Emergency Bassoon Repair: Fix Your Bassoon at Home
Unfortunately, bassoons seem to be especially prone to malfunction. As a private bassoon teacher who worked with hundreds of students, I routinely repaired 1-2 whisper keypads, bent rods, missing locks, and other small items on a weekly basis.
Many bassoons are sent to the shop only to come back the same or worse. Since there are not many bassoon repair specialists around, many instruments are "fixed" without being fully evaluated or play-tested. By having a better knowledge of the common problems with the bassoon, you can send your instruments to the shop with specific requests and evaluate the repairs after they are done to ensure quality work was completed. In addition, proper bassoon care and maintenance can go a long way to preventing repair emergencies.
Despite its complicated key design, the bassoon is fairly easy to troubleshoot if you know where to begin.
WARNING: When in doubt, make a list of the issues you’re experiencing and take your instrument to a professional instrument repair technician. While there aren’t many bassoon specialists around, it is still best to have work done by a professional music technician. It is much more harmful to attempt a hasty DIY fix at home only to make the problem worse.
🧰 Bassoon Repair Toolkit
Here is everything you’ll want in your emergency repair kit to be ready for any quick fixes.
🔨Common Bassoon Problems & DIY Fixes
Whisper Key Pad Torn or Missing
Diagnosis:
The whisper key on the bassoon used to close the nib on the side of the bocal enabling the instrument to play lower notes. The pad often gets torn by students when putting the bocal in, or when taking the instrument apart.
Repair:
Whisper key pad (photo credit: Bocal Majority)
All you need to repair a whisper key is super glue, 11.5 mm white leather bassoon pads. This method is nearly foolproof and much more secure than the standard method. Carefully scrape the old pad and glue out of the metal whisper key cup with a screwdriver. Scratch up the pad cup and place a large dot of superglue in the center. Lightly wet the back of the pad and place gently in the center of the cup. Press slowly, watching for glue overflow, until the pad is set mostly level. It should be slightly higher at the back of the cup (front side of the bassoon). Wipe away excess glue. It can be played right away but will not be completely set until fully dry.
A lower pad profile (many pads are too thick or too big for the cup) and stronger glue make it more difficult for students to rip the pad in the future. The leather pads seal better than cork/rubber pads in my opinion and are sturdy if placed properly and not oversized.
Body Lock Loose or Missing
Diagnosis:
Bassoon Body Lock
The body lock holds the wing and long joints of the bassoon together. It might not seem important but is essential for several reasons: the body lock keeps the bassoon from wobbling or shifting while playing, it helps hold the instrument together while carrying, and it makes taking the bassoon apart easier because you have some leverage when removing the bell.
Repair:
If the lower part of the lock is loose, simply hold the top and twist until the lock is screwed tightly back together. If the lock is missing entirely, order a replacement and install it yourself. If the lock bracket is loose, check the wood screws and replace any that are missing.
Joints Loose or Too Tight
Diagnosis:
Wing Joint Cork showing added floss.
The bassoon expands and contracts with changes in temperature and weather like most woodwinds. The joints do not need to be fully inserted every single time if it will cause the instrument to get stuck. However, if the joints are truly too large (barely fit, hard to take apart, or it's winter and they still don't fit) then you can adjust the size of the string or cork. If the joints wobble side to side, or the bassoon completely falls apart at random while holding it, then the joints are far too loose.
Repair:
Long Joint with string showing added floss.
Joints Are Too Tight - Reduce the Size of the Joints: For cork, use a heavy grit emery board (nail file) to gently file down the cork all over. After you get it to the correct size, grease lightly with cork grease. For string, remove a few wraps of string and check the fit again. To tie off the string, wrap it once around and make a loop, then wrap the loose end around the loop a few more times before tightening.
Joints are Too Loose - Increase the Size of the Joints or Fix Broken Cork: For cork and string, use waxed dental floss to wrap around the joint starting from the base (near the instrument) and working out and back as needed. Wrap more in areas that look especially thin or loose. Loop the floss around and tie it off. Trim any loose or long pieces. This method can be used to cover old string or hold cork together temporarily. Waxed floss works particularly well because it wraps very flat and blends in with the old material.
To grease the joints, use cork grease on cork and vaseline or paraffin wax (ideally) on the string. Don't overdo it as cork grease can cause the cork to swell and on string, it can become waxy and sticky, making the problem worse.
Pancake Key Doesn't Close Whisper Key
Diagnosis:
Pancake Bridge connecting wing joint to boot joint (black part of key)
This is an issue that most teachers don't notice, but might be the cause of many problems with the bassoon. If the connection with the pancake key and whisper key doesn't cause the whisper key to fully close and touch the bocal, students will not be able to play low notes with good response or stability.
Repair:
First, make sure students are assembling the bassoon correctly. There may be two vertical lines on the boot joint and wing joint that should line up. Many times even with correct alignment the key still won't close. Also, check that the whisper and pancake rods are not bent from rough handling.
Your best option is to bend the bridge from the whisper to pancake key slightly so it hovers over the thicker part of the key. You can do this easily with a pair of stripped pliers (to avoid scratching the metal). If there is nothing covering the bridge or if the covering is torn/taped/damaged, cut a piece of black heat shrink wrap and apply it to add a tiny amount of padding. If bending the key horizontally doesn't work, you may try bending the bridge slightly downward. Don't overdo this or the pancake key won't be able to close properly or will seem hard to close.
Bocal Cork is Falling Off
Diagnosis:
Bocal cork can get loose or fall off.
Bocal cork is cracked or falling off. This can happen because it is old, gets wet frequently then dries out, or isn't greased from time to time and doesn't fit properly thus requiring extra force to insert. REMEMBER: the bocal does not have to be inserted as far in as humanly possible to work. If the bocal metal nib lines up with the whisper key, it's in the correct position. Different bocals and bores have some variation in how far they can be inserted.
Repair:
In an emergency, waxed dental floss or plumbers tape is great for holding cork together or making the bocal fit tighter, so it doesn’t slip and slide while playing.
A Pad or Rod is Loose or a spring is out of place
Diagnosis:
Often times pads and spring rods will work their way out just from regular use.
Repair:
In a pinch, use a lighter to reheat the glue in the pad cup and re-stick the pad until you can get it to the shop for a replacement. If there isn't any glue, apply a thin layer of rubber cement on the pad and the cup, wait until tacky, and apply. Try to line up the pad exactly as it was originally placed if possible. These are temporary options for use in emergencies only.
If a rod is loose, tighten or replace screws as needed. Check that the spring is in place and working correctly and you're all set!
If a spring is out of place, you may see it sticking out underneath one of the rods. You’ll know it’s out of place if the key isn’t opening or closing automatically as it should. Gently push the spring (it will be a thin metal rod) back into place and there should be a notch for it to catch against.
Still haven’t fixed the problem? If your bassoon isn’t working, but you aren’t sure what is wrong, check out this post on troubleshooting common bassoon issues. Or, if you’d like to know what to do to maintain your bassoon year-round, I have a post on essential daily, monthly, and annual bassoon maintenence.
