Members Honky-Tonk Posted July 29, 2007 Members Share Posted July 29, 2007 I played bassoon for almost seven years, through highschool and college. I think, if I hadn't quit, it would have been the death of me. I hated the reeds!!! I went back to college a few years ago, so I borrowed a bassoon, from my highschool, to try out for a bassoon scholarship at the University. I still had reed making tools, so I ordered some reed blanks off the internet, and made some reeds. Made some pretty good ones. You know what they say about riding a bicycle, or, making a reed... The university didn't have an extra bassoon for me to play, and I wasn't able to keep the highschool's bassoon, so I just paid full price for school. Was just checkin out the wind instruments forum and thought I'd represent for the bassoon. I would buy one but they soooo expensive. I bought all of my cool guitar stuff for the price of one decent bassoon; five guitars, three amps, fourteen effects pedals, at least half of all of it is boutique stuff, and a bass guitar, and a drumset, a few mics, a portable four-track, some PC recording software, and a computer. (bassoon, reeds, reed cup, seat strap, music folder) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flutegirl Posted July 29, 2007 Members Share Posted July 29, 2007 I played Bassoon in University as one of the instruments I learned. We had to play our final jury on a reed we made ourselves and mine was like two 2X4's strapped together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sunburstbasser Posted July 29, 2007 Members Share Posted July 29, 2007 Yeah, not too many primary bassoonists around yet. I knew a girl in high school who owned one (I don't know how!), good player. And I can sympathize on the price of a horn. My 2 main trumpets, even though one was used, cost more than all of my bass gear combined! And trumpets are the poor man's horn, more or less. Except Monette trumpets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IndofunkCity Posted July 29, 2007 Members Share Posted July 29, 2007 Even Monette trumpets. fixed. Non-trumpet instruments are expensive as {censored}. Hell, a decent MIA guitar costs more than a trumpet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sunburstbasser Posted July 30, 2007 Members Share Posted July 30, 2007 fixed. Non-trumpet instruments are expensive as {censored}. Hell, a decent MIA guitar costs more than a trumpet... Maybe YOUR MIA guitar did! Mine cost less than my C trumpet, and less than half my Bb. I've heard of Monettes selling for in excess of $11K to the buyer. Poor man's uber-custom horn maybe, but I don't think I could get that much for a kidney OR a testicle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Honky-Tonk Posted July 30, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 30, 2007 Awsome, someone responded!!! My roommate, with whom I went to highschool, plays trumpet. Or he did. He wants to get a new one; his old one died of old age, but I can't convince him to get a cheap one, just to have to play. He wants to get some expensive, custom job; don't remember what brand. He talks a lot, anyway. Yeah, making reeds is like learning to be a chiropractor. Someone tells you how filing/shaving different parts of the reed affects the tone/performance, and then you make a few hundred till you have it down. Havn't been sued yet. I always picked the instruments that were the hardest to assemble. Played drums, as well, in the college jazz band. Also like having a pet. You find a good one, teach it a bunch of tricks, you get attached to it, and then one day it dies, right before a concert. Then you go pick out a new one that doesn't quite do it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IndofunkCity Posted July 30, 2007 Members Share Posted July 30, 2007 Also like having a pet. You find a good one, teach it a bunch of tricks, you get attached to it, and then one day it dies, right before a concert. Then you go pick out a new one that doesn't quite do it for you. :D I like you, man. Hang out here more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Honky-Tonk Posted July 30, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 30, 2007 I was known to accidentally eat my reeds on occasion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sunburstbasser Posted July 30, 2007 Members Share Posted July 30, 2007 I was known to accidentally eat my reeds on occasion Gotta get that fiber somehow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kuhnfyoozed Posted July 31, 2007 Members Share Posted July 31, 2007 My sax is more expensive than all of my other gear, but I only have 2 guitars, one amp, and one keyboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Honky-Tonk Posted July 31, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 31, 2007 A good, brand new, bassoon will run at least $15,000. Someone I knew got a Heckel, used, for $10,000, I think. A decent Fox can be got for around $5,000 to $8,000. I'd rather buy couple of Fender Custom Shop guitars, or a PRS XIII. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Honky-Tonk Posted July 31, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 31, 2007 Gotta get that fiber somehow! I need a "playing bassoon really hard" smiley face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flutegirl Posted July 31, 2007 Members Share Posted July 31, 2007 Yes instruments are very expensive, but then I look at cars and feel lucky that I don't spend my money on those. Especially when they cost so much to run and keep up. I was out for a walk and there was this crappy old car on someone's lawn for $2800.00 and all I could think was..."Imagine the instrument you could buy for that!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kuhnfyoozed Posted July 31, 2007 Members Share Posted July 31, 2007 A good, brand new, bassoon will run at least $15,000. Someone I knew got a Heckel, used, for $10,000, I think. A decent Fox can be got for around $5,000 to $8,000. I'd rather buy couple of Fender Custom Shop guitars, or a PRS XIII. I'd buy a good PA system and a recording setup (computer and software, hardware, mics, blah blah blah). I'd use whatevers leftover on a bari Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sunburstbasser Posted July 31, 2007 Members Share Posted July 31, 2007 Yes instruments are very expensive, but then I look at cars and feel lucky that I don't spend my money on those. Especially when they cost so much to run and keep up. I was out for a walk and there was this crappy old car on someone's lawn for $2800.00 and all I could think was..."Imagine the instrument you could buy for that!" No kidding. Musicians don't get into it because its cheap, thats for sure! Except maybe those old blues guys that had a guitar with 5 strings and a hole in the back where it took a bullet for them, I bet they didn't spend much on those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lambros Posted August 1, 2007 Members Share Posted August 1, 2007 Guys & Gals, if you want to put 'expensive' into a larger perspective, thank your lucky stars that you don't play violin and deal with Sotheby's or Christie's instead of Sam Ash, Musician's Friend or Guitar Center. I could understand a solid gold flute costing a small fortune and how its tone is desirable for an accomplished player but imagine seeing the projected price list of an auction lot of expensive violins, a good, middle of the road instrument being around $50,000 to $500,000... SBB, or anyone else, have you ever seen a movie called 'The Red Violin'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sunburstbasser Posted August 1, 2007 Members Share Posted August 1, 2007 Haven't seen the movie, but I have heard of it. Heck, most of the movies I watch are poorly-dubbed martial arts flicks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sax4Life Posted August 1, 2007 Members Share Posted August 1, 2007 I play the bassoon! I've only been playing for about 9 months, but I'm playing in my college's concert band this upcoming year, so I'm not terrible at it. I'm lucky to not have to deal with renting them, my grandparents bought me my own bassoon. It's a Fox Renard 222 with the High D key... I wanted a 240, but the store didn't have any, and they were having a sale only on that day... So we couldn't order a 240. I'm happy with what I've got! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MarkZ Posted August 1, 2007 Members Share Posted August 1, 2007 SBB, or anyone else, have you ever seen a movie called 'The Red Violin'? Yes. Every musician should see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flutegirl Posted August 1, 2007 Members Share Posted August 1, 2007 Yes, Red Violin, excellent movie. When I was in University and desperately poor as many students are, this one guy who played violin and came from a very wealthy family, won a $100,000.00 in a lottery and bought a violin with the money. Rich get richer I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cygnus64 Posted August 2, 2007 Members Share Posted August 2, 2007 Guys & Gals, if you want to put 'expensive' into a larger perspective, thank your lucky stars that you don't play violin and deal with Sotheby's or Christie's instead of Sam Ash, Musician's Friend or Guitar Center. I could understand a solid gold flute costing a small fortune and how its tone is desirable for an accomplished player but imagine seeing the projected price list of an auction lot of expensive violins, a good, middle of the road instrument being around $50,000 to $500,000... SBB, or anyone else, have you ever seen a movie called 'The Red Violin'? The red violin is about 10 miles from here. Seriously. It is real, and its owner is in Cleveland teaching every summer. I am a pro symphony violinist. I had one on loan to me that cost 1.7 million bucks. And it wasnt that good. The modern ones are the way to go, mine was made in 1992 and can hold its one against most fiddles. I also have an older one, indeed in the price range you quoted. Dont forget the bow, they can be 5 figures and up. Bassoons can be 30-40 grand at the symphony level. I think it could be my favorite wind instrument with one caveat: only a handful of people can play it WELL. Flute players are a dime a dozen, fiddle players too. I have only come across a few people who can make the bassoon sing, and when they do, its a fantastic sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Honky-Tonk Posted August 2, 2007 Author Members Share Posted August 2, 2007 my ex-bassoon teacher has a $40,000 bassoon; very nice. I always had to settle for a bundle of sticks from before the dawn of time. When I started, in highschool, I was given the remains of three different bassoons that barely fit together. I think I could dig it now, but back then I was a "serious musician" and was always whining to my band director about it. When I was in college the horn I was playing was probably about $8000 and I enjoyed playing it. I was actually pretty good, If I'd kept it up I might have a pretty nice bassoon gig now. Then again, my teacher was really good and he had to travel a lot and teach a lot of private lessons to make a living, until he got a job with the symphony office. The guy that was a chair ahead of me in college has to manage a restaurant on the side to be able to play in the symphony. I just run a restaurant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flutegirl Posted August 2, 2007 Members Share Posted August 2, 2007 Flute players are a dime a dozen, fiddle players too. ...tee hee, that made me laugh.When I was auditioning for University I was told by a friend they had a plethora of flute players, so I auditioned on Trombone (my other major). I got in and the admissions officer said, "Thank heaven's you don't play flute, we have millions of those." - I switched to flute in my 3rd year, by then most had quit and the field was more open.Flute and clarinet suffer from the fact that everyone seems to have played them in high school. Any time someone says "oh, what do you do?" and I say "I'm a flautist" - guaranteed they will say..."oh I used to play flute".I should say I'm a brain surgeon and see if they say "Oh, I used to be a brain surgeon, but now I'm a checkout girl in a supermarket". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cygnus64 Posted August 2, 2007 Members Share Posted August 2, 2007 ...tee hee, that made me laugh. When I was auditioning for University I was told by a friend they had a plethora of flute players, so I auditioned on Trombone (my other major). I got in and the admissions officer said, " Thank heaven's you don't play flute, we have millions of those." - I switched to flute in my 3rd year, by then most had quit and the field was more open. Yup, everybody plays the flute in high school. Rather, all the girls play flute. The good news is that I can always find a great flute player, we have a zillion in town. Since i am a contractor at times, the hardest instrument to book a GOOD player on is the Viola. Very few good ones out there. A zillion good fiddle players, but a handful of good violists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flutegirl Posted August 2, 2007 Members Share Posted August 2, 2007 Perhaps flute is the best instrument so everyone plays it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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