THE DOUBLE REED 11 The Heckel Factory - Interview with Ralf Reiter By Wendy Digges La Touche Boulder, Colorado Ever since I got my first Heckel bassoon in high school, I ve always dreamed of visiting the Heckel factory and meeting the people who make these superbly crafted instruments. This last summer I was fortunate to be able to visit the factory in Biebrich, Germany to view the manufacturing processes and to conduct an interview with Ralf Reiter. Ralf Reiter is the great great great grandson of Adam Heckel, the founder of the Heckel dynasty. Ralf Reiter and his older sister, Angelika Luchetta, are now running the family business on a day-to-day basis, and Ralf has been working as a bassoon maker in the factory for over 10 years. Prior to traveling to Germany, I developed a list of questions pertaining to the evolution and manufacturing process of the Heckel bassoon. By corresponding with Ralf via faxes and emails, a meeting date was arranged. The Heckel factory is found on a narrow village street near the river Rhein, in the village of Biebrich, nowadays, a suburb of Wiesbaden. The main building is set back, off from the street, that is surrounded by residential homes and apartments. The Heckel factory has occupied the premises since 1831. Upon entering the building, I was impressed by how different the atmosphere was from a typical American factory. The workers were all busy at their stations with various bits and pieces of bassoon everywhere, but the general atmosphere was quite tranquil. After joining Ralf for lunch, we sat down on the couch in the front room, and I conducted the interview. I brought a small tape recorder along for the interview, but Ralf didn t want it used (he seemed a little shy with his English). I tried not to cross any boundaries by pushing him into revealing any trade secrets. As he finished answering each question, he made it clear that he had said all that he was going to offer on that topic; therefore, I did not probe further. The whole interview took about two hours to finish. Afterwards, he took me on a tour of the factory, and showed me the steps involved in the manufacturing process. Ralf first took me outside to two different places where the wood is stored and cured for 12 years. Next we went to the basement of the factory where the wood is drilled, the keys are polished, and the varnish is sprayed on. Next we went back to the main floor where the keys are put on at various stations, sanding of the varnish takes place, and the making of bocals. There are also three main finishing tables for the instruments made by Heckel; bassoon, Heckelphone, and the contrabassoon. I plan to use the information obtained during my visit to the factory for a lecture/recital in partial fulfillment for the requirements needed for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree, under the direction of Dr. Yoshi Ishikawa, from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Interview with Ralf Reiter at the Heckel Factory, June 8, 1999 A) MANUFACTURING 1. What are the first steps of making a bassoon? R.R. In the past we had our own trees. My grandfather used to knock on the wood to test it, the wood was wet so I m not sure if this was a good test. Some tests were done by knocking bamboo against the tree for tone effect. I think you really can t check the wood beforehand. 2. How do you select wood from the different trees? R.R. We don t select wood from trees anymore. We buy the most expensive to get the highest quality of wood. 3. What kind of maple do you use and where do you get it? R.R. We now get shipments of wood (maple) from Yugoslavia. We also get wood from South Germany and Austria. The wood is all maple and comes from very old trees in the mountains. 4. What is the process of curing? R.R. We dry the wood in a natural state slowly for twelve years, before it was ten years. We buy more wood than which is used. 5. Does Heckel still have or use the original tools? R.R. Yes, we have all our old tools from the beginning. Some of them we still use today, like the contrabassoon drill. It is good for repairs and new drills are expensive. 6. Were any bassoons being made during the major wars? When did they commence? R.R. Only my great grandfather, grandfather, and maybe two other workers made instruments during the wars. It was hard to get materials and
12 THE HECKEL FACTORY - INTERVIEW WITH RALF REITER we could not sell much. They lent out oboes, flutes and copied old instruments. After W.W. II the Army corps bought all the instruments in exchange for fuel and chocolate. The cave was only for storing the museum instruments. My grandma and mom had a farm where they also stored things. We were lucky that bombs did not hit the factory. 7. Why are no two bassoon dimensions the same? R.R. Because they are all made by hand. When you drill into wood, the drill always goes to the soft side. No two pieces of wood are the same, therefore, no two bassoons are the same. 8. Are bassoons made by one maker? How long does this process take? R.R. Sometimes yes, but normally no. Usually workers under apprenticeships will make a whole bassoon from first to last step. Some workers are good with a drill but not with keys. Workers usually do just what they are good at. It takes 9-10 months without the curing to finish a bassoon. The wood must cure for 4-5 weeks after each boring, drill, oiling, etc. The exact time the wood sets for is up to the worker. 9. Who conducts the final testing? R.R. We have two people from Wiesbaden to test the bassoons, usually for tone corrections. We really don t need it though, they are all usually very good. B) SERIAL VARIATION 11. How many bassoons are there in each series between 5-13? R.R. 300-400 per series. From 13-14 not so many. 12. How would you categorize the series and why? R.R. I like 6,000 series and up, before, I don t like. Series 6-9 had not many changes and also 10-14. I don t like to categorize and I don t like these questions. It is not important. It is all up to the player on finding an instrument that works for them. Categorizing is meaningless and I don t know why people keep doing it. 13. What is the meaning of the different series? How are they numbered, and what is the significance between 6,7,and 8 series? R.R. There is no systems to making changes on bore. When there was a change, we changed series. We also changed series when we got to 900, ran out of numbers. There are always 6 instruments within each series. This is why there is a number from 1-6 sideways by the serial numbers. # C) INNOVATIONS AND CHANGES 14. Why are various series different? What was the intent of the maker to make changes? What were they trying to accomplish in regards to sound, volume, pitch, range, and tuning? R.R. Changes are made from the style of the orchestra. We try to go with them. Nowadays with new music we need higher notes. There is also a problem in France where they tune to A=444. We have to make constant changes. Different countries want different styles in length and mechanism. Conductors want more and more from bassoonists now. I want to change more but it is the customer who doesn t want it. Musicians don t want to change the keys, etc. We must make small changes at a time. Sometimes I argue with the makers, there is too much tradition here. ## 15. In the past five decades Heckel has experimented with new innovations, what were they, and if not adopted, why were these ideas dropped? R.R. There have been so many changes especially with key arrangements. Maybe out of every 100 innovations we use 5. Every week we make a small change. Since everything is done by hand, it is easy to make changes. I can t think of any in specific, too many. 16. Do design changes carry out through the year? Who initiates changes in design? R.R. Yes, when there is a new idea, we all get together and talk about it, and decide together. The final testing is made by me, mom, and my sister. With special changes, we make an instrument and give it to a musician for their opinion, then we make a final decision. 17. Has Heckel ever modified the bassoon from the request of a composer or player? R.R. Player yes, composer no. We had to make changes for the modern French because the player needs a sharper tone. The Heckelphone was built on demand from Wagner, we have less than 100 of these instruments. D) MISCELLANEOUS 18. What is the significance of the Benchmarks? R.R. No significance, it is normal and tradition. Need to make sure all the pieces are original for that instrument. There is also a number by the benchmarks but you can t see it. 19. What is the process of buying a bassoon now? What do you do with new orders? R.R. You buy a bassoon through the catalog
THE DOUBLE REED 13 with all the different possibilities of keys and color. If it is not in the catalog, a musician must come to the factory. We can do anything that the musician wants. If a person only has 4 fingers, we can accommodate them. We need a down payment of 10,000 marks. With new orders, it now takes 2-3 years before we start to make an instrument. 20. Why are there more than 6,000 variations of bocals? What are the differences between prewar and modern bocals? R.R. Because we are able to. We originally started with the C. Through time more variations became in demand, different styles in the world. There is no difference between prewar and modern bocals, all made the same way with the same material. After so many years the steel wrapping starts to wear off, this changes the tone. If you were to rewrap the prewar bocals, they would be the same as modern ones. 21. What is the difference between the new student model instruments and the original? R.R. The new student model bassoon is called the Crest, which started 3 years ago. We can t decide on the style of the keys, therefore, there is only one model. The production is cheap and the last polishing is made by spray. Anything not pertaining to the tone is made cheap. The wood, bore, tone holes are all made the same as the originals. 22. How do you price the bassoons? R.R. There is a price list. Every year there are higher labor and material costs. Bassoons get more expensive to make every year. We have gone some years without a price increase. We usually get wood every year. Sometimes there is only a delivery once every four years. This will increase the cost. # Every year there is a change in hundreds of the serial number. For example, this year they are producing 14,600 series and in January of 2000 they start with 14,700. The factory produces around 50 bassoons each year, therefore, producing 50 with every 100 in the series. How they are numbered and why there are gaps in the numbering system is a secret. ## Ralf likes to make changes, but he is still very much a traditionalist. GENERAL MANUFACTURING STEPS: 1. The collection of the wood. 2. Curing of the wood (approximately 12 years). 3. First cut on the wood pieces. 4. Curing of the wood (approximately 10 years). 5. Second cut on the wood. 6. Curing of the wood (approximately 1 year). 7. Third cut on the wood. 8. Curing of the wood (approximately 1 year). 9. Varnishing, there are 12 colors to pick from. At this stage the wood gets darker. 10. Drying of the varnish (approximately 2 months). 11. This step is a secret. 12. The tube connections in the joints are made. 13. The tone holes and posts are put in. 14. The keys are put on the bassoon. 15. Key adjustments are made. 16. Take the keys off. 17. Make the bore on the inside of the wing and boot joint. 18. a) Sand off the varnish and put more on to make sure all scratches are off. At this stage the woods starts to darken some more. b) Finishing of the keys: re-polishing, sanding, varnish, re-plating. 19. Assemble, put all keys on and joints together. 20. Making of the case for each individual bassoon. 21. Testing of the bassoon. All bassoons are tested on the same bocal, CC1, which has been used for the past 2 years. Before, bassoons were tested on the same CC1 for the previous 40 years. 22. Tuning if needed. Tuning is not usually done if sold to someone in Europe. They live close enough to come to the factory. They will tune if requested from a foreign buyer. 23. Selling of the bassoon, the buyer gets to pick 2 bocals. 24. Adjustments. etc. for the individual. 25. Always trying new bocals. The last 2 steps can go on indefinitely! Special thanks to the Heckel factory and all the workers for the generous hospitality which I received! About the author Mrs. Wendy Digges La Touche, an Apache/Crow Indian, is a student of Yoshiyuki Ishikawa. She is currently working towards a D.M.A. in bassoon performance, with a minor in Ethnomusicology, specializing in American Indian music at the University of Colorado at Boulder, College of Music.
14 THE HECKEL FACTORY - INTERVIEW WITH RALF REITER Mr. Ralf Reiter standing in front of the Heckel factory. One of the places where the wood is cured. (Notice that it is open to the outside air). Another place where the wood is cured in closed doors. Notice the date on the wood. Wax is put on the end of the wood during curing stage to keep the water in so the wood won t dry out too fast and crack. A worker doing the first initial cut on the wood blocks. Ralf Reiter holding a contrabassoon reamer which has been used since the beginning of manufacturing. (Ralf says keeping tradition makes it easier for repairs.) A worker demonstrating how the reamers work. Notice the bassoon boot joints on the far lower right. A worker at one of the finishing tables, most likely doing repairs. A photo of a key guide, tone-hole template, used to make sure the holes are in the right place. Two of the other finishing tables where work and repairs are done on bassoons and the contrabassoons.
THE DOUBLE REED 15 A worker making a bocal. Making of a bocal. This is where bassoons dry when they are done, or before the keys are put on. The bassoon to the left already has the name of the owner on it. Photo of the museum up stairs where many old bassoons are kept.