Hi everyone,

I've decided I'd like to buy a bassoon, just to play for fun - no professional aspirations, so I'm not after anything fancy. I'm on a very limited budget, too.

I've recently perused ebay, and noticed a number of reasonably-priced bassoons offered for sale...some sound pretty dodgy, others appear to be okay - though how can one ever tell without trying it out?

I've heard that occasionally, you can land a real bargain - though of course, buying without trying is always a gamble (though the 7-day return policy IS comforting.)

Has anyone here ever bought a bassoon on ebay? If so, would you be happy to share your thoughts? If not, I'd be keen to know your thoughts anyway.

Also - which brands of bassoon are best to avoid?

Thanks in advance,

Angharad.

I, personally, bought my old schreiber off eBay for 1800, a very good deal considering the quality and condition of it. I haven't really seen many good ones on there recently though. Try to stick to older schreibers (better than the new ones) foxes, etc. Don't go for any of those new, cheapo chinese bassoons on Ebay. They'll just give you trouble. The cool thing with bassoons is that getting a used one in good condition is great, because the older the wood, often the better the bassoon. Seeing as you are looking to begin bassoon, though, you might want to get help from bassoonists in your area when looking on Ebay to see if you are being ripped off, etc. Looking at the pictures, make sure there aren't any cracks, and the ring on the very bottom of the bassoon (under the boot cap) isn't dented. If it is, it can often lead to intonation problems. When buying a bassoon, also leave extra money for repairs and adjustments, as well as enough for a new bocal if you need one.
Preferably, try and get local pick up. That way you can look at the bassoon before you take it home, in person, and there is less of a chance of damage during shipping.

I bought my Fox off of e-bay and it is great. Avoid older Foxes unless you can get it for a trial period - their quality was erratic back then. It would be best it you arranged for a trial for any instrument you want to buy. Even a cheap bassoon is a substantial investment. I would avoid Chinese bassoons (Haydn, Laval, DC PRo, etc), Linton, Lesher, Takeda (although opinions vary on this brand). I would definitely want a trial before buying an Adler or Amati. Fox, Moosmann, Puchner are good brands.

Buying on e-bay is hit & miss - you can get bargains & you can get ripped off. Sellers' descriptions do tend to be rather optimistic & not many will tell you (or maybe even know) about the interior of the bassoon but only the external appearance. A Linton bassoon or a $999 new Chinese instrument professional quality?

I agree with some of the comments previously made. However you can often find that the wood in older bassoons is not good. Many older instruments, even of the top brands, which have not been frequently swabbed out after playing & not been regularly & properly maintained have rotten wood in the bottom of the butt joint. Also the initial quality of the wood used especially in the Chinese bassoons & also in E European ones made between WW2 & about 1980 can be of dubious quality. Both have improved in this respect in recent years but not always up to the top standard - it's one way of keeping the cost down using softer, faster grown timber.
I would not list a modern Adler alongside the Amati - the former is definitely a step or two above in quality of material & workmanship. The Amati has improved over the years - still much better than any Chinese one I have seen - but in UK at least with recent large price increases is definitely pricing itself out of the market IMO.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your responses. I've been wanting a secondhand bassoon for a while now - just a basic one for mucking around on - but they don't turn up very often here in Australia. So I for a while, I deliberated about buying an instrument on ebay - of course it's better to try before you buy - but I really didn't have any options.

Anyway, I ended up recently buying a lovely old Schreiber bassoon off ebay for $1200 USD. It's an older bassoon (1950s) but it's in good condition. The chap who sold it to me was very efficient, and communicated well, and had a 100% rating, which gave me the confidence to go ahead and buy an instrument this way. Only problem is that a couple of the keys aren't working properly - it may have been damaged in transit - the international couriers can be terribly rough, not to mention the air turbulence mid-flight. Either that, or as another user here suggested, maybe the transition from hot summery America to cold, wet, wintry Australia affected the wood slightly, thus upsetting the key-work a little.

Anyway, I have a bassoonist friend who I'm sure will be able to fix it - only problem is that he's away until late next week - which means all I can do is stare longingly at my handsome Schreiber!

I think that buying an instrument this way is fine, if you know what you're looking for, and patiently shop around, and have faith in the seller - AND be aware of the rough handling it may be exposed to in transit. So many people advised me against buying a bassoon this way, but I stubbornly went ahead anyway. There must be plenty of success stories like mine!

Cheers,
Angharad.