Fox bassoon crooks are amongst the best in the world. A bassoon crook can transform the way any instrument can play, improving both sound and intonation. The Fox double star crooks can make even the most mundane bassoon sound interesting!
Fox C Crooks are excellent for school instruments. CVX and CVC crooks, both standard and double star, are designed for professional use. The CTX and CTC crooks are similar to the CVX and CVC, but feature a thinner wall. This thinner wall results in a crook that is less resistant. The CVC/CTC design generally works best with thick wall bassoons. The CVX/CTX design tends to work best with all other instruments.
MATERIAL
C and CV crooks are made of brass. CVX , CTX , CVC , and CTC crooks are made of nickel silver, with brass being an available option. Brass tends to soften the tone and increase flexibility at the expense of projection.
BORES
The C bore stresses resonance and clarity of sound. It is extremely smooth and uniform in tone with excellent slightly-flexible intonation. It has an abundance of middle and upper middle partials in the sound and its smoothness contributes nicely to chamber music and to instruments with non-uniform tone and intonation. It is made in brass with nickel plating.
The CV bore is the C bore with a variable wall thickness at some nodal points to reduce resistance. It is generally preferred by players using very soft reeds.
The CVX and CTX bores are similar in proportions to the C and CV bores, but they have more substance in the tone, and provide better control of the upper and middle registers. They have slightly less resistance in the high notes than the CVC and CTC , and are slightly more open in tone quality. They project well, and particularly fit the design of the long and short bore bassoons.
The CVC and CTC bores stress the fundamental tones of the instrument, providing a warmer and heavier tone than the CVX and CTX . They have slightly more resistance in the upper end, requiring more support when playing in the solo registers, but yield more fullness in the middle and lower registers than the CVX. It fits the design of the thick wall models, and is sometimes helpful in stabilizing wild notes in the older designs.
LENGTH
Fox bassoon crooks are available in lengths 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4. 0 is the shortest and therefore the sharpest, and 4 is the longest and therefore the flattest.
PLATING
The extent to which the plating on a crook affects the feel, projection, and tone quality of an instrument depends on a player's reed style, instrument and playing method. Following is a general description of the effects most players can expect from different types of plating.
Silver Plating on a crook will tend to result in a moderate level of resistance (compared with other finishes) and a soft timbre and dark tone.
Nickel Plating usually results in a feeling of somewhat greater resistance with a stronger, brighter sound. Gold Plating has a resistance level consistent with silver plating but will have a still softer and darker tone quality. |