The Complete Handbook of Bassoon Cases & Gigbags

Chapter 1: Understanding Bassoon Cases & Gigbags

The bassoon is a machine that happens to make music. It is a tube of maple that is folded for transport and is, without exception, the most awkward instrument in the orchestra to carry. It does not fit under an airline seat, it is taller than the person playing it, and it has a bell made of a distinct piece of wood that requires its own attachment point. The case or gigbag you choose is not merely a container. It is the integrated system that keeps this instrument mechanically aligned and acoustically stable, and getting that system wrong can cost more than a repair bill; it can cost you a performance.

Before discussing the market or the merits of different purchases, it is useful to understand what a bassoon case actually does. At a basic level, it does three jobs. First, it holds the disassembled pieces of a bassoon in a fixed, predetermined geometry. Second, it creates a physical barrier around those pieces. Third, it attempts to regulate the immediate environment around the wood. Different products emphasize these three jobs differently, and that is where the real differences between a case and a gigbag emerge.

The Instrument's Geometry is the Case's Blueprint

You cannot talk about bassoon cases without first talking about the instrument's layout. The standard Heckel-system bassoon is built in four or five sections: the boot joint (the U-shaped tube at the bottom), the wing joint that goes up the left