Bassoon For Sale
The wealth of experience of AlmenÂräder and the Heckel family – combined with the latest acoustic and technical knowledge – still forms the basis of our musical instrument production.
Our passionate and experienced staff are largely responsible for the quality of Heckel instruments.
They manuÂfacture our instruÂments with great attention to detail and the greatest comÂmitment which is true to the motto of Wilhelm Heckel: “In art, the best is good enough”.
The company founder, Johann Adam Heckel, was born in Adorf in Vogtland in 1812 and learned the craft of instrument making from an early age.
Around 1830 he met Carl Almenräder, who was a musician at the Duke of Nassau Court in Biebrich.
In 1831, they founded the J. A. Heckel and Carl Almenräder bassoon factory.
After the retirement of Almenräder, Johann Adam Heckel continued to lead the company alone, until he was later joined by his son, Wilhelm, under the name Wilhelm Heckel Biebrich.
In addition to bassoons and contrabassoons, Heckel produced many other woodwind instruments such as clarinets, clarinas, oboes, flutes, basset horns (alto clarinet) and English horns.
The active contact with the composer Richard Wagner gave Wilhelm Heckel the inspiration for the construction of the heckelphone, one of his most successful developments, which is still produced. Since then, innumerable further inventions in the field of woodwind instruments characterise our company history.
The Heckel bassoon is characterised by its tonal fineness, timbre and register fidelity, which is due to careful selection of the best woods which are dried naturally for more than 12 years.
The symbiosis of centuries-old craftsmanship and the latest work techniques ensures decades of playability for Heckel bassoons.
We offer our customers the possibility to choose from a variety of additional mechanisms and customisations to meet their wishes and requirements, so that each of our bassoons becomes unique.
The Heckel firm was founded in 1831; however it was 1877 before they began stamping serial numbers on their bassoons.
The first serial number stamped was 3000.
Heckel bassoon serial numbers are assigned when the wood for the instrument is chosen for construction. After the serial number is assigned the wood is cured for at least 12 years. This can cause variations in serial number/year progression; it is possible to have a lower serial number shipped after a higher serial number has shipped.
Heckel bassoon serial numbers are not continuous. There are known gaps in the serial numbers. The reason for these gaps is not always known even by the factory. For example, according to company sources:
We can confirm that there are no instruments [bassoons] from [serial numbers] 11389 to 11501 ever built; maybe there was a design change during that time.
The manufacturing mark is a number which is used to keep the all of the parts of a bassoon grouped together during the production process.
This number can be found (in Arabic form) under the boot cap following the serial number on newer bassoons; it can also be found in Roman numeral form inscribed on the underside of the keys of a bassoon.
It can also be found by a series of small pin holes, or dots punched in the surface of the wood joints.
These dots are typically found under keys so that they cannot be seen when the instrument is assembled.
The hard rubber liner was introduced and patented by Wilhelm Heckel in 1889.
In the late 4000s Heckel changed from building flat back long joints to the current round cross-section shape.
You can clearly see a flat back long joint on bassoon #4822.
The back of the long joint is built with a plateau, similar to what is still made for the wing C# key.
During 1922 (around serial number 5711) Heckel changed from building small bore bassoons to the wide bore bassoon.
In order to accommodate this change, the wing, boot and long joint have shorter tube lengths.
In America the wide bore instruments are frequently referred to as short bore bassoons.
Before serial number 5711 (1922) only small bore bassoons were built; between serial numbers 5711 and 7700 (1935) both types were built and after serial number 7700 typically only the wide bore was built.
In 1963 (around serial number 10700) Heckel began making the walls of the bassoon thicker.
The standard story explaining the reason for this changes was that the thinner walled instruments tended to crack too easily, especially in the long joint tenons and the top of the boot joint.
Very recently (the 15000 series) there is evidence that the wall thickness of the bassoons has been further increased.
Real ivory was used for the ivory bell ring until the 13000 series.
From that point on, a very good imitation made of plastic has been used.
According to recent reports, Heckel has once again begun using real ivory for the bell rings due to successful African animal management programs.
However, new bassoons sent to the US will continue to have plastic rings due to continued US ivory importation laws.
The shape of Low D key guard has changed over time.
Originally, the Low D key guard was a half cap over the lower half of the Low D key cup as on 3050.
By the time of the manufacture of 3221, the guard had changed to a metal rim as seen on 3221. Later the guard changed to a bar similar to the modern Bb key guard on the back of the boot joint as on 6126.
During the 6000 series the Low D key guard became the shape that it continues to have today.
Heckel bassoons until 7400 had the back Ab key as a separate tone hole on the back of the boot as seen on 7250.
After 7400 the default mechanism for the back Ab key was to operate the front Ab key via a connecting rod through the boot joint.
The back Ab key as a separate tone hole is still available as option 107.
The Low G key was originally connected from front to back by a keywork mechanism that wrapped around the boot joint, as seen on 3221.
This permanently changed between 4210 and 4230 to the modern method of connection by pressing a rod that passes directly through the boot joint.
The following is an explanation of some of the typical variations you may find in instrument descriptions:
You will notice some instruments listed as World System, French left hand, Muccetti system (after Enzo Muccetti) or Pezzi system.
These were all attempts to blend the French bassoon key system (Boehm) with the German (Heckel) system.
Typically this was done by building the left hand with the French key system and the right hand with the German key system, although the centennial 1931 Heckel catalog does contain some models that have right hand Boehm system keywork (models 41u, 41v, 41ur and 41vl).
Heckel builds bassoons with what the factory calls three different styles of bells; German, French and Italian bells (factory options 72, 72a and 72b respectively).
This indicates only the external shape of the bell. This terminology should not be confused with the type of bell ring; a Heckel bassoon with a metal bell ring does not indicate a French bell; it is not uncommon to see a German bell with a metal bell ring.
The French bell has a significantly different external shape. We have been told by Roger Birnstingl that the Italian bell (also know as the Muccetti bell) has the same bore as a normal bell but has very thin walls and very little bulge.
It is also quite a bit lighter, weighing in at around 250 grams versus the 300 grams of a typical German bell.
Some instruments are listed as a Gentlemen's model, or having a divided long joint.
These instruments have a joint lower on the top of the long joint (between the Low B and C keys) which allows the instrument to be taken apart into sections which are more similar in length.
Typically there is still a normal bell joint; however, there is an option to have only the joint between the Low B and C keys.
Several instrument have notations indicating that they were mentioned/used in the James Burton book. This is a reference to James L. Burton's "Bassoon Bore Dimensions " D.M.A. dissertation, Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester, May 1975.
For your convenience, you may use the following hyperlinks to jump directly to a specific Heckel bassoon series:
3000s, 4000s, 5000s, 6000s, 7000s, 8000s, 9000s, 10000s, 11000s, 12000s, 13000s, 14000s
NOTE - Check Out Price Drop
Heckel bassoon S/N 5062 Flat top.
Repaired and ready to play.
This is a vintage bassoon from around 1912 so it does show some wear from use over the years. It appears that it was refinished at some point.
The bassoon has undergone a full overhaul by Peter Greiner to ensure it is in great playing condition. This included pads/felts/cleaning and voicing/tuning as needed.
This bassoon would be more appropriate for a Heckel collector or amateur player. It comes with a new marcus bonna case and a heckel bocal.
Heckel bassoons are the stuff of legends.
Used by more orchestra professionals than any other bassoon, the sound of an older Heckel is unlike anything else in the bassoon world.
This one was built right around when Heckel was experimenting with the short bore design, and we are not certain if this bore is short or long, but we did compare it to a Yamaha YFG-811 and it appears to be the same length.
This instrument is in excellent condition. It has just been completely gone over by my master technician and is completely ready to play.
Keywork is original and unaltered and it is a blank slate for you to modify for your bassoon-playing sensibilities. This instrument may have been refinished at some point. It is branded Heckel on every joint, though we had to look under the magnifying glass to detect the brand on the bell as it is quite faint.
Here's a chance to own one of the last unaltered Heckels in existence.
Heckel instruments are made in a small workshop Wiesbaden, Germany, which only makes about 100 instruments per year. This is why new instruments can often cost $70,000+ and you only have that privilege after being on a waiting list currently about 8 years long!
Wiesbaden, Germany
Wilhelm Heckel GmbH is a manufacturer of woodwind instruments based in Wiesbaden, Germany. It is best known for its bassoons, which are considered some of the finest available. The company was established in 1831 by the instrument maker Johann Adam Heckel.
The Heckel Contrabassoon is distinguished by a noble, sonorous tone that sounds one octave lower than the bassoon. Thanks to its three-joint design, it can be played with the same fingering as the bassoon.