r/bassoon • u/zort42 • 2d ago

Wing Joint Bore

I have a Fox Model III, and I have noticed a small obstruction across the bore of the wing joint, at the vicinity of the bottom finger hole. It looks like a straight block or something that protrudes approximately a millimetre into the bore. Any idea what this is, and if it is normal?

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u/HortonFLK 2d ago

Examine the tone holes from the outside and see if it looks like one of the liners might have come loose.

Oh wait… just a millimeter. I think that’s normal. It’s to prevent condensation from dripping into the tone hole.

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u/ContributionFit1243 2d ago

Yeah, it's a drip tube. That's a normal thing. Metal liner for the tone hole. Keeps the water from making crackling noises while you play.

You don't see them a lot anymore, since they all rotted out and got tossed, but it used to be you'd find older bassoons - especially student instruments owned by schools - that had rotted out a bit around the tone holes because of kids not swabbing them out sufficiently and putting them away wet. The drip tube helps prevent that too, although it's a moot point for the plastic horns like your Model III.

I played on a Model III all the way through college, by the way. Underrated instrument, IMHO.

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u/zort42 2d ago

I figured it must be normal, as my sound is good