The Complete Handbook of Bassoon Care & Cleaning

I bought this mainly for the repair shop side since we rent out about fifteen bassoons to schools. The chapter on setting up a check-in protocol is genuinely useful, not just theory. I did think the daily care section was a little heavy on detail for what most of my customers will actually do, but as a staff reference it is solid. Minor issue: the binding on my copy is a bit stiff, but that is hardly the book's fault.

There is a lot of good information here, and I learned some things even after playing for over twenty years. What keeps me from giving it a higher rating is that some sections feel more like a repair manual than a care guide. I was hoping for more on what the average player should do on their own, and less about boot joint disassembly and pad seating. Still, the bore oiling schedule alone is worth the price.

The content is accurate and thorough, but it is dense. I'm a serious hobbyist and I appreciate that nothing is dumbed down, but I found myself having to re-read some passages about bore moisture and key mechanisms. I think the comparison between silk and cotton swabs was well-done. It's a reference book, not a quick tip sheet, so just know what you're getting.

Finally a book that treats the bassoon as a mechanical system that needs specific care, not a generic woodwind. The chapter on why water collects in the wing joint and what to do about it saved me a trip to the repair shop. The diagnosis section in Chapter 5 is exactly what I needed to feel confident about what I can fix at home and what I should not touch. I have already bought a second copy for my band director friend.

As someone who does repair work on the side, I was impressed by the level of detail on keywork and bore maintenance. The explanations of moisture-related problems and how to properly pull a swab through the boot joint are clear and technically sound. I only wish it had been longer on the business side, but that is a minor quibble. I would recommend it to any woodwind teacher who owns a bassoon or manages a school inventory.

Good practical reference. I play in a community orchestra and take my instrument seriously, so I wanted a resource that goes beyond 'just swab it out.' This book does that. The troubleshooting matrix for water in the left-hand keys was easy to find when I needed it on a rehearsal night. It's not the kind of book you read for pleasure, but it is well-organized and the information is easy to look up. That matters more to me than anything.

This is the definitive handbook. I run a small repair studio and have worked on bassoons for over a decade, and I still found valuable details about bore oil absorption rates and the differences between brands of pull-throughs. The explanations of why a new bassoon should be oiled more frequently than one from the 1970s was spot on. The writing is clear and unpretentious, exactly what a shop manual should be. An instant five stars and a permanent spot on my workbench.