I am planning on starting basoon, and i have a choice between 2 basoons:

1) Amati basoon, 1 bocals, 20 years old, used for 10 years by a pro. musician.

2) Conn Basoon, 2 bocals (F1,F2), i think its nearly new

both appear to be in great condition, especially the Conn, which looks pretty much brand new. The Conn is made of the common dark reddish brown wood, while the Amati, of a light brown wood hue. The Conn is a couple hundred $ more.

Please keep in mind that i know these are quite cheap prices, but here they are:
1)900$ US
2)1150$ US

which do you think is the better deal?

also, another question, are hand sizes of, (hand spread) the measurement of pinky to thumb being 20-21 cm being feasible for playing bassoon quickly?

Thank you

UPDATE:

There is now a 3rd bassoon choice:

Amati bassoon, fairly new by the looks of it, probadly several years newer than the other Amati, dark reddish-pink wood, `patched bocl`

what does it mean what a bocal is patched?
and these are auctions, to help you see reason in their low prices

3rd bassoon is only 725$ US

I would go with the first one if the size bocal is a 3c if its not then you should go with the second one

If you can test them both do it. you might prefer the sound of one over the other. If you can`t test them I`d go for the conn. you should see which one suits u best though.

Definitely, do NOT go with the 3rd one. A patched Bocal means that somehow a hole or crack developed in the bocal and they put another peice of metal over it to "patch" the hole. This will only give you problems. You will never be happy with the sound and neither will anyone else because the air is`nt traveling through the bocal smoothly. You could buy a new bocal, but a decent one runs at the very least, $400 dollars . But a new bocal that you buy may not fit so that`s just more hastle. If you still want to buy it, get a hefty price reduction. If you can`t play them before purchase, I would go with the newest one. If there are pictures, see if the instrument looks clean and without scratchs/chips overall. This shows that it has been looked after and cared for.

thank you for responses, Conn, apparently, the only good instrument they have made is their `naked lady sax` from ages ago. Plus, its not for sale anymore.

I`ll probably go for the Amati, thank you