Once you have decided which size bassoon your child needs, your next step will be to consider whether you want to invest in a new or second-hand bassoon. New bassoons look shiny and new and they are generally guaranteed to be in excellent playing order. Buying a second hand bassoon can cost you significantly less but you need to know what you are doing when you are buying one. In this next instalment of this series (Part Three) we will discuss the 'dos and don'ts' of buying both new and second hand bassoons. Follow our advice and you won't go wrong!
Good quality new bassoons start from £3800 - £5500, depending on the make and key-work specification of the bassoon. For many people this causes a sharp in-take of breath!
Bassoons are expensive instruments to make. They are made on a relatively small scale, and while most makers use as much modern technology as possible to make their bassoons, much of the work still has to be carried out by hand by highly skilled craftsmen and women. The maple body of the bassoon alone has to be aged and matured for a significant number of years before the manufacturing process can begin.
If the price of a new bassoon is beyond your budget then the next option is to consider buying a used or second-hand bassoon. Some parents on a budget consider eBay and other second hand musical instrument websites such as Gumtree as a source for their child's bassoon. There can be some 'cheap' bassoons on these websites.
The problem is that if you do not have a good amount of knowledge about bassoons, what to look for and what to avoid, then you are taking a significant risk. There are a great deal of things that can be wrong with a bassoon, some of them repairable (often at significant cost), others are not easily repairable. It is not possible to assess a bassoon merely from a photograph. The fundamental scale, intonation, condition of the wood and so on must all be checked by handling and playing the bassoon. Most of the bassoons on these websites are sold 'as-is' and will be non-returnable. The average cost of a bassoon overhaul including full re-pad is many hundreds of pounds. Anything extra that needs doing, such as repairing cracks to tenons, making and fitting new bell rings etc. is extra.
There is also a chance that the bassoon you are looking at on eBay or another general second-hand website has been listed there fraudulently. At Double Reed Ltd. we are well aware of this problem because the photographs and description of our bassoons have on a number of occasions been listed on another website, without our permission, usually at a significantly lower price. These fraudulent 'sellers' do not own or have the bassoon in their possession and their intention is to steal your money. How successful they are is unknown, but they are continually trying this scam so beware.
The best and safest option, in our view, is to buy your bassoon from a well established and reputable dealer, such as Double Reed Ltd. Here are the reasons why:
- The bassoons that belong to us are carefully hand-picked by Oliver Ludlow, bassoonist and bassoon expert, for their quality of build, excellent condition and quality of sound. All the bassoons owned by Double Reed Ltd. are sold with a one year warranty. These bassoons have been carefully selected by us and as a dealer we do turn a lot of bassoons down that do not meet our high standards
- All our bassoons go through our bassoon repair workshop for a service or overhaul as necessary. This means that we can guarantee your bassoon will be in perfect working order when you purchase it from us. It is not uncommon for us to replace all the pads, for example. There is a large amount of time and money (on average £400-500) spent on each of our bassoons before we offer them for sale. This is not a level of service that you would get when you buy a bassoon privately
- Many parents have been worried their son or daughter will lose interest or change their mind about playing bassoon after having bought a bassoon from us. In response to hearing this concern from a number of different parents we decided to introduce our popular Buy Back Scheme. This special scheme gives parents peace of mind when purchasing a bassoon from us; it is a pledge that within two years we will buy your child's bassoon back off you for a significant amount of what you paid for it. The quality and popularity of the bassoons we sell are so good that we are always glad to buy them back and re-sell them if your child has a change of heart. Not only this, if you have bought your child's bassoon from us we will be here in the future when it is time for him or her to upgrade. We will be happy to part exchange any bassoon that was bought from us (subject to it having been reasonably looked after!)
- Approval Loan Scheme - we are confident enough in the quality of the bassoons we offer that we always recommend you take the bassoon to your child's teacher for a second opinion. You don't just have to take our word for it - our bassoons really are that good. And if it isn't suitable just let us know and we will have it collected from you by courier. The trial period also allows your child to get used to the instrument in his/her own time during the week without any pressure. Taking it to weekly orchestra rehearsal to try out in-situ is also recommended!
To find out more about us have a look at our website About Us page or get in touch with questions and we'll be happy to helpGood quality new bassoons start from £3800 - £5500, depending on the make and key-work specification of the bassoon. For many people this causes a sharp in-take of breath!
Bassoons are expensive instruments to make. They are made on a relatively small scale, and while most makers use as much modern technology as possible to make their bassoons, much of the work still has to be carried out by hand by highly skilled craftsmen and women. The maple body of the bassoon alone has to be aged and matured for a significant number of years before the manufacturing process can begin.
If the price of a new bassoon is beyond your budget then the next option is to consider buying a used or second-hand bassoon. Some parents on a budget consider eBay and other second hand musical instrument websites such as Gumtree as a source for their child's bassoon. There can be some 'cheap' bassoons on these websites.
The problem is that if you do not have a good amount of knowledge about bassoons, what to look for and what to avoid, then you are taking a significant risk. There are a great deal of things that can be wrong with a bassoon, some of them repairable (often at significant cost), others are not easily repairable. It is not possible to assess a bassoon merely from a photograph. The fundamental scale, intonation, condition of the wood and so on must all be checked by handling and playing the bassoon. Most of the bassoons on these websites are sold 'as-is' and will be non-returnable. The average cost of a bassoon overhaul including full re-pad is many hundreds of pounds. Anything extra that needs doing, such as repairing cracks to tenons, making and fitting new bell rings etc. is extra.
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| Double Reed Ltd Second-hand Bassoons |
The best and safest option, in our view, is to buy your bassoon from a well established and reputable dealer, such as Double Reed Ltd. Here are the reasons why:
- The bassoons that belong to us are carefully hand-picked by Oliver Ludlow, bassoonist and bassoon expert, for their quality of build, excellent condition and quality of sound. All the bassoons owned by Double Reed Ltd. are sold with a one year warranty. These bassoons have been carefully selected by us and as a dealer we do turn a lot of bassoons down that do not meet our high standards
- All our bassoons go through our bassoon repair workshop for a service or overhaul as necessary. This means that we can guarantee your bassoon will be in perfect working order when you purchase it from us. It is not uncommon for us to replace all the pads, for example. There is a large amount of time and money (on average £400-500) spent on each of our bassoons before we offer them for sale. This is not a level of service that you would get when you buy a bassoon privately
- Many parents have been worried their son or daughter will lose interest or change their mind about playing bassoon after having bought a bassoon from us. In response to hearing this concern from a number of different parents we decided to introduce our popular Buy Back Scheme. This special scheme gives parents peace of mind when purchasing a bassoon from us; it is a pledge that within two years we will buy your child's bassoon back off you for a significant amount of what you paid for it. The quality and popularity of the bassoons we sell are so good that we are always glad to buy them back and re-sell them if your child has a change of heart. Not only this, if you have bought your child's bassoon from us we will be here in the future when it is time for him or her to upgrade. We will be happy to part exchange any bassoon that was bought from us (subject to it having been reasonably looked after!)
- Approval Loan Scheme - we are confident enough in the quality of the bassoons we offer that we always recommend you take the bassoon to your child's teacher for a second opinion. You don't just have to take our word for it - our bassoons really are that good. And if it isn't suitable just let us know and we will have it collected from you by courier. The trial period also allows your child to get used to the instrument in his/her own time during the week without any pressure. Taking it to weekly orchestra rehearsal to try out in-situ is also recommended!
www.DoubleReed.co.uk
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