World-class bassoons handcrafted in South Whitley (INSIDE FOX PRODUCTS)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 มี.ค. 2022
- SOUTH WHITLEY, Ind. (WPTA21) - For nearly three decades, Hugo Fox performed with the Chicago Symphony. From 1922 to 1949, he was Principal Bassoon. But his dreams didn’t end after retirement. Instead, he returned to his family’s farm, beginning his journey to make his own line of bassoons, creating Fox Products, with the goal of manufacturing in the U.S.
In the 1950′s, Fox modified a chicken coop, turning it into his workshop, completing his first instrument within two years. After Fox’s health declined, his son Alan took over, leading the company in development of the contrabassoon, oboes, and the English horn. The family property became the site for Fox Products current building, and began shipping worldwide.
In 2012, the company was sold, entering new ownership under a long-time resident of South Whitley: Tony Starkey. HIs family runs the facility today, even expanding its presence in the town. In 2016, a second building was opened to bring silver plating in-house.
“A lot of instrument manufacturers are quick to move production overseas and to other places because it’s less expensive and saves on costs,” marketing specialist Stephanie Patterson explained, “but we really want to make sure we’re making everything we can and that we have control over the pieces.”
Cost of instruments range from a couple thousand dollars, to over $30,000! The wood they are crafted from is cut from logs on location, which are then aged up to twenty years. After the instruments take shape in shop, they are then moved from room to room. “So many different hands touch each of the instruments,” Patterson said. “We have teams of 30 to 40 people working on each instrument, just because there are so many different steps so people will master just their one step.”
“We have people that will spend their time in the body shop and they’re really good at sanding those properly - and people that make the keys,” she continued. “You have this team working together and anywhere in the line something can go wrong making this instrument - it’s going to affect everybody afterwords.”
Kris Slater, a pro bassoon key mounter, has done the job for nearly twenty years. Though he’s not a musician, his love for the double reeded instrument is in the craftsmanship. “There’s over 100 parts that I actually assemble on one bassoon,” he told us. “I take 30 to 40 hours to do my key work on one of these.”
“I like working with my hands, building things,” he added. “This is a craftsman style job where we’re taking parts, fitting them together, silver sautering them together. It’s almost akin to jewelry making.”
After a rigorous finishing process, every instrument is play tested to ensure it works flawlessly, before being shipped out. “Even though we’re making 7-8 bassoons a day, with some of our models you’ll have to wait nine-plus months,” Patterson said. “With our contrabassoons, you’ll have to wait a year to get one, and it’s because they are so specialized, people are willing to wait for these instruments you can’t get from anyone else.”
“We’re really proud that in this little unassuming factory, we make these really complicated, really detailed, really high quality instruments,” she concluded, “just in South Whitley, where we have one stop light, and make world class bassoons.”
Well done story. World renowned bassoons made by dedicated Hoosiers.
“…we have one stop-light and make world class bassoons” 😍😍😍
OMG, please hire/train me to make/create such beautiful instruments. All my heart/passion would live in my work for you ! To be a true artisan, my dream, Joe.
rofl... they are ONLY fox. ugh. it's like begging to work at hyundai as if it was bentley.
BASSEWN
The Fox are good but the renard ar not that good
Как то дуэтик уж больно фальшивит!
im sorry, but the intonation of the two players was just poor.
Let's hear you playing it better :)
@@jwd0808 I went to Juilliard. I studied with Sherman Walt Sandy Sheriff Steve Maxym Jubdy Leclair... to name just a few. And I have a heckel.
You shouldn't assume the players are bad just from this one excerpt. Keep in mind they are play testing those instruments, probably to see if any pitch tendencies exist that need to be adjusted/fixed. If this is the case then the intonation issues you are hearing are probably from the instruments rather than their skill. I bet they were being recorded by a specialist and were instructed to intentionally not make any adjustments to fix pitch and to play as they normally would (which actually takes a LOT of skill to consciously acknowledge and go against what your inner ear is telling you to do. Not saying it's a good habit, but it does take a lot of skill lol.), that way someone can go into the recording later on and quantify exactly how out of tune the notes are/what adjustments need to be made.
Anyway, if you have a degree from Julliard, don't you have better things to do than leave negative comments on youtube videos? If you have so much spare time on your hands maybe you should make a recording of this excerpt and post it just for fun :)
@@willmorris8198 only a hack would defend another hack. When it got into Juilliard it was on a 7000 series Schreiber. Shortly after I got a 9000 ser. Heckel. That Schreiber was, to see the least, a very lackluster instrument. But I made it sing. Enough to get me into Juilliard. And Tanglewood and other major reputable situations. Only a hack blames an instrument for being poor quality.
@@willmorris8198 you want a recording: that'll be $1,000.00 up front. I can supply my venmo.