Amati bassoons are made in one of the main instrument-making centres in Europe, in Kraslice (Graslitz in German) on the Czech side of the Czech-German border, where instrument making has been going on for several hundred years. This area has a strong German influence, and is part of the famous European 'Music Cluster'.
Amati was established after the second world war as a co-operative of musical instrument makers including bassoon makers Puchner and Kohlert, and was nationalised in 1948, becoming one of the main makers of bassoons in Eastern Europe.
After 1989 the company was privatised and is now a major European manufacturer of bassoons. Throughout its history the company has been renowned for making solid, durable instruments; and many have been of high quality with good intonation, good tone and easy playability. We at Double Reed, for example, have sold dozens of higher specification secondhand Amatis to satisfied customers in the last couple of years.
However, more recently, the company's bassoons have improved further and new ones are now a match for many, more expensive European bassoons and make the perfect bassoon for students all the way from beginners to Grade 8 and beyond. And with their reputation for durability and reliability they hold their value much better than non-European bassoons comparable in price.
The Amati contrabassoon is also gaining a reputation for being an outstanding instrument, capable of holding its own against much more expensive competition.
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