This must be one of the classics, I apologize beforehand :-)
I wonder how important it is to (learn to) play on a real fine instrument.
I use a bassoon from the school, and as far as I can judje it is ok.
But I am thinking about buying my own, my budget will reach as far a
Moosmann 150 (Euro spec, perhaps this is more like a model 100 US spec).
Since I live in Belgium, I think that buying a European brand might be a
good idea should the bassoon ever have to return to the factory.
The question is (of course) if this would improve my playing or if it just nonsense and
therefore a waste of money.
Thanks for your thoughts and comments,
Willy

You don't need a top quality instrument to learn on but a recognised well respected brand will help it is likely to be more in tune & more likely to stay in regulation due to being made from quality materials. Even with improved materials & care in manufacture I don't believe that any Chinese made bassoon, even a modern one is worth buying.

I know a number of players who are of almost professional standard who play on older, cheaper instruments & to listen to them you wouldn't know.

Having said that older, cheaper models (Schreiber, Adler etc) can produce good results provided they have been maintained properly (the pads seal well & open the correct ammount & it is mechanically sound). Many school owned instruments have not been looked after correctly so do not perform to their best.

A Moosmann 150 whould be a great bassoon to have & could even get you to a professional level. Other makes worth considering are Adler & Fox, possibly Schreiber.

Good luck.

Thanks for the helpful respons!
Your comment on Chinese bassoons is vey much to the point, since I play one. I must admit that it is not a disaster,
at least not as far as I, as a beginner, can appreciate. So far, if something won't work, more specific high and low notes,
the player is the problem, not the instrument :-)
But I hope, perhaps it is a kind of wishful thinking, that a better instrument would be "easier" to play.
I think it makes sense that better musicians will get more out of a lesser instrument, probably due to their being experts.
I read good things about Moosmann bassoons, but I am somewhat puzzles by the differences of EU versus US models.