I recently got a Fox Renard 220, so I am not looking in to buying a new bassoon, however I was wondering how all of you would rank the many bassoon manufaturers out there based on how they play,not their cost. Please put an asterisk next to what you have played on before. For me it would look like this:

1. Heckel
2. Fox*
3. Mooseman
4. Selmer
5. Linton*

Feel free to explain your reasoning, and to list manufacturers I haven't. I know there's more out there.

The trouble with this sort of question is that you are trying to compare different beasts. Heckel only make pro quality instruments whereas the Selmer & Linton are only student bassoons. Most other makers, like Fox, make a variety of models designed for all levels of player.

Impossible task. You might get a Linton that played beautifully with a big sound, and a badly maintained Heckel that played badly; but these would not be typical of the brands. Also, I think it is almost impossible to grade playability and tone without also taking cost into account. Who would not like the great gorgeous big sound of a Heckel, but very very few people can afford one. ALSO, you could put an expensive bocal on a lesser bassoon and at once get an improvement.

Personally, I have played on: Moosmann, Adler, Kohlert, Selmer. In my opinion, of those four: best bassoon - Moosmann; best tone - Kohlert (but that's because this one is at least 60 years old).

Okay, I understand, so maybe a list of opinions on the different manufacturers?

I would not be the person able to comment on the different manufacturers. Having said that, however, Fox and Moosmann seem to enjoy slugging it out with each other, because their bassoons are comparably priced. Fox makes more different models, and being an American make, is I think more widely used in America. Moosmann, being a German make, is more widely used in Europe (correct me if I'm wrong, you folks across the water). They both make professional and intermediate models, and Fox makes several student models, while Moosmann makes only one.