There are a number of good brands offering a variety of models from student up to pro - it's a question of trying as many as you can & going for one that clicks with you:

Moosmann (They are very good these days)
Adler
Monnig
Renard/Fox
Schreiber

Have heard good reports of new Japanese company Takeda

Check out these web sites - the first 2 are the major bassoon experts in UK:

www.myatt.co.uk
www.howarth.uk.com
www.dawkes.co.uk
www.johnpacker.co.uk

Try as many makes as you can. Used instruments can be a lottery but worth exploring - older bassoons even of the good makes can be duff. If you see other brands for sale - ask around before buying as there is a lot of real (usually from the far east) rubbish out there. (As Martyn, on this forum has discovered)What does your teacher think?

Where do you live?

Ian

As you say the Adler could need a new player or just a service - in my experience they sound excellent & are well made. Bassoons are complex bits of machinery & do benefit from regular attention by a competent repairer.

The Lafleur would be a good one to leave - they are getting old now & were variable in quality. I've heard that the current version of Czech made instruments - the Amati - is better but still not as good as the others brands.

Good person to talk to would be David Lock who lives near Ipswich & repairs & sells bassoons in addition to making reeds.

Ian

I think the problem with the Adler you heard was probably the player! Adlers are generally a well-made German bassoon, and you would have a good choice of them over in the U.K., where they are a little more popular than here in the U.S., altho I play on one here.

I should have added that I'm not so keen on the older Adler 'Sonora' bassoons - which were the student range (now discontinued) some of them are a bit scratchy. The real Oscar Adlers are better.

Ian

The tone generally comes better with experience, but i guess the instrument does make a bit of a difference. A bassoon that stays in tune? HA! sorry :p
Don't take anyone's word for which make is the best, because every instrument is different and so is every player.
However, where in England are you from? Howarths in London is THE place to buy awkward complicated unusual wind instruments like bassoons. They aren't biased towards any make, and I think they have a sale on at the moment. And they are a proper woodwind specialist, so there will be loooooads to choose from - most places only have one or two instruments because they're so unusual.

I know of 2 bassoons for sale at the moment.One's a Mönnig and the the other's a Hüller.It would mean a trip to the Midlands to try them out.If you want more info email me at: oldfagott@hotmail.com