The Best Student Bassoon for Your Budget

COMPACT BASSOON DESIGN

The M21C bassoon’s compact design makes it easy to carry anywhere. Some school buses don’t permit standard bassoon cases—but the M21 won’t encounter those restrictions. The M21C’s compact design fits into a smaller case, making travel easier than ever. The longer bell of the compact bassoon design also puts the bell joint closer to eye level, making the bassoon easier to put together. The change in the location of the joint between the bell and bass/long joint also reduces the instrument’s overall resistance, which creates improved sound quality and projection.

If you’re looking for a compact bassoon design, the M21C could be your answer.

BASSOON TONE HOLES

The M21C Moosmann bassoon uses hard rubber finger hole tubes to help better protect the bassoon from moisture. Unlike metal tubes, the hard rubber tubes move with the wood of the instrument during seasonal changes in climate, which helps make the instrument more durable and can help ensure years of problem-free use. The hard rubber liners vibrate more like the wood of the instrument, which means the M21C plays with a freer response and a richer, warmer sound than comparable metal-tube counterparts. The hard rubber tubes also protrude into the bore to help prevent water from getting into the finger holes, which can cause a gurgling sound.

BOOT WATER PROTECTION SYSTEM

The tenor and long joint sockets are brass-lined to protect the wood from damage, and they perfectly fit the brass tenon rings on the joints. This forms the beginning of the boot water protection system.

The wing and both sides of the boot joint are lined with a special poured-in lining material. This material pours into each bore with a mandrel centered in the bore to ensure proper application. When the mandrels are removed, there is a perfectly smooth and glossy bore surface. This mandrel technique ensures that each M21C bassoon has exactly the same bore for consistent performance on every bassoon Moosmann makes. Once the solution fully hardens, it connects to the wood without any gaps, effectively becoming part of the wood.

To round out this boot water protection system, we use a rubber gasket on the U-tube assembly at the boot of the bassoon. This is an advantage over the traditional cork gasket used by other manufacturers, which can provide an imperfect seal and wear out over time much more quickly than rubber.

This combination of techniques seals the wing and boot joint, which ultimately protects the instrument from the inconsistent maintenance of the student or player.

A BASSOON FOR ALL HAND SIZES

One of the most common problems for younger players is an inability to reach all of the keys on the bassoon ergonomically—without making unnatural accommodations for a lack of finger length. The Moosmann M21C is the most all-hand-friendly bassoon ever designed, with two exceptional features: (1) multi-level plateau key and (2) ergonomic key design.

The ring finger or the left hand is a familiar problem spot, and while many other manufacturers have attempted to solve this, Moosmann has taken the solution a step further. The multi-level plateau key is an innovation that allows players with smaller hands to reach the 3rd hole without stretching and put the key in a correct, natural position for players with larger hands. This key is shaped to be easy for smaller hands to feel and find while playing. This design aids players with the transition to a traditional, “ring” key on the third tone hold with more advanced instruments.

While the design of this key is unique to Moosmann bassoons, this is a solution that other manufacturers have offered (to varying degrees of success) for many years. That’s why Moosmann goes one step further on the M21C. On the right hand, Moosmann has removed the Bb trill key, which is seldom used even by professional players. The group of keys for the little finger of the right hand are also moved closer, which includes making the F key smaller to make the alternate F# key more reachable. A roller on the Ab key makes this cluster one of the best ergonomic improvements made to a bassoon and serves to make these keys much easier to reach for small hands—while remaining comfortable and ergonomic for larger hands.

PROTECTING THE BASSOON WHISPER KEY

The whisper key mechanism on the Moosmann M21C has two unique features that help protect the mechanism and make it adaptable to nearly any bocal. The whisper key rod is one of the longest connections on the instrument, and its position makes it highly susceptible to damage when assembling or moving the instrument. The M21C has a support on the whisper key rod to help prevent the mechanism from bending or breaking. Most bassoons do not have this support, which can result in expensive adjustments when the mechanism is damaged.

Additionally, the Moosmann M21C features an oval whisper key pad set in a deep cup. The pad’s larger size makes it more compatible with a broader range of bocals that may be used with the instrument, and the deeper cup helps prevent the usual damage that can occur when inserting and removing the bocal.

PREVENTING CRACKED BASSOON TENONS

Tenons, the protruding portions of the bassoon that nest when the bassoon is assembled, have long been a component of the instrument highly susceptible to cracks and chips—resulting in a costly repair. The Moosmann M21C’s design helps to prevent this type of damage. 

First, every tenon on the instrument is protected from this type of damage (or future warping) with a brass ring on the end of each tenon. This helps prevent split or chipped tenons. Secondly, every tenon on the Moosmann M21C is cylindrical, rather than conical, strengthening the joint. Moosmann bassoons also use cork on all joints rather than string. Cork has a “cushion factor” that allows the joints to work and remain compatible as the wood shrinks or swells during different seasons. 

The typical string-wrapped conical joints used by other student-model bassoons require the player (or instrument technician) to add or remove string to keep the joints in good working order. Many repair shops will not attempt to add or remove string. This process can result in any number of issues, ranging from the bassoon falling apart when the weather changes because the joints are too loose to the bassoon being nearly impossible to put together to issues with air seals throughout the instrument.

BUILDING BETTER BOCALS

The right bocal can make or break the playing quality of a bassoon. Student bassoons often ship with low-quality, entry-level bocals. These bocals, while serviceable, are often a sore spot with student instruments as they can lead to problems with intonation, dynamic range and response.

With the Moosmann M21C, every M21C comes equipped with two of Moosmann’s Excellent Series bocals, the same models used with the top-of-the-line Moosmann instruments. Built with the exact same materials, a similar bore and same manufacturing techniques as the world-renowned Heckel bocals, Moosmann Excellent Series bocals elevate the M21C to an instrument with outstanding response, reliable intonation, and rich tone quality.

A BASSOON EQUIPPED FOR STUDENTS

As mentioned earlier, the size of traditional bassoons has long been appreciated as a “natural consequence” of the bassoon’s inherent design. The compact design of the M21C breaks that paradigm. To match this paradigm-breaking compact design, we needed a game-changing compact bassoon case. 

Each M21C Moosmann bassoon is protected by a BAM Compact Case. This model, also known as the “Gentleman’s Model” features backpack straps, large pockets on the front and back, and memory foam inserts inside. The pockets are large enough for music, reed cases and other bassoon supplies. The backpack straps make the case easy to carry, and the memory foam inserts cradle the bassoon perfectly, cushioning it from vibration and insulating it from the elements.

Each Moosmann M21C also comes with the finest BG France silk / bamboo swabs for the wing, boot and bocal. These swabs are designed with safety cords that help prevent the swabs from getting stuck, a common issue with student bassoonists. Also included is a BG Leather Boot Cup Strap, and a wooden three-reed case with holes and spring clips for proper ventilation of the reeds after use.

PRECISION-MILLED BOOT CAP

The boot cap on the M21C is precision-milled to fit the u-tube assembly for a perfectly tight fit. Two large rings on the bottom will allow to virtually any seat strap to work with the M21C.

SPECIAL PAD SEATS FOR Bb AND A TONE HOLES

The M21C has two special pad seats for the tone holes with multiple openings covered by the same pad. Typically, these Bb and A tone holes are very difficult to seal because the wood surface is curved. Using a metal plate with raised rims makes the pad seating process easy and long-lasting.

ROTARY WHISPER KEY LOCK

Whisper key locks are seldom found on entry-level bassoons, and those that are are typically the simplest iterations. The M21C features a sophisticated rotary lock mechanism that offers the best location for on/off operation.

LOW C / D CONNECTOR

The connection between the low C and D keys has a very strong metal bridge underneath the keys. This bridge ensures that these two keys stay aligned, preventing the low D key from leaking and causing poor low register response when the thumb moves to the low C key.