reeds
Making bassoon
reeds is a time consuming process and they are all hand made to a greater
or lesser degree. It is nigh on impossible to make a decent bassoon
reed in less than an hour and this is reflected in the price.
Glenissimo bassoon reeds are excelent, they have been developed to work straight out of the box and are graded for beginner/intermediate players and advanced.
NB: Reeds are made to order, so order in plenty of time. Two weeks before
an exam or concert is pushing your luck!.
reed adjustment/scraping
There are lots of books, online articles etc on adjusting or
"scraping" reeds.
This article by Christian
Davidsson is the best to date.
music
June Emerson Wind Music +44 (0)
1439 788324 - June is a bassoonist so unlike many shops and mail order music
web sites, bassoon music is stocked! Fantastic catalogue (over 1500 publications
with bassoon), P&P is minimal, music is mailed same day.
accessories servicing and repair
Howarths are England's double reed
specialist shop. Famous for their oboes (made in worthing) there shop service
and internet mail order service is second to none. They are very much part
of the double reed establishment, have been in business for over 50 years
and anything they don't know about bassoons probably isn't worth knowing.
As most music shops would be much happier if bassoons didn't exist, they
are well worth the trip. They have a big selection of: reeds, cane, seat
straps, harnesses, pull throughs, cases, reed boxes, crooks, hand rests,
reed making tools, music etc etc. There are shops in Worthing +44 (0)1903
239219 and London +44 (0)20 7935 2407.
buying a bassoon
Sharp intake of breath - they are expensive - Howarths
or Jim
Kirker in Boston are recommended. Jim has sold eight (Fox) Renard 240's
(probably the best intermediate bassoon currently available) to my
pupils over the last couple of years. They (american rather than european
models) have come in tax and duty paid at labout 2/3 the UK shop price.
Second hand can be a good option but buyer beware.
internet
fagotizm - Kotov Stanislav's
bassoon site. Best bassoon site out there - pages can be slow to load but be patient it's
well worth the wait.
international double reed society
- exactly what it says on the tin
püchner - good bassoons
bassoon.org - info site