we must therefore test a number of instruments primarily for their sound quality, and then for the degree of facility with which they respond to our conception of the ideal sound. Reeds and crooks (by necessity virtually ignored in this article) are very important here, but the characteristics of the bassoon sound depend above all on the quality of the material of which the instrument is made.

Most bassoons are made of wood. Carefully chosen and well-seasoned wood is expensive, and the quality of the wood is reflected in the price of the instrument. Care and time spent on the exact fashioning of the long conical tube, and the precise positioning of the tone holes on the inside of the tube further increase the price. What also affects the price are added luxuries. My former bassoon, made by Heckel in 1938, had few rollers, no fancy keys, not even a high D key (which it did not need), but it was a splendid instrument with perfect intonation and an easily projecting characteristic bassoon sound.

When testing bassoons of the same make but at different price levels, I often found that the sonority of the more expensive bassoons was somewhat reduced. Much of the price difference was due to additional keys, and it occurred to me that this keywork might have something to do with the restricted sound of the instrument. Could it be that the many posts sunk in the wood obstructed the flow of the vibrations? Research in this field, similar to that of aerodynamics, might be an interesting task.

The lock for the crook-key, missing on some bassoons, is, however, not a luxury. Sound and intonation of almost all notes improve with the crook-lock closed. When it is open, the articulation of just a few notes above middle C is facilitated, but Weissenborn recommends that it should be closed for notes above and including F sharp. This is impossible (except for G and G sharp) without a lock. Puchner instruments have a clever device improving the A below middle C by automatically closing the crook-key when the left-hand thumb is operated. I therefore give preference to bassoons with a fitted lock. This has the added advantage that the thumb of the left hand does not have to jump about too frantically. Regarding such frills as additional trill keys, I would rather convert their extra cost into a more beneficial holiday in the sun.

Finally the delicate question of preference: among instruments for beginners, the plastic Fox bassoon is the most consistently reliable. It also has an extended key for the fourth finger of the left hand, and this is most helpful for children with small hands. Unfortunately this model is not normally fitted with a crooklock, and it is too expensive for most schools and parents. Finding a decent instrument among the cheaper wooden bassoons for beginners is not impossible as long as a good number of these is available for testing. The same is true of the relatively reasonably priced Monnig or Huller bassoons. Very adequate instruments can indeed be found among these, particularly if a suitable cook is used, although it should be understood that an expensive crook does not necessarily improve an inferior instrument.

Bassoons by Schreiber, Adler and similar makes represent the next price range, though the cost of the individual instrument varies considerably between the basic and the most sophisticated models. I have found instruments with a very pleasing sound and reasonable intonation among bassoons made by Adler and Moosmann. Heckel and Puchner make the most expensive bassoons and Fox also produce refined and costly models. All these are professional instruments made with great care, and the choice between them is determined, above all, by individual preference - mine would be for a Heckel because of its characteristic sound. There are other instruments I have not tested, and Howarth are at present spending much time and care on a production of their own. I have tried two Howarth models, one of them with a remarkably clear tone, and these will, no doubt, compete successfully with other quality bassoons once the teething problems have been overcome.

In the November issue of the Double Reed News William Waterhouse gave the very sound advice to look for used instruments rather than new ones. The bassoons produced by Heckel during the decade before 1940 have a sonority superior to most new, instruments. Archie Camden played on an ancient Adler bassoon, and Wendy Phillips produces an unforgettably beautiful sound on a somewhat younger instrument of the same make which, if a similar could be found, would not be too expensive. But whether the search is for a new instrument or a used one, time, patience and the strength to resist the temptation of price or appearance, are as essential as the clear idea of the sound the prospective buyer has in mind for his instrument.

Richard Skinner

Puchners seem to work well with a long crook and short reed set-up. Heckels are better with a short crook and flat Hombach-type reed.

Kay Warner

I have very little experience of selecting new instruments for my pupils, as the majority buy reconditioned and secondhand older bassoons. This is because I can find little to recommend amongst new bassoons under £2000. The only reasonable instruments under £2000 are Hullers and Monnigs. One of my students has bought a Huller in the last year, but they have to be carefully chosen for good tone and tuning. If one of my pupils prefers to buy new and can afford it, I would probably recommend an Adler which I feel is better value for money than a Schreiber. Watching instruments bought over the last ten years, they seem to be stable, though you have to be careful to select one with a free and warm tone.

Out of my forty present pupils (four of whom are adults) only eleven own their own bassoon. Pupils at both state and private schools are often unwilling to buy their own instruments. If they do so, it is usually when they are leaving school and have to return the school instrument. I am sure this has much to do with the recession, but it is also because some people have a curious sense of priorities when spending money; maybe it is only curious in my eyes. There are some who consider sending their children on regular skiing trips to be fine, but will hesitate over buying a clarinet ... and as for a bassoon?

Obviously, however, for many of my pupils' families, such an expense is truly impossible. For those who do decide to buy their own, the magic sum that most parents can accept is £1000 ... ironic, considering this is approximately the same amount my parents were warned they would have to pay for my first instrument.

Naturally, some parents and schools are looking for instruments as cheap as £500 - especially in schools where 'wear and tear' is an important consideration. When the magic sum is this low I usually choose a plastic instrument. Unless I am very lucky, it is almost impossible to find a playable wooden instrument at that price. The most one of my pupils has paid recently for a second-hand instrument is £1600; the average is usually £1100 or £1200.

Now you can see why I do not deal much with new instruments! I find the older bassoons are more stable and if there were going to be problems, they would normally have already occurred and would be evident at the time of buying. They usually have a better tone with good intonation and the keywork is stronger and of better quality.

There are various ways of locating such instruments. Some shops have second-hand lists; some specialist repairers/p layers are prepared to recondition older bassoons to a high standard; other instruments I hear of through the grapevine. The make most often bought are Kohlerts and some other names, probably made by Kohlert, like Barkles. I have also found Hullers, Muellers, Rolisi and Monnigs on the secondhand lists. Their price hinges on their condition, tuning and tone.

I find everyone seems happy with this solution. The parents feel they can trust a bassoon that has been around for a few years. The students seem to have a warm affection for these more mature, less flashy instruments. I find that my pupils seem to suffer less tuning problems when they play in ensembles and with the piano when using older rather than newer bassoons. I also find it is easier to resell these instruments if I need to at a later date, and can obtain the same price as the parents paid for them.

John Orford

As a schoolboy, I was given the choice of two instruments, an old battered Adler, or a nice shiny 'cheapo' of indeterminate make. You can guess which one I chose.

Having reached Grade VIII standard or thereabouts, my parents said they would buy me my own instrument - and it was bought at Lewington's whilst visiting relatives in Hemel Hempstead. It was a Huller costing L175.00 and considered by my teacher Charles Cracknell to be a good one. It certainly saw me through College in Manchester and it was on that instrument that I got my first job in the Bournemouth Sinfonietta.

Having settled in to the position, I decided to take out a bank loan and buy what was becoming popular at the time, a Puchner.

My new instrument proved a winner for me and I went on to my next job in the BBC Symphony Orchestra. It was on a trip to Edinburgh that I was to meet Laurie Taylor and his Foxes, one of which he gave me to play in a rehearsal. I was so taken with it that I bought it immediately (with a little help from the BBC) and continued to use it for playing second bassoon for the next few years until I left the BBC to freelance.

It was at this time that Gwydion Brooke had his bassoon stolen. I had no sooner left the BBC as second bassoon when I found myself playing first bassoon with the Philharmonia. This was when my sternest critic, my wife, suggested that there was something lacking in the Fox; why didn't I go back to my Puchner? - she said she had always preferred its sound. I did, she was happy again, and I never really played the Fox again. It was not that it was a bad instrument by any means. In fact, John Burness, the contra player at that time, when asked by me what he thought, said that it didn't sound any different to him but that he sensed that the Fox was easier to play, especially at the bottom. But I preferred the resonance of the Puchner in the tenor and high register. I was much happier with this as a first bassoon instrument.

Having joined the London Sinfonietta and needing more than ever the upper register, I decided that a spare Puchner would be more use to me than the Fox, so I sold it and bought another new Puchner. I try to alternate them so as not to be reliant on one instrument, but deep down I am still in love with the original Puchner.

When asked why I do not play a Heckel, I can honestly say that there are not many that I have liked as much as my Puchner. Those I have liked have always been owned by another player, including one I wanted to buy, owned by a friend and very talented amateur player in Manchester. Having taken it away, tried it and decided to buy it, I told him how I felt that it just needed a good blasting to turn it into a really good instrument. He agreed with me, and I found that I had just talked myself out of getting a super Heckel. Perhaps it was never to be, but if he is reading this article, please remember that you said I still have first refusal on it, and I am still as interested as ever!

Deirdre Dundas-Grant

I have played on three different Heckels, starting with a 9000 model which started me in my first job. I found that it had a good singing tone, full of character, that you could mould and colour in the way that you wanted. As with all Heckels, there were always the usual problem notes for intonation, the bottom notes, especially C, D and E, a wobbly Eb in the middle and the B below middle C on the piano was flat. The high Ab, strangely, was very stable.

Each instrument, whatever its age, tended towards these generalities to a greater or lesser extent, but they are all individual, and so the intonation of some of them was generally a good deal more stable and better than of others. Mostly one could learn to live with whichever set of problems was presented by each instrument; decisions on which to play would be determined by feeling for each instrument, judicious filling or enlarging of the holes and other helps by a competent repairer, and choice of the most suitable crooks and reeds.

In 1967 1 bought an 11000 model which I found to have a more even scale and better intonation - but a rather less interesting sound, more anonymous, and generally a bit flatter and stiffer to blow, even after it was blown in. Perhaps the 9000 would be better for solos and the 11000 more appropriate in an orchestral situation. Character of sound is a bit sacrificed for the sake of better tuning. When they were both stolen, I bought a pre-war 7000 model. The 7000 to 8000 models have a 'golden' reputation, as the pre-war wood seasoning and the alloys used for the keywork and especially the crooks have not been able to be repeated. It certainly has the Heckel 'nutty' centered tone, which although not especially loud close to, seems to carry right to the back of the hall. The projection seems very much part of these instruments. The tuning is perfectly liveable-with, the tendencies being the same - a bit sharp at the bottom, sharp E flats and F sharps (and Gs), flat B and C in the middle and the tenor register being a bit sharper again, but these are problems that one can manage.

To me, other makes are most like the 11000 series, serviceable, sometimes more stable in tuning, but with perhaps a duller and more inflexible sound. The difference between an Arab racehorse and a carthorse perhaps. A clear, centered sound which is musically satisfying, and a feeling of quality is what I find in Heckels, but what I do hope and fully believe is that other makers are already catching up in quality, as the Heckel firm is too arrogant and charges too much.

Gareth Newman

"It is interesting to note that this quartet blended together marvelously despite the fact that they were playing on Puchner, Heckel, Fox and Huller bassoons." From the I.D.R.S. magazine, talking about William Waterhouse's 60th birthday concert. The players were John Orford, Dominic Morgan, Gavin McNaughton and David Miles.

Unlike the United States, where a Heckel is more or less essential for a professional bassoonist, players in Britain have successful careers on a wide range of instruments. Why is this? Do British woodwind sections place less emphasis on homogeneity of sound? Or is it that a high standard of performance and blending can be achieved on a wide variety of bassoons?

I think that there is some truth in both propositions, and it is certainly the case that there is a greater variety of well made instruments available to the serious bassoonist now than for many years. So how should an instrument be chosen? How well can the performer gauge the quality of sound and projection ?

In my fifteen years as a professional bassoonist I have used five instruments - Puchner, two Soulsbys and two Foxes. This probably demonstrates my insecurity more than anything, because all five are certainly professional quality bassoons. The perfect bassoon is a mythical beast - the acoustical problems of the instrument are such that many compromises have to be made, and each maker finds slightly different solutions.

There is a strong argument for buying a good instrument and sticking to it. This means that one has a lifetime to adjust to the idiosyncrasies of the bassoon and learn intimately what it will and will not do. The familiarity is of inestimable value when under pressure - a common feeling despite years of practice! Realists will do well to follow this course; they will spend less money and will sleep at nights.

Idealistic dreamers like me however always believe that there is a better bassoon around the corner. As the golfer who changes his putter can be more successful with the same technique, so a change of instrument can give a new impetus and confidence. While the bassoons of the 1990s are, broadly speaking, the same as those of fifty years ago, the art and science of instrument making is forever being refined. It is my belief that there is a better and wider choice than ever before.

In choosing a bassoon there are many factors to be borne in mind. Firstly, cost. After determining one's budget the next question is ,new or second-hand'? Older instruments have been blown in, are less likely to change significantly in terms of response, and, if they have been well looked after, should still be mechanically sound. A new bassoon is a more unknown quantity. Will it change? If so, how? For some a new instrument is the option simply because of the thrill of the new - the opportunity to mould your own personality on to the bassoon rather than merely getting to know something someone else has moulded.

Picking up an unfamiliar instrument and evaluating it is very difficult. Every bassoon requires lots of small adjustments in breath pressure and embouchure (even fingering) in order to play well in tune. What is hard is trying to blow neutrally so as to judge the instrument's qualities. The fundamental criterion is the sound. It it a sound you like? Is it a flexible sound one which could project a solo through a symphony orchestra and then blend smoothly into the wind section? These qualities can really only be judged in situ, preferably with a trusted ear in the auditorium - some bassoons sound well close to but project poorly - and vice versa.

Then there is the vexed question of intonation. I have already stated my opinion that the perfect bassoon doesn't exist - intonation is relative, not an exact science. Electronic tuners have their uses in telling us where a note should be in tempered pitch, but life tends not to be like that in orchestras, where adjustments have constantly to be made by everyone for the best results. A professional bassoon has to have enough flexibility to cope with this. Having said that, a smooth even scale is the best possible starting point. A tolerance in the instrument which allows different fingerings to be used for the same notes is also very useful as it allows the player a greater range of colors. If good, in tune notes can only be produced with one fingering the player is limited, if a lot less confused!

Another advantage of ordering a new bassoon is that you can choose the keywork that suits you. Whether rollers, trill keys etc., are to your taste, it's nice to have just what you want. Personally I don't go in for lots of extra rollers or trill keys, but I can't live without a right hand crook lock or an offset high E key.

The final decision on an instrument must be a very personal one. By all means enlist the help and advice of trusted colleagues - they will have to listen to it! A musical instrument is only a medium for your own personal expression though, and ultimately you have to feel that you can express yourself better through your chosen bassoon than any other. My own instruments have all felt like that - the right thing at the right time - all with slightly different qualities but all of a high enough standard to be considered professional bassoons.

Then there are crooks ... and reeds

Graham Sheen ...

To conclude, a few remarks about testing instruments might be helpful to students- and young players. Obviously these remarks apply more to second-hand instruments, but the workmanship on some student models is sometimes less than perfect. I think there are two guiding principles here. Firstly, if in doubt seek help and advice from a teacher or professional, since good judgment is based on a wide experience of different bassoons. I emphasize "help" because obviously you will want to learn by the making of that choice. Secondly, a decision should be reached only after you are satisfied with its performance in, for example, an orchestra. Playing with other instruments is the only way to assess a bassoon's intonation and quality of sound. Any reasonable dealer or vendor will allow this. Always begin by a thorough visual inspection of the instrument making sure to remove the buttcap; a poorly maintained instrument will show signs of rot and wood shifting in this area. Look for cracks or other defects which might indicate the absorption of moisture; in particular the lining in the tenor and butt joints must be sound. It is easy to be seduced by the sound or "feel" of the bassoon whereas it may need hundreds of pounds' worth of re-boring! Is it well maintained? Extensive modification may reveal a good instrument - but should this money be spent on buying a new model? Has it been "modified?" (Tone holes re-bored or filled, often needlessly.) Am I really buying the name and reputation of the manufacturer? Does it have a good resale value? Can I live with the corrective fingerings I will have to use or do I want something more "automatic?" These. are some of the things you will have to bear in mind. Then there are other more difficult issues; "I think this is good but will I have to alter my reeds and crooks?" Or (and this is from my own experience of buying my Heckel) "this instrument is derelict but I feel it has potential!" I think it's about time to conclude this article with confessions like that coming out.

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