Bassoon With a View

"Sometimes you do things in life just to figure out what you  don't  want to do in life."   - My Dad The same principle can obviously be applied to trying bassoons in the pursuit of finding  The One.   All of the instruments I have trialed have strengths and weaknesses.  For the price you would pay for each of them, my feeling is that they are all priced quite reasonably and all sit in the $17,000 - $24,000 range.   The Moosmann 222-CL, Leitzinger Model II, and Kronwalt are all solid instruments.  If you are in the market for a bassoon be sure to try these bassoons - they have a lot to offer!  However, they are not right for me and  the goals I have set for this process.   They are also all  thick wall  bassoons.   This has been the most important realization I have made during this process:   The instrument I need for the sound I desire and the type of playing I do falls within the  capabilities of a "thin wall" instrument: the Yamaha 8

First, I have to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who has left comments, sent messages and emails to offer insight, help, even potential instruments for sale as I have shared my videos.  THANK YOU!  I really appreciate the feedback - keep it coming! A culmination of several events over the past 6 months has pushed me into the market for a new bassoon.  Only about 10 days into the process, I have already learned so much.  I'm always peeking at the cost of bassoons - don't we all?  And who doesn't enjoy the vendor hall play-testing at various conferences?  However, the reality of how much the market has changed since I purchased my Fox 601 in 2009 has been humbling. Here are my initial thoughts: playing a bassoon for 10 -15 minutes in a vendor hall is not how you trial a bassoon.  It's a good place to start but shouldn't be the singular litmus for a $25,000+ purchase. it's concerning to me how much a person can spend on a fairly mediocre instrument.