I had grown unhappy with my BAM high-tech bassoon case and finally saw another case on the market that I thought would actually be an improvement. I like it better, although I still don’t think the perfect bassoon case yet exists. Nobody really has the best bocal storage I can imagine, and I still can’t keep both my hand crutch and balance hanger attached while the instrument is stored. Still, this case offers flexible bocal storage, a generously sized sheet music pouch, and a compact size with interesting and compact internal layout. View the entire video review here.
All posts in category Gadgets & Gear
Review of new bassoon case: MB-2 by Marcus Bonna
Posted by Trent on December 10, 2018
https://tjbassoon.com/2018/12/10/review-of-new-bassoon-case-mb-2-by-marcus-bonna/
Caring for your Little-Jake pickup
Over the years I’ve sold a great many Little-Jake pickups to players all around the world. On occasion I find out one of them fails or breaks and I repair them at no cost but the shipping. There are two ways that I typically see the Little-Jakes fail, and there are ways to prevent both from ever happening in most cases. Here are some things I do to prevent damaging my own pickups.
Posted by Trent on November 11, 2018
https://tjbassoon.com/2018/11/11/caring-for-your-little-jake-pickup/
Keywork choices on a bassoon.
I have a lot of bells and whistles on my bassoon. Of course, my bassoon came with a lot of “extra” goodies that are not common on a lot of instruments. Over the years of getting to know my own instrument, carefully researching keys and playing many different bassoons while working for Midwest Musical Imports, I added a few things, although with the bassoon there are more options than any other wind instrument for key customization. Below are some of my keywork choices, things that I wouldn’t mind having, and my rationale for these decisions. (more…)
Posted by Trent on October 22, 2018
https://tjbassoon.com/2018/10/22/keywork-choices-on-a-bassoon/
Dremel tool beveling of the bassoon reed
In my never-ending quest to make my reed making more time efficient, I have switched my beveling technique for my regular reeds. I still let them form on the mandrel and bevel dry, but now instead of using a file for the first step of beveling, I use a Dremel tool with a sandpaper bit.
This removes the bulk of the material that I want to get rid of below the 2nd wire area and does it really fast especially when I have three dozen reeds to do at a time. The cut it leaves is really rough and uneven, but it smooths out really well on the second stage of the beveling where I sand the edge off the entire interior section using a flat block and sand paper.
Posted by Trent on March 24, 2016
https://tjbassoon.com/2016/03/24/dremel-tool-beveling-of-the-bassoon-reed/
Bell ring replacement
Almost a year ago I started on the process of replacing my cracked/chipped bell ring. I had selected a piece of exotic Olivewood to replace the original plastic. Unfortunately, the wood decided to warp pretty significantly after the rough cut, so we let the ring age for the better part of a year and stabilize. In the meantime I had a Delrin material ring replacement. It looked OK, but was a bit translucent, and was weird in some kinds of light.
My repair tech Eric Anderson finally was able to finish the wood ring, which took a week for the lacquering process. Here is the final result:
There was a little hole from a worm or something in the part that we selected, impossible to predict it would be there when we started cutting. A little fill was added to make sure it didn’t have a rough edge to snag. It’s a pretty cool selection of wood, with nice character, and the lacquer Eric used really helped the grain pop!
Posted by Trent on November 6, 2015
https://tjbassoon.com/2015/11/06/bell-ring-replacement/
The Japanese Beetles
Sat in with this pretty killer band a couple weeks ago. Laying some electric bassoon goodness on top of their great sound. Check it out.
Posted by Trent on February 12, 2015
https://tjbassoon.com/2015/02/12/the-japanese-beetles/
Going au naturale
Several conversations with Paul Hanson and one nice little chit-chat with a really excellent sound technician at SubCulture, I have devised a plan for a complicated but I think reliable microphone setup that will amplify the bassoon well, with some amount of isolation, a balanced sound through the register, and maintain the natural quality of the bassoon sound. What follows below is mostly an email sent in private to a few colleagues, that I’m now sharing more publicly. As far as I know nobody has tried doing this yet, so if you read this and have a chance to give it a shot, I’d love to hear how it works in practice and not just theory. (more…)
Posted by Trent on November 14, 2014
https://tjbassoon.com/2014/11/14/going-au-naturale/
My custom shaper is now available from Fox
After several months of waiting, this October saw the delivery of the first of the Jacobs straight shaper from Fox. I’ve compared this to the original shaper that I had designed and made and the Fox dimensions match excellently. I’m very happy with the results and I’m hopeful that many bassoonists for years are able to make reeds with this shape.
In stock at Midwest Musical Imports
Detail of shape diagram: Jacobs TF Shaper
Posted by Trent on November 7, 2014
https://tjbassoon.com/2014/11/07/my-custom-shaper-is-now-available-from-fox/
On Effects
So I get this question a lot. “After I get a Little-Jake, what kinds of effects should I get?” Usually this is coupled with a question about amplifiers as well, which I’ve covered in another post. Effects are a giant rabbit hole you can jump down. Guitar players know this, as there are dozens of online forums and reviews sites dedicated to those metal or plastic things on the floor sometimes called “stomp boxes”. You can see some old blog posts of mine talking about certain revisions of pedal boards that I’ve used over the years. It doesn’t seem to get much better.
So anyway, here’s some general information on effects with specific guidelines on what I’ve found works well with the bassoon. (more…)
Posted by Trent on September 8, 2014
https://tjbassoon.com/2014/09/08/on-effects/
An automatic Ab/Bb trill mechanism retrofit
About two months ago I had a shower thought of how I could simplify the thumb Ab/Bb trill mechanism on my bassoon. On the standard Heckel system bassoon, the movement from Ab to Bb in the low octave and the overblown octave requires the third and fourth fingers to move up and the thumb to move down (all on the right hand). This makes for a rather awkward movement when an Ab/Bb trill is required. You can get away with trilling the third finger of the right hand on some bassoons, which provides a sort of solid Bb, but it’s pretty weak and that’s a difficult finger to trill all on its own. Or try any of the other fingerings here… (more…)
Posted by Trent on July 20, 2014
https://tjbassoon.com/2014/07/20/an-automatic-abbb-trill-mechanism-retrofit/
Trent Jacobs, bassoonist 