The honk that’s worth $40,000
How much would you pay for a bassoon?
Probably nothing, seeing as you can just buy a foghorn cheaper and get more use out of it.
A public tender notice by the Department of National Defence, however, values them more highly — to the tune of $25,000 to $40,000.
In a notice published this week, the department stated its intent to buy a bassoon, a leather case and two bocals (a bassoon part that connects to the reed), and that’s the price range they’re expecting.
Every purchase the government plans to make worth more than $25,000 has to be publicly posted in a tender notice. The tenders are usually full of routine procure- ments, like rod ends and truck parts, though sometimes there are more unorthodox items, like eggsthat are to be scrambled on an “as and when needed basis.”
The bassoon is meant for the Stadacona Band, a Royal Canadian Navy band in Halifax that, according to its website, “has had the honour of performing for Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, the Prime Minister of Canada, (and) many foreign heads of state.”
For those hoping to make a quick buck selling a bassoon to the navy, there is bad news. A vendor has already been selected: Bell Bassoons Ltd., a high-end maker near Peterborough.
But because the deal is worth more than $25,000, the government has to disclose it in advance.
The maker, Ben Bell, is by his own admission a big deal when it comes to the bassoon.
His creations are played be the world’s best orchestras, as well as in scores for Hollywood movies. Remember March of the Penguins? The bassoon in that movie’s score was one of Bell’s.
“That was in fact bassoon number three,” Bell said, adding he can almost always tell the sound of his creations from others.
“I can almost tell you sometimes who’s playing it, the same way you hear a singer.”
When Bell makes his instruments, he said he works one on one with the musician.
It’s a long process, that usually takes between 12 and 14 months.
In the 30 years since he started, Bell said he’s made about 150 bassoons.
The base price for one of Ben Bell’s bassoons is $35,500, minus any customizations he might do for the customer
“It’s not a high-production instrument. I’m an artisan, and I’m doing incredibly skilled work,” he said.
The base price for one of Bell’s bassoons is $35,500, which can go up with the kind of customizations he does.
“There (is) optional key work the players will request in the custom making. Different positions for keys . . . different trill keys for example,” he said.
The bassoon for the navy is a used instrument that suddenly became available, he said.
But being used doesn’t mean it’s cheaper — even instruments Bell created in the 1970s are worth $30,000 to $40,000 today, he said.
For other bassoon makers that think they can beat what Bell is offering, the tender does have a provision that allows other suppliers to submit a statement of capabilities by Nov. 30.
If the government likes your tune, you might just be allowed to sell them a bassoon.