Buffett System

The following information comes from Wikipedia:

The Buffet system bassoon, which stabilized somewhat earlier than the Heckel, developed in a more conservative manner. While the development of the Heckel bassoon can be characterized as a complete overhaul of the instrument in both acoustics and keywork, the Buffet system focused primarily on incremental improvements to the keywork. This less radical approach deprives the Buffet system bassoon of the improved consistency, and thus ease of operation and increased power, found in the Heckel bassoons, but the Buffet is considered by some to have a more vocal and expressive quality. (Conductor John Foulds in 1934 lamented the dominance of the Heckel-style bassoon, considering them to be too homogeneous in sound with the horn.)

Compared to the Heckel bassoon, Buffet system bassoons have a narrower bore and differing keywork; the Buffet instruments are known for a reedier sound and greater facility in the upper registers, reaching e''' and f''' with far greater ease and less air pressure. While specifically desirable in some music (French woodwind players traditionally produce a lighter and more reedy tone than is usual elsewhere) the more reedy sound has sometimes drawn criticism for being too distinctive. As with all bassoons the tone varies substantially from instrument to instrument and performer to performer. The Heckel system can sound rather fixed and woody, but good players strive and usually succeed in producing a warm singing tone. The Buffet can sound reedy, but many good players strive and usually succeed in producing a warm, expressive sound which is not in the least reedy.

Though the French system was once widely favored in England, Buffet instruments are no longer made there, and the last prominent English player of the French system retired in the 1980s. However, with its continued use in some regions and its distinctive tone, the Buffet continues to have a place in modern bassoon playing, particularly in France. Buffet-model bassoons are currently made in Paris by Buffet Crampon and Selmer, with various other makers producing replica instruments. Some players, e.g. Gerald Corey in Canada, have learned to play both types and will alternate between them depending on the repertoire being played.