I bought my tenor online second hand from a woodwind maker, who sold recorders from a dissolved collection. The shop had cleaned it and everything and sent me a note how to take care of a recorder along the instrument. I am very satisfied with my recorder and the service.
I just got a mollenhauer denner recorder completely fixed by them. I live in Long Beach, CA. I really like this workshop a lot. Patrick is very kind so is James, and company.
I bought a Moeck Alto recorder a few years ago at a garage sale for $2. Not sure of the wood - the sellers did not know much about it, but if I had to guess, it looks most like some sort of rosewood. I made good use of Sarah's video on cleaning and oiling (it was pretty dry, but not disgustingly dirty). I am not practicing as much as I should and still forget that the instrument is not in C (I played a cheap soprano in elementary school and normally play flute, so I sometimes muck up the fingering - all fingers down is F, not C!). I figured I couldn't go too far wrong for two bucks, given that there were no cracks or other obvious damage. It is super fun, and I love Team Recorder! Keeps me inspired!
I'm not sure if viruses die faster on a plastic surface than on a wooden one. I'd expect them to dry out (and die) faster on wood than on plastic. Especially the CoVid-2 Virus seems to be sensitive to UV-Light, which is a good desinfection method for wooden (or other wind-) instruments. Good wind instrument stores are prepared for it, even before Covid.
@@SH1974 plastic isnt porous like wood so it wont hold on to water and allow bacteria and viruses to survive. And since theyre non porous they're very easily cleaned with soap and water or rubbing alcohol.
@@darkworlddenizen Most plastics can get wet, like any other material too. A water drop on a plastic surface stays way longer than one an a wooden surface, especially if the wood pores are not completely sealed. That bit moisture that's absorbed by the wood is not enough to make the wood a habitable zone for bacterias, they'll die soon. Soap or alcohol? Do You clean Your instrument (frequently) with soap or alcohol? Hm.. Did You ever thought about exposing it to UV light? That works well as well, but some materials (especially some plastics) do not like it. I never used soap or alcohol on any of my instrumens, I just wipe them dry as good as it gets. But I do not play recorder, I practice sax and a bit blues harp.
I have had several of my instruments serviced/repaired by Von Huene - always very well done and without giving me sticker shock. Highly recommended. I have not purchased an instrument from them (most all of mine are either from Bill Lazar's Early Music or Antique Sound Workshop), but if/when I'm in the market for one I will certainly include them in consideration. But for service - they are choice #1, no question. Thanks for featuring them, Sarah.
Good morning Sarah, Very ... very interesting your interview and the explanations given by the expert flute restorer and maintainer. I just wanted to point out that with a little attention and care an old recorder can go back to swine great. I bought an old Mollenhauer "Solist" from the 1960s on Ebay in Germany. As soon as he arrived, I disinfected it with vinegar and then in two periods, one week apart, I lubricated it with almond oil (without exceeding). I am playing it with gradual times of 10-15 minutes every day up to over half an hour. In short, it has such a warm and velvety sound (but also of good volume) that I am very satisfied ... Computer intonation test ... really good. Cost 10 euros + postage. You are great !!! Bye Bye
When I was studying the recorder in the 80's in The Netherlands, one time we visited the Municipal Museum of The Hague. We were admitted to the basement where they kept a lot of old historic recorders that they didn't have room for on display. We were allowed to play them and one of the things that amazed me was that many of them played wonderfully, even though their labium would be very worn out. V-shaped really, but still playing awsomly. I don't think they still let students play these instruments over there any more...
I am so jealous of you. It seems wonderful to be allowed to play these old recorders! And even if I couldn't play them, I would have loved to hear how they did sound. I am so glad for you that you had that experience!
Best part of any day is getting to hear about Recorders. Thanks Sarah I really feel delightfully informed cant wait to buy a Recorder with this info in mind
I bought a used instrument from them recently. I was very pleased with the whole process. They sent me a few instruments to try, and the only additional cost was shipping back the instruments I didn't want.
I have bought several unusual wooden recorders second hand on EBAY etc. You can often get very well cared for, good quality, fairly priced instruments from sellers in Germany because the recorder is very commonly taught/learned there. It's important to make sure the recorder has Baroque fingering. Curved windways instruments are hard to find. Particularly good are instruments from the Meister or Oberlaender Series by Roessler, a German recorder company which folded about fifteen years ago. Mollenhauer can repair or maintained these for you, if necessary. Also excellent are instruments from H.C. Fehr of Zurich, which closed down seven or eight years ago. If need be, these can be maintained or repaired by the revived Fehr, Germany in Fulda, which is, I believe, part of Kunath now.
This is a lovely nuts and bolts video. Making music is really the purpose, but to make music one needs the gritty reality of getting and maintaining an instrument. Videos like this ones, explaining you the do's and don'ts are so useful! P.S. I personally loved the fact that, even though he is an instrument maker, he didn't discard the plastic recorders as "unworthy".
I keep monitoring small ads, local online marketplaces and ebay for secondhand recorders. More often than you'd think someone is the situation of clearing out a relatives belongings after their death and some stunning instruments end up being sold for real cheap. I have found several palisander and grenadilla recorders of renowned brands that I could never effort to buy new. Always ask for closeup pictures of the labium, this will give you 80% of all the info needed to judge the overall condition. You'll be able to see if the instrument has been handled with care or not. Dented thumbholes are not a no-go for me, they can be repaired easily. And set an upper limit that you can afford to lose if worse comes to worst and what you bought is actually junk.🤗 Happy hunting!
That was interesting. I recently bought a used alto and I was so disappointed. It wasn't a very expensive model, but w well known one from a well known maker. I had to send it in to be worked on and in the end, for less than 100 Euro I could have bought that same model new (which would have been a better idea apparently). Lesson learned.
I've tried used instruments on approval from Von Huene. They are very nice to work with. If you are hoping to get a really nice instrument at a discount or something a little nicer than your budget for a new one will allow, this is the way to go. Notice I said "discount." A used instrument in very good or almost like new condition from a reputable recorder seller, like Von Huene, will save you 20-30% off buying a new (comparable) one. More than that and you have to ask yourself "why is it so cheap?"
I'm a new subscriber! I learned recorder in grammar school, and branched out to other instruments over the years. Recently, I was studying for a music exam and, well, the baroque era...need I say more? I now have a new Yamaha alto recorder. After seeing this video, plastic in FL is the way to go. Sarah, your videos are the bomb! Thank you!
I believe my Moeck alto recorder was made in late 70s or early 80s because I bought this one on 7th of November 1981 (stamped on the warranty) in Japan. So, am I an owner of the vintage recorder? I haven't played a recorder for about 30 years, and anyway I wasn't good at playing a recorder. But after watching many of your videos, I have decided to re-learn how to play recorder from scratch.
I was amazed to hear the curved windway referred to as being typical of the instruments of the baroque period. I was previously told that recorders from the Stanesby Snr and Jr workshops had straight windways and also those of Denner. Bressan, of course, made instruments with curved windways but his recorders were mentioned as exceptional and not at all typical of the period. Von Huene designed and made what he called his Stanesby model (Stanesby Jr, I think) which was distinguished by the "Stanesby Squelch" (this is what he called it) in the sound. The model had a curved windway but surely this was a 'modernising' feature and not period authenticity. Dolmetsch, Stieber and the Moeck (Tuju) were probably the most widely sold of the recorders that were regarded as quality recorders, all with straight windway. Coolsma made recorders with curved windway. His recorders were very, very expensive by comparison with Dolmetsch, Stieber and practically all the others on the market. Von Huene's instruments also were very expensive. When the fashion changed in favour of curved windways the original Dolmetsch factory went out of business and the successor firm was in dire straits. I don't know when Stieber ceased making recorders. I once heard several Moeck Tuju's and Stiebers played by the trio Sour Cream (Bruggen, Boeke and van Hauwe). I believed these were all with straight windway. Was I misinformed?
I personally think there is nothing wrong with a straight windway. Both straight and curved windways can be good. The Fehr company makes most of their recorders with straight windways and they are a premium brand. Friedrich von Huene, after whom this company named itself, designed recorders with a straight windway. He even designed a recorder with German fingering once, gasp. His best-known design, Moeck's Rottenburgh, originally came with a straight windway. Wide windways aren't necessarily bad, either. Jacqueline Sorel, a costum recorder maker, prefers to make recorders with wide windways. She claims that recorders with wide windways are less responsive than those with narrow ones, but that once you are able to get the recorder to respond, you have more options for precise articulation, to use her words.
@@DellaStreet123, that is also what I was taught - Denner and the Stanesbies: straight windway, Bressan: curved windway. Bressan instruments were particularly popular with affluent amateurs but not quite so popular with professionals. Many Bressan instruments have been found in castles and mansions all over the continent showing how widely Bressan's fame had spread. But these locations evidence amateur more than professional use. Samuel Pepys had a Bressan and bought a Stanesby. His comment was, in effect, that the former was sweeter toned but not as well tuned as the latter. Frederich von Huene said somewhere that he could not very well offer an exact copy of a Bressan to the public bcause the intonation in the upper part of the range would just not be good enough.
@@kendrickpereira37 Thanks about the information on Pepys and his recorders, I did not know about that. What I know about von Huene is that he and his wife performed Bach's Brandenburg 4th Brandenburg concert and, during that time, they were the only ones to do so. Now, at that time, there weren't many recorder players. This piece asks for the 3rd octave F#, a note that some surviving historic instrument at that time were unable to produce. Most recorders you can buy these days that have regular baroque fingering require you to play the 3rd octave g and cover the bell. Only very few recorders that you can buy these days don't require it, like Adriana Breukink's (RIP) Eagle or the Mollenhauer Modern Alto. It is outrageous considered that Dolmetsch already built a recorder with a bell key almost a century ago. Perhaps, instead of trashing the German system (which Friedrich von Huene sometimes used, as did Paul Hindemith) the recorder community should ask to have the "baroque" (which isn't really baroque) fingering fixed. The 3rd octave F# isn't the only issue that has never been resolved. There's also the question of how first octave F (on a C recorder) or B flat (on a recorder in F) should be played. Most recorder players will say that the correct way is to make the fork you will find in every "baroque" fingering chart. But do you know what F.J. Giesbert said was the correct way to play it? Incase you don't: By fingering an E, except you are half-holing the fifth hole.
@@DellaStreet123 Thanks for your response. You obviously have a much more advanced knowledge of recorders than I have. I played at a beginner level in the early 60's when Dolmetsch and Stieber recorders, with straight windway, were regarded as first-rate professional instruments and Coolsma's treble, with curved windway, as being absolutely the Rolls Royce of recorders which most professionals could hardly aspire to. This was before the exploits of Frederick Morgan. Von Huene was certainly around and much commended by the cognoscenti but his instruments seemed not so widely used, possibly because of their very high price. The high F# was generally simply regarded as not available. and did not concern players of my level anyway. I was not aware that first octave Bflat (treble recorder) was regarded as a problem note. Rather it was the F, F# and G (treble recorder) across the "break" which were quite horrible. Perhaps present day instruments behave differently. I have a plastic recorder made in Japan but designed by von Huene. or so it is claimed. It has a curved windway. I do not care for it. I daresay it has a certain evenness from note to note and a certain overall efficiency but I find the sound rather dead. The charm of the recorder depends just so much on the unevenness in tone from note to note. Unevenness in volume is another matter.
@@kendrickpereira37 Again, thanks. Having knowledge is one thing, sharing knowledge another. I wasn't even born in the early 1960s. I learned how to play the recorder in 1980s Germany. About 50 years after the recorder had been revived as an instrument, which means that there weren't many virtuosos around, almost everyone who knew how to play the recorder learned it as a school instrument. I got my first lessons from a friend of my mother's, and later I got lessons from a church organist. Then I gave up and didn't resume playing until I was an adult. I recently found the booklet I had been playing from back then (Rohr-Lehn: Flötenbüchlein) and played a few tunes from it. I quickly realized why I put both the recorder and the book away as a child. About half of all tunes were religious songs of some kind and there were no taboo subjects. There even was a song about the "grim reaper" sharpening his sythe. Another song cautioned the kind reader that not loving and practicing music will make afterlife painful for him or her because God will make everybody sing for him all day. -- The book was first released in the 1930s, when death had a more powerful presence in everyday life. There was a higher infant mortality and children died from diseases we now have vaccines for. I suppose that, back then, people didn't have issues with putting such songs into a book for children. Today, we are facing the opposite extreme: We almost eliminated death completely and PSAs about why you should quit smoking and change your diet make it sound like dying was somewhat optional. This doesn't have anything to do with recorders anymore, but I sincerely hope that immortality treatment will never be available, because this will result in two classes of people: Those who have to die, and those who don't, because they can afford those treatments. We'll be then dealing with 300-year-old billionnaires while poor children are still dying.
A lot of that (actually probably all of it) agreed with what I've read written by John of Saunders Recorders in Bristol. His/their website has loads of good decisive practical advice. It could be interesting to get an interview with him, though you might need to find different ground to cover, given that you've done in this video here. He is (was?) a player and teacher as well as selling and repairing instruments.
I recently acquired a Moeck 539 Ebony Alto recorder secondhand. It was a blind purchase, a leap of faith. I offered far less than others online, based on the sheen, the seat of the block, and the fact that it had no obvious wear. It was a score. I say, look for the finish, especially on the beak and the condition of the block (is it water logged?) Also, the labium, does it have a water stain? (In addition to all other advice in this video.) Lastly, if you're buying secondhand in a bidding situation, don't get too excited, letting your emotions and imagination/wish for a score, rule your wallet. Do your homework. Look at LOTS and LOTS of the same instrument, look at the condition of the case. (That sounds crazy, but if the case is filthy and/or broken, how was the instrument treated?) By looking at lots and lots of instruments, you'll be familiar with standard wear vs. abuse/overuse. Bid modestly, ask for lots of photos, and walk away if your gut is not confirmed. Sounds crazy, but it has worked all my life.
to answer the "models to avoid", it's my experience that the yamaha non-ecodear plastic sopranos, as Patrick says, will play rings around some of the older "school" wooden ones (coughhoenercough).
This further convinces me that I should stick with plastic recorders. For example, I don't have to worry about mold and other problems with wood. I am very happy with my Aulos Haka alto recorder.
When you are happy, that is great! Plastic recorders can be very good nowadays. Personally I have played my oldest recorder for at least 30 years and I never had problems with mold or problems with the wood.
I really liked this, I'm in North America, North Carolina specifically, and I was looking for reputable wooden recorders sources. After extensive searches, I actually found these guys. I'm sooooo glad you did this, because now I know more about them. I had already bookmarked their store. 😁
I'd also like to add that I have gotten back interested in the recorder because of your channel, so thank you. Even my little kids like your videos, and my hubs likes your your videos with your husband.
Sarah, i must know what you think of the recorder ensemble employed to play songs in the tLoZ: Links Awakening, soundtrack! Can we get a reaction video of the recorder versions of Tal Tal Heights and the Overworld theme? I think it's a good example of professional recorder players in a mainstream environment
Good catch. I just looked at my recorder to check that back-hole. I'm a bit rough with it. Thanks. I had a chuckle to myself. Also had a very juvenile laugh at 1 or 2 of the names in this video. "toohoo" for example
My sister-in-law, who's a professional baroque oboe & recorder player, recently found a von Huene Denner alto at an estate sale. She told me (upper intermediate amateur) to make me jealous...
Very interesting video! I still have my very old Yamaha plastic alto. I still like the old Yamaha, it's so bold, big and unsubtle, 😆 . I have much better instruments but I still like the Yamaha Last year I tried the new plastic Yamaha and I was really impressed with the quality. I would buy that anytime over a cheap wooden one for a beginner. Much better to save up for a really good wooden flute later.
All your faces are reasons why I have stuck with my plastic recorders in recent years. I play as a hobby, so plastic is easier to care for especially if I don't practice for a bit. I'm considering getting my first decent wooden instrument - but I promise to watch all of your care videos because I would never want to have to 'fess up to you with any horror stories similar to the ones in this video. Thanks for your channel!
I damaged my Moeck mouth piece - I'll need the Boston shop contact. About mold: it grows inside the wood. When edible fungi is produced, a mold is planted on some parts of a substrate (sometimes a log of wood) and the fungi we eat appears somewhere else - the fungi goes inside the wood and the "flower" appears somewhere. It will be there, but it might be innofensive.
OMG! I picked up my Maple Moeck Alto that I had since about 1975. It was full of, what looked like, candle wax. I had no recollection of having it near a candle. I don't know what's become of it since then. It did have a curved windward and I think a stone block. It replaced a recorder made of pear wood that I wore out. The people from the American Recorder Society referred to the old recorder as a "broomstick" recorder.
The Moeck maple recorders, among some others, are impregnated with wax, and if your instrument was subjected to a lot of heat, the wax would have melted.
Recently inherited a vintage (early 60's) alto recorder made by H.C. Fehr, Switzerland. Seemed to be in nice condition but I anyway sent it to the manufacturer for a complete overhaul. I think it was worth it. Although I have no chance to ever master any recorder (I miss 2 fingertips on my right hand, have no cushions to close the tone holes) I love the voice of this instrument. Do You own any recorder by H.C. Fehr? If Yes, what do You think about them? (no, mine is not for sale...)
Thank you, you lovely people, for so much information in one video! I got 4 wooden altos from ebay. Of the 4, only one was perfect from the start, a 1970s Moeck Tuju in maple with a straight windway that is high quality and expressive in the whole range (if you ask me). 2 other Tujus I could improve somewhat by cleaning the windway but not enough to make them enjoyable. A 1960s otherwise unblemished ebay Rottenburgh reeked so bad of decades in a damp cellar that I didn't want to spend time in the same room with it, let alone put it into my mouth. I finally got it in usable, less smelly shape by putting it top down in a glass with Sodium hydrochloride and repeating the procedure several times. It's a paraffined maple instrument, but the head part that was in the disinfectant feels a bit rough on the inside now, should I maybe oil it?
Hi, Ruth! I am planning to buy a quite cheap second-hand Tuju tenor recorder from a person who lives far away, so I can get it only by mail. What do you think about this idea? Is it worth risking to buy a Tuju? I've never played one. Are they good, or do I need to think twice? Do they hit top notes? Thanks in advance!
@@DiadiaDania, I have never played a tenor recorder (small hands), so I wouldn't know, but the Tuju alto and soprano were among the better Moeck recorders at their time (i.e Tuju was one model up from their "school recorder" ), and I get all the top notes easily in the third octave with my alto and soprano Tujus. You never know with a second hand recorder, though, unless it has been vetted by a shop. As I already said above, 2 of my ebay Tujus no longer sound very enjoyable (they still hit top notes, though). 2 others are fine. It had nothing to do with the price, nor indeed with looks. One looks almost pristine, but gives a flat, murky sound. Enjoy your recorder, whatever It will be.
PS: take care you get the fingering you want, the Tujus come in both German and baroque. Often the cheaper ones are German. In fact I use Tujus for German fingering, and a Rottenbugh for baroque, as I like to play both.
@@hezarfen777 Thanks a lot for such a detailed answer! Now I feel more confident about buying one. I suppose I will be able to send it for repair, after all. The fingering advice is also very helpful, I completely forgot about it)
I sent Patrick a previously-owned alto just last month and he helpfully informed me that it was... worthless! (Fortunately I hadn't paid much for it.) I was so impressed with his advice that I ordered three new altos to try out instead, and am now the proud owner of a Mollenhauer Denner (about which I can't help thinking "this is the one Sarah liked")! I look forward to doing more business with Von Huene soon!
How do you make sure you won't be spreading germs when trying wooden recorders? This has always been the concern that has held me back from buying used recorders or trying a recorder in a store or exhibition. I'm just worried about all the other mouths that may have been there before mine... Thoughts?
When you are healthy a few germs wont kill you. You can clean the mouthpiece before using the recorder. Using alcohol isn't a good idea but wiping it with a clean tissue probably will do the trick. Before corona I never even had a second thought about it. Now I think I may be a little bit more careful.
Germs die just like all other living organisms. So do viruses, which are closer to fragments of unstable chemical than anything living. In an old recorder, any germs left by the original player will have gone. There will always be germs of all sorts on any surface. Most of them are ones to which our bodies have resistance. Buy your second hand recorder; wipe the outside of the head with a slightly damp cloth, dry it with a tissue, and play.
i am a violin player, full and 3/4 violin, i played in Scotland in the rain, drizzle, I wanted Scotland because of chill summers, but now i can choose another region of europe, like baltic region, estonia, tallinn might be cheaper than helsinki, they kinda go together. estonia can be considered an eastern european country. I have a Fehr Zurich so good recorder. but not good for your left fingers. the adler ddr germany have a good ergonomic, left finger third to the left, all the holes angular and so finger and hand friendly. better than the Fehr zurich swiss recorders, from the late 50's.
I have to disagree. Recorders from the late sixties can be great to. I bought a küng Classica made april 1969 in palisander 2nd hand. I took it to a windmaker and he made a recorder of that I would die for. I love this alto more than any other recorder I own. The best about the story is that this alto cost only a third after having it remade than I would have payed for a new one. So it was a double win for me. I am looking for another one 😉
I disagree with several things he's saying. For example, neither a straight windway nor pearwood are indicators of a bad recorder. Actually, if you want to try a historic recorder, you might be better off buying a pearwood one because if you buy a cocobolo one, you are playing vabanque. You might be allergic to cocobolo, and some people claim that once they showed an adverse reaction to cocobolo, they could no longer play recorders made from other tropical hardwoods (palisander, grenadilla...) either. Actually, if someone asked me to watch out for certain woods, I would include a caveat about cocobolo. Buy at your own risk. If you ask me, when it comes to such things as curved vs straight windways or wide vs narrow: Don't buy a new recorder if you are happy with the one you have just because the windway is straight or, got forbid, a bit on the wide side. I even believe that trashing the German fingering system was, in part, a ruse to sell people new recorders. I wouldn't recommend getting a new recorder with German fingering, unless you want it just to practice Great Highland Bagpipe rolls. But German recorders from the 1930s and 1940s can be exceptionally good, German system or no German system. I have recorders that are up to 90 years old, they are German-fingered and they stay German-fingered, for authenticity. And if a 90-year-old recorder with German fingering and no double holes still kicks a modern entry level recorder's ass, then this tells us a lot about modern entry-level instruments.
First comment ? It's official, I'm a member of Team Recorder ! Thanks Sarah for all the interesting videos, and for your passion that brought me back to pIaying the recorder. I am happy to be on this musical journey with you ! On the topic of second hand instrument, I love playing my second hand alto ! It has a lot of imperfections, but I love the sound and the warmth of it !
@@Team_Recorder Apparently there are two different kinds of maple, and some is hard and some is soft. They make baseball bats and floors out of hard maple. www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/differences-between-hard-maple-and-soft-maple/
i do have a Fehr swiss 1950 very good. F second hand. and another one, with the labium myself shaved, so it gets very deep sound. Fehr Zurich. pear wood. hey do you also play Baroque oboe ? I have ona chinese made, sounds good, i do nod find a good reed for it. we have a regional philarmonia society, but due to the coronavirus, it is ME going to earn money on the street, not them. the baroque oboe gets very noisy. within the deep C. E and all low notes. but i had some italian reeds and myself made. i do not have the right reed. the german fingering suits the recorder fingerings, i dream of somebody like a oboe player help me buid the RIGHT REED.
I would absolutely love to have subtitles on my videos! However, I don't speak Spanish (so I can't provide them myself), and RUclips unfortunately recently removed the 'Community Contributions' feature which allowed viewers to submit subtitles in different languages. I'd love to be able to get someone to translate them for me, but that would cost way more than I ever make from the videos..! So you are definitely not forgotten, but at the moment I'm unfortunately not in a position to offer subtitles in all the languages I'd like to. Hopefully one day!
Hi Alvaro, circling back to this as I'm done some research, and I think I have some solutions for you! First, there is this plugin for the Chrome browser than automatically translates subtitles for you in loads of languages. I test it (with Dutch, the other language I speak) and it appears to work really well! chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/auto-translate-for-youtub/codommceejgdnbmfednpkhkfnlbepckf/related?hl=en I also found a service that translates videos for a much cheaper rate than I thought. I can't do this for all 250 videos, but if you have a selection you'd really like to have in Spanish, let me know and I can see what I can do. Also, do you Spanish speakers out there prefer Spain or Latin Spanish? (the two options given) Hope this helps!
USA have the biggest market on music (as a country) and whole North America have the second. Perharps you mean about recorder makers in comparison with europe. Even so, north america is far far away better than latin america.
@@leofloten Maybe it is different in the US, but in Canada, it is barely non-existent, but in Québec, the music comunity is just growing up (espacially in the luthier domain). What I meant is, by the way, that I never heard of any recorder maker in Québec or Canada.
I recently found a Craigslist listing for some old pearwood student recorders that I kinda wanna buy (and talk down the dude’s wayyyy too high asking price), but there’s a noticeable wear around the mouthpiece… *as if the player exclusively played by biting down on the instrument.* 😰 The varnish is basically completely stripped from the entire first inch or so of the mouthpiece (it seriously looks like it was hand-sandpapered by a drunk child, or repeatedly dipped in acetone or something…I can’t see actual tooth marks in the low-res listing photos, but I wouldn’t be surprised) That’s like…nasty, right? I’d be totally justified in bringing that up to the seller and offering lower than what those particular instruments normally sell for, right? My instinct is that I should NOT pay full price for something like that, and I’d love for anyone to chime in with some encouragement (or discouragement if I’m totally off base!) before I try to lowball this guy.
I bought my tenor online second hand from a woodwind maker, who sold recorders from a dissolved collection. The shop had cleaned it and everything and sent me a note how to take care of a recorder along the instrument. I am very satisfied with my recorder and the service.
I just got a mollenhauer denner recorder completely fixed by them. I live in Long Beach, CA. I really like this workshop a lot. Patrick is very kind so is James, and company.
Von Huene is the best. You can't go wrong with them.
I bought a Moeck Alto recorder a few years ago at a garage sale for $2. Not sure of the wood - the sellers did not know much about it, but if I had to guess, it looks most like some sort of rosewood. I made good use of Sarah's video on cleaning and oiling (it was pretty dry, but not disgustingly dirty). I am not practicing as much as I should and still forget that the instrument is not in C (I played a cheap soprano in elementary school and normally play flute, so I sometimes muck up the fingering - all fingers down is F, not C!). I figured I couldn't go too far wrong for two bucks, given that there were no cracks or other obvious damage. It is super fun, and I love Team Recorder! Keeps me inspired!
You got Patrick von Huene for an interview - Wow !! Great !! Thank you for sharing.
I think I will stay with my hygienic, washable plastic recorders for now!
I'm not sure if viruses die faster on a plastic surface than on a wooden one. I'd expect them to dry out (and die) faster on wood than on plastic.
Especially the CoVid-2 Virus seems to be sensitive to UV-Light, which is a good desinfection method for wooden (or other wind-) instruments. Good wind instrument stores are prepared for it, even before Covid.
@@SH1974 plastic isnt porous like wood so it wont hold on to water and allow bacteria and viruses to survive. And since theyre non porous they're very easily cleaned with soap and water or rubbing alcohol.
@@darkworlddenizen Most plastics can get wet, like any other material too. A water drop on a plastic surface stays way longer than one an a wooden surface, especially if the wood pores are not completely sealed. That bit moisture that's absorbed by the wood is not enough to make the wood a habitable zone for bacterias, they'll die soon.
Soap or alcohol? Do You clean Your instrument (frequently) with soap or alcohol? Hm.. Did You ever thought about exposing it to UV light? That works well as well, but some materials (especially some plastics) do not like it.
I never used soap or alcohol on any of my instrumens, I just wipe them dry as good as it gets. But I do not play recorder, I practice sax and a bit blues harp.
Excellent info! Von Huene Workshop knows their stuff ...
I have had several of my instruments serviced/repaired by Von Huene - always very well done and without giving me sticker shock. Highly recommended. I have not purchased an instrument from them (most all of mine are either from Bill Lazar's Early Music or Antique Sound Workshop), but if/when I'm in the market for one I will certainly include them in consideration. But for service - they are choice #1, no question. Thanks for featuring them, Sarah.
Thank you Sarah, and three cheers for Patrick, too! Always great to hear from people who know their stuff inside out.
I agree. After all, I don't call her Professor Sarah for nothing. 👍 😊 ♫
Good morning Sarah,
Very ... very interesting your interview and the explanations given by the expert flute restorer and maintainer.
I just wanted to point out that with a little attention and care an old recorder can go back to swine great.
I bought an old Mollenhauer "Solist" from the 1960s on Ebay in Germany.
As soon as he arrived, I disinfected it with vinegar and then in two periods, one week apart, I lubricated it with almond oil (without exceeding).
I am playing it with gradual times of 10-15 minutes every day up to over half an hour.
In short, it has such a warm and velvety sound (but also of good volume) that I am very satisfied ...
Computer intonation test ... really good.
Cost 10 euros + postage.
You are great !!!
Bye Bye
When I was studying the recorder in the 80's in The Netherlands, one time we visited the Municipal Museum of The Hague. We were admitted to the basement where they kept a lot of old historic recorders that they didn't have room for on display. We were allowed to play them and one of the things that amazed me was that many of them played wonderfully, even though their labium would be very worn out. V-shaped really, but still playing awsomly. I don't think they still let students play these instruments over there any more...
I am so jealous of you. It seems wonderful to be allowed to play these old recorders! And even if I couldn't play them, I would have loved to hear how they did sound. I am so glad for you that you had that experience!
I find a day without listening to a few of your videos is a drearier day. Thank you especially during this enduring quarantine period.
Best part of any day is getting to hear about Recorders. Thanks Sarah I really feel delightfully informed cant wait to buy a Recorder with this info in mind
An excellent video to help beginners and advanced players to search for 'the right recorder'.
Thanks!
I had chance to visit the Von Huene workshop on a business trip to Boston and it was truly amazing!
I bought a used instrument from them recently. I was very pleased with the whole process. They sent me a few instruments to try, and the only additional cost was shipping back the instruments I didn't want.
I have bought several unusual wooden recorders second hand on EBAY etc. You can often get very well cared for, good quality, fairly priced instruments from sellers in Germany because the recorder is very commonly taught/learned there. It's important to make sure the recorder has Baroque fingering. Curved windways instruments are hard to find. Particularly good are instruments from the Meister or Oberlaender Series by Roessler, a German recorder company which folded about fifteen years ago. Mollenhauer can repair or maintained these for you, if necessary. Also excellent are instruments from H.C. Fehr of Zurich, which closed down seven or eight years ago. If need be, these can be maintained or repaired by the revived Fehr, Germany in Fulda, which is, I believe, part of Kunath now.
This is a lovely nuts and bolts video.
Making music is really the purpose, but to make music one needs the gritty reality of getting and maintaining an instrument. Videos like this ones, explaining you the do's and don'ts are so useful!
P.S. I personally loved the fact that, even though he is an instrument maker, he didn't discard the plastic recorders as "unworthy".
Thank you for your teaching madam Sara.
I keep monitoring small ads, local online marketplaces and ebay for secondhand recorders. More often than you'd think someone is the situation of clearing out a relatives belongings after their death and some stunning instruments end up being sold for real cheap. I have found several palisander and grenadilla recorders of renowned brands that I could never effort to buy new. Always ask for closeup pictures of the labium, this will give you 80% of all the info needed to judge the overall condition. You'll be able to see if the instrument has been handled with care or not. Dented thumbholes are not a no-go for me, they can be repaired easily. And set an upper limit that you can afford to lose if worse comes to worst and what you bought is actually junk.🤗 Happy hunting!
That was interesting. I recently bought a used alto and I was so disappointed. It wasn't a very expensive model, but w well known one from a well known maker. I had to send it in to be worked on and in the end, for less than 100 Euro I could have bought that same model new (which would have been a better idea apparently). Lesson learned.
I've tried used instruments on approval from Von Huene. They are very nice to work with. If you are hoping to get a really nice instrument at a discount or something a little nicer than your budget for a new one will allow, this is the way to go. Notice I said "discount." A used instrument in very good or almost like new condition from a reputable recorder seller, like Von Huene, will save you 20-30% off buying a new (comparable) one. More than that and you have to ask yourself "why is it so cheap?"
I'm a new subscriber! I learned recorder in grammar school, and branched out to other instruments over the years. Recently, I was studying for a music exam and, well, the baroque era...need I say more? I now have a new Yamaha alto recorder. After seeing this video, plastic in FL is the way to go. Sarah, your videos are the bomb! Thank you!
A great video!
I believe my Moeck alto recorder was made in late 70s or early 80s because I bought this one on 7th of November 1981 (stamped on the warranty) in Japan. So, am I an owner of the vintage recorder? I haven't played a recorder for about 30 years, and anyway I wasn't good at playing a recorder. But after watching many of your videos, I have decided to re-learn how to play recorder from scratch.
I was amazed to hear the curved windway referred to as being typical of the instruments of the baroque period. I was previously told that recorders from the Stanesby Snr and Jr workshops had straight windways and also those of Denner. Bressan, of course, made instruments with curved windways but his recorders were mentioned as exceptional and not at all typical of the period.
Von Huene designed and made what he called his Stanesby model (Stanesby Jr, I think) which was distinguished by the "Stanesby Squelch" (this is what he called it) in the sound. The model had a curved windway but surely this was a 'modernising' feature and not period authenticity.
Dolmetsch, Stieber and the Moeck (Tuju) were probably the most widely sold of the recorders that were regarded as quality recorders, all with straight windway. Coolsma made recorders with curved windway. His recorders were very, very expensive by comparison with Dolmetsch, Stieber and practically all the others on the market. Von Huene's instruments also were very expensive. When the fashion changed in favour of curved windways the original Dolmetsch factory went out of business and the successor firm was in dire straits. I don't know when Stieber ceased making recorders.
I once heard several Moeck Tuju's and Stiebers played by the trio Sour Cream (Bruggen, Boeke and van Hauwe). I believed these were all with straight windway. Was I misinformed?
I personally think there is nothing wrong with a straight windway. Both straight and curved windways can be good. The Fehr company makes most of their recorders with straight windways and they are a premium brand. Friedrich von Huene, after whom this company named itself, designed recorders with a straight windway. He even designed a recorder with German fingering once, gasp. His best-known design, Moeck's Rottenburgh, originally came with a straight windway. Wide windways aren't necessarily bad, either. Jacqueline Sorel, a costum recorder maker, prefers to make recorders with wide windways. She claims that recorders with wide windways are less responsive than those with narrow ones, but that once you are able to get the recorder to respond, you have more options for precise articulation, to use her words.
@@DellaStreet123, that is also what I was taught - Denner and the Stanesbies: straight windway, Bressan: curved windway. Bressan instruments were particularly popular with affluent amateurs but not quite so popular with professionals. Many Bressan instruments have been found in castles and mansions all over the continent showing how widely Bressan's fame had spread. But these locations evidence amateur more than professional use.
Samuel Pepys had a Bressan and bought a Stanesby. His comment was, in effect, that the former was sweeter toned but not as well tuned as the latter. Frederich von Huene said somewhere that he could not very well offer an exact copy of a Bressan to the public bcause the intonation in the upper part of the range would just not be good enough.
@@kendrickpereira37 Thanks about the information on Pepys and his recorders, I did not know about that. What I know about von Huene is that he and his wife performed Bach's Brandenburg 4th Brandenburg concert and, during that time, they were the only ones to do so. Now, at that time, there weren't many recorder players. This piece asks for the 3rd octave F#, a note that some surviving historic instrument at that time were unable to produce. Most recorders you can buy these days that have regular baroque fingering require you to play the 3rd octave g and cover the bell. Only very few recorders that you can buy these days don't require it, like Adriana Breukink's (RIP) Eagle or the Mollenhauer Modern Alto. It is outrageous considered that Dolmetsch already built a recorder with a bell key almost a century ago. Perhaps, instead of trashing the German system (which Friedrich von Huene sometimes used, as did Paul Hindemith) the recorder community should ask to have the "baroque" (which isn't really baroque) fingering fixed. The 3rd octave F# isn't the only issue that has never been resolved. There's also the question of how first octave F (on a C recorder) or B flat (on a recorder in F) should be played. Most recorder players will say that the correct way is to make the fork you will find in every "baroque" fingering chart. But do you know what F.J. Giesbert said was the correct way to play it? Incase you don't: By fingering an E, except you are half-holing the fifth hole.
@@DellaStreet123 Thanks for your response. You obviously have a much more advanced knowledge of recorders than I have. I played at a beginner level in the early 60's when Dolmetsch and Stieber recorders, with straight windway, were regarded as first-rate professional instruments and Coolsma's treble, with curved windway, as being absolutely the Rolls Royce of recorders which most professionals could hardly aspire to. This was before the exploits of Frederick Morgan. Von Huene was certainly around and much commended by the cognoscenti but his instruments seemed not so widely used, possibly because of their very high price.
The high F# was generally simply regarded as not available. and did not concern players of my level anyway. I was not aware that first octave Bflat (treble recorder) was regarded as a problem note. Rather it was the F, F# and G (treble recorder) across the "break" which were quite horrible. Perhaps present day instruments behave differently.
I have a plastic recorder made in Japan but designed by von Huene. or so it is claimed. It has a curved windway. I do not care for it. I daresay it has a certain evenness from note to note and a certain overall efficiency but I find the sound rather dead. The charm of the recorder depends just so much on the unevenness in tone from note to note. Unevenness in volume is another matter.
@@kendrickpereira37 Again, thanks. Having knowledge is one thing, sharing knowledge another. I wasn't even born in the early 1960s. I learned how to play the recorder in 1980s Germany. About 50 years after the recorder had been revived as an instrument, which means that there weren't many virtuosos around, almost everyone who knew how to play the recorder learned it as a school instrument. I got my first lessons from a friend of my mother's, and later I got lessons from a church organist. Then I gave up and didn't resume playing until I was an adult. I recently found the booklet I had been playing from back then (Rohr-Lehn: Flötenbüchlein) and played a few tunes from it. I quickly realized why I put both the recorder and the book away as a child. About half of all tunes were religious songs of some kind and there were no taboo subjects. There even was a song about the "grim reaper" sharpening his sythe. Another song cautioned the kind reader that not loving and practicing music will make afterlife painful for him or her because God will make everybody sing for him all day. -- The book was first released in the 1930s, when death had a more powerful presence in everyday life. There was a higher infant mortality and children died from diseases we now have vaccines for. I suppose that, back then, people didn't have issues with putting such songs into a book for children. Today, we are facing the opposite extreme: We almost eliminated death completely and PSAs about why you should quit smoking and change your diet make it sound like dying was somewhat optional. This doesn't have anything to do with recorders anymore, but I sincerely hope that immortality treatment will never be available, because this will result in two classes of people: Those who have to die, and those who don't, because they can afford those treatments. We'll be then dealing with 300-year-old billionnaires while poor children are still dying.
A lot of that (actually probably all of it) agreed with what I've read written by John of Saunders Recorders in Bristol. His/their website has loads of good decisive practical advice.
It could be interesting to get an interview with him, though you might need to find different ground to cover, given that you've done in this video here. He is (was?) a player and teacher as well as selling and repairing instruments.
Could you do a tutorial on tinkerbells song neverland I can’t find any
I recently acquired a Moeck 539 Ebony Alto recorder secondhand. It was a blind purchase, a leap of faith. I offered far less than others online, based on the sheen, the seat of the block, and the fact that it had no obvious wear. It was a score. I say, look for the finish, especially on the beak and the condition of the block (is it water logged?) Also, the labium, does it have a water stain? (In addition to all other advice in this video.) Lastly, if you're buying secondhand in a bidding situation, don't get too excited, letting your emotions and imagination/wish for a score, rule your wallet. Do your homework. Look at LOTS and LOTS of the same instrument, look at the condition of the case. (That sounds crazy, but if the case is filthy and/or broken, how was the instrument treated?) By looking at lots and lots of instruments, you'll be familiar with standard wear vs. abuse/overuse. Bid modestly, ask for lots of photos, and walk away if your gut is not confirmed. Sounds crazy, but it has worked all my life.
to answer the "models to avoid", it's my experience that the yamaha non-ecodear plastic sopranos, as Patrick says, will play rings around some of the older "school" wooden ones (coughhoenercough).
Thank you both for this!
That was fascinating. Thank you.
This further convinces me that I should stick with plastic recorders. For example, I don't have to worry about mold and other problems with wood. I am very happy with my Aulos Haka alto recorder.
When you are happy, that is great! Plastic recorders can be very good nowadays. Personally I have played my oldest recorder for at least 30 years and I never had problems with mold or problems with the wood.
I really liked this, I'm in North America, North Carolina specifically, and I was looking for reputable wooden recorders sources. After extensive searches, I actually found these guys. I'm sooooo glad you did this, because now I know more about them. I had already bookmarked their store. 😁
I'd also like to add that I have gotten back interested in the recorder because of your channel, so thank you. Even my little kids like your videos, and my hubs likes your your videos with your husband.
Very very helpful!! Great video!
I've got to learn to play the recorder! I love it and Sarah Jeffery RULES!!! Period
Sarah, i must know what you think of the recorder ensemble employed to play songs in the tLoZ: Links Awakening, soundtrack!
Can we get a reaction video of the recorder versions of Tal Tal Heights and the Overworld theme?
I think it's a good example of professional recorder players in a mainstream environment
I ask for a closeup picture of the thumb hole. It can be totally ruined from aggressive playing by someone with sharp nails!
Good catch. I just looked at my recorder to check that back-hole. I'm a bit rough with it. Thanks. I had a chuckle
to myself. Also had a very juvenile laugh at 1 or 2 of the names in this video. "toohoo" for example
I ask for closeups of the labium. The thumbhole is much easier to fix.
Really interesting! Thank you 😁
VonHuene usually have a fair selection of used instruments for sale. Buying from them is a pretty safe bet.
I did get a second Hand alto ... somebody did glue the loose block into .... and that crocked.
Excellent advice, thx a lot
My sister-in-law, who's a professional baroque oboe & recorder player, recently found a von Huene Denner alto at an estate sale. She told me (upper intermediate amateur) to make me jealous...
Omg that’s amazing!!!!!!
I got a Hans Coolsma rosewood alto with serial numbers and a hard case in the early 80s for a song. I think it may have been hot.
Very interesting video!
I still have my very old Yamaha plastic alto. I still like the old Yamaha, it's so bold, big and unsubtle, 😆 . I have much better instruments but I still like the Yamaha
Last year I tried the new plastic Yamaha and I was really impressed with the quality. I would buy that anytime over a cheap wooden one for a beginner. Much better to save up for a really good wooden flute later.
That was super informative.
All your faces are reasons why I have stuck with my plastic recorders in recent years. I play as a hobby, so plastic is easier to care for especially if I don't practice for a bit. I'm considering getting my first decent wooden instrument - but I promise to watch all of your care videos because I would never want to have to 'fess up to you with any horror stories similar to the ones in this video. Thanks for your channel!
Fantastico video . grazie
Was Eric Haas on the video? He gives really helpful replies on Facebook groups.
He was just out if shot, supplying helpful answers when we needed them! 😄
I damaged my Moeck mouth piece - I'll need the Boston shop contact.
About mold: it grows inside the wood. When edible fungi is produced, a mold is planted on some parts of a substrate (sometimes a log of wood) and the fungi we eat appears somewhere else - the fungi goes inside the wood and the "flower" appears somewhere. It will be there, but it might be innofensive.
OMG! I picked up my Maple Moeck Alto that I had since about 1975. It was full of, what looked like, candle wax. I had no recollection of having it near a candle. I don't know what's become of it since then. It did have a curved windward and I think a stone block. It replaced a recorder made of pear wood that I wore out. The people from the American Recorder Society referred to the old recorder as a "broomstick" recorder.
The Moeck maple recorders, among some others, are impregnated with wax, and if your instrument was subjected to a lot of heat, the wax would have melted.
Thank you, This is very interesting . how does a 415 soprano play with other instruments?
I have dealt with von Huene for years and got a second hand recorder from them. Great service and great instruments. Also Lazar early music, too.
Recently inherited a vintage (early 60's) alto recorder made by H.C. Fehr, Switzerland. Seemed to be in nice condition but I anyway sent it to the manufacturer for a complete overhaul. I think it was worth it.
Although I have no chance to ever master any recorder (I miss 2 fingertips on my right hand, have no cushions to close the tone holes) I love the voice of this instrument.
Do You own any recorder by H.C. Fehr?
If Yes, what do You think about them?
(no, mine is not for sale...)
I have an HC Fehr (Zurich), Model II in plum. It's great.
You can now get one handed recorders.
Thank you, you lovely people, for so much information in one video! I got 4 wooden altos from ebay. Of the 4, only one was perfect from the start, a 1970s Moeck Tuju in maple with a straight windway that is high quality and expressive in the whole range (if you ask me). 2 other Tujus I could improve somewhat by cleaning the windway but not enough to make them enjoyable. A 1960s otherwise unblemished ebay Rottenburgh reeked so bad of decades in a damp cellar that I didn't want to spend time in the same room with it, let alone put it into my mouth. I finally got it in usable, less smelly shape by putting it top down in a glass with Sodium hydrochloride and repeating the procedure several times. It's a paraffined maple instrument, but the head part that was in the disinfectant feels a bit rough on the inside now, should I maybe oil it?
Hi, Ruth! I am planning to buy a quite cheap second-hand Tuju tenor recorder from a person who lives far away, so I can get it only by mail. What do you think about this idea? Is it worth risking to buy a Tuju? I've never played one. Are they good, or do I need to think twice? Do they hit top notes? Thanks in advance!
@@DiadiaDania, I have never played a tenor recorder (small hands), so I wouldn't know, but the Tuju alto and soprano were among the better Moeck recorders at their time (i.e Tuju was one model up from their "school recorder" ), and I get all the top notes easily in the third octave with my alto and soprano Tujus. You never know with a second hand recorder, though, unless it has been vetted by a shop. As I already said above, 2 of my ebay Tujus no longer sound very enjoyable (they still hit top notes, though). 2 others are fine. It had nothing to do with the price, nor indeed with looks. One looks almost pristine, but gives a flat, murky sound. Enjoy your recorder, whatever It will be.
PS: take care you get the fingering you want, the Tujus come in both German and baroque. Often the cheaper ones are German. In fact I use Tujus for German fingering, and a Rottenbugh for baroque, as I like to play both.
@@hezarfen777 Thanks a lot for such a detailed answer! Now I feel more confident about buying one. I suppose I will be able to send it for repair, after all.
The fingering advice is also very helpful, I completely forgot about it)
I sent Patrick a previously-owned alto just last month and he helpfully informed me that it was... worthless! (Fortunately I hadn't paid much for it.) I was so impressed with his advice that I ordered three new altos to try out instead, and am now the proud owner of a Mollenhauer Denner (about which I can't help thinking "this is the one Sarah liked")! I look forward to doing more business with Von Huene soon!
How do you make sure you won't be spreading germs when trying wooden recorders? This has always been the concern that has held me back from buying used recorders or trying a recorder in a store or exhibition. I'm just worried about all the other mouths that may have been there before mine... Thoughts?
Most, if not all, of us have survived unscathed!
When you are healthy a few germs wont kill you. You can clean the mouthpiece before using the recorder. Using alcohol isn't a good idea but wiping it with a clean tissue probably will do the trick.
Before corona I never even had a second thought about it. Now I think I may be a little bit more careful.
Germs die just like all other living organisms. So do viruses, which are closer to fragments of unstable chemical than anything living. In an old recorder, any germs left by the original player will have gone. There will always be germs of all sorts on any surface. Most of them are ones to which our bodies have resistance. Buy your second hand recorder; wipe the outside of the head with a slightly damp cloth, dry it with a tissue, and play.
I have a Dolmetsch ABS plastic. Is it any good ? Not really a recorder player
Another incredibly informational video! This is so detailed and gives one a lot to think about. Thanks Sarah and Patrick!
have you tried playing the baroque oboe ?
I was hoping he would tell more about fixing the noisy keys. My bass does have that problem as well (it's the same bass as the one Sarah has)
You can email them and they'll help you!
@@Team_Recorder I will, thanks!
i am a violin player, full and 3/4 violin, i played in Scotland in the rain, drizzle, I wanted Scotland because of chill summers,
but now i can choose another region of europe, like baltic region, estonia, tallinn might be cheaper than helsinki, they kinda go together.
estonia can be considered an eastern european country. I have a Fehr Zurich so good recorder. but not good for your left fingers.
the adler ddr germany have a good ergonomic, left finger third to the left, all the holes angular and so finger and hand friendly.
better than the Fehr zurich swiss recorders, from the late 50's.
In terms of baroque, tenor, alto etc ... What is a standard recorder that they give you at school to play?
That's a soprano!
Ik heb een tenorfluit liggen in een houten doos. Weet je er iemand voor?
Hey sarah can u teach how to play arcade song . Need help . Please please do it 😟😢
Please reply
I have to disagree. Recorders from the late sixties can be great to. I bought a küng Classica made april 1969 in palisander 2nd hand. I took it to a windmaker and he made a recorder of that I would die for. I love this alto more than any other recorder I own. The best about the story is that this alto cost only a third after having it remade than I would have payed for a new one. So it was a double win for me. I am looking for another one 😉
I disagree with several things he's saying. For example, neither a straight windway nor pearwood are indicators of a bad recorder. Actually, if you want to try a historic recorder, you might be better off buying a pearwood one because if you buy a cocobolo one, you are playing vabanque. You might be allergic to cocobolo, and some people claim that once they showed an adverse reaction to cocobolo, they could no longer play recorders made from other tropical hardwoods (palisander, grenadilla...) either. Actually, if someone asked me to watch out for certain woods, I would include a caveat about cocobolo. Buy at your own risk. If you ask me, when it comes to such things as curved vs straight windways or wide vs narrow: Don't buy a new recorder if you are happy with the one you have just because the windway is straight or, got forbid, a bit on the wide side. I even believe that trashing the German fingering system was, in part, a ruse to sell people new recorders. I wouldn't recommend getting a new recorder with German fingering, unless you want it just to practice Great Highland Bagpipe rolls. But German recorders from the 1930s and 1940s can be exceptionally good, German system or no German system. I have recorders that are up to 90 years old, they are German-fingered and they stay German-fingered, for authenticity. And if a 90-year-old recorder with German fingering and no double holes still kicks a modern entry level recorder's ass, then this tells us a lot about modern entry-level instruments.
What does it mean to 'revoice'?
First comment ? It's official, I'm a member of Team Recorder ! Thanks Sarah for all the interesting videos, and for your passion that brought me back to pIaying the recorder. I am happy to be on this musical journey with you ! On the topic of second hand instrument, I love playing my second hand alto ! It has a lot of imperfections, but I love the sound and the warmth of it !
Welcome in our team!!!!
He keeps referring to Maple as a "soft" wood, but I was under the impression that Maple was a very dense wood?
Nope! It’s the softest wood used for recorders. Maybe it’s the type/age of the maple? This is proba European maple.
@@Team_Recorder Apparently there are two different kinds of maple, and some is hard and some is soft. They make baseball bats and floors out of hard maple.
www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/differences-between-hard-maple-and-soft-maple/
i do have a Fehr swiss 1950 very good. F second hand. and another one, with the labium myself shaved, so it gets very deep sound.
Fehr Zurich. pear wood. hey do you also play Baroque oboe ? I have ona chinese made, sounds good, i do nod find a good reed for it.
we have a regional philarmonia society, but due to the coronavirus, it is ME going to earn money on the street, not them.
the baroque oboe gets very noisy. within the deep C. E and all low notes.
but i had some italian reeds and myself made. i do not have the right reed.
the german fingering suits the recorder fingerings, i dream of somebody like a oboe player help me buid the RIGHT REED.
Spanish subtitles ? Spanish is the second language spoke in the World. Don't forget us .
1: mandarin chinese
2: spanish
3: english
I would absolutely love to have subtitles on my videos! However, I don't speak Spanish (so I can't provide them myself), and RUclips unfortunately recently removed the 'Community Contributions' feature which allowed viewers to submit subtitles in different languages. I'd love to be able to get someone to translate them for me, but that would cost way more than I ever make from the videos..! So you are definitely not forgotten, but at the moment I'm unfortunately not in a position to offer subtitles in all the languages I'd like to. Hopefully one day!
Hi Alvaro, circling back to this as I'm done some research, and I think I have some solutions for you! First, there is this plugin for the Chrome browser than automatically translates subtitles for you in loads of languages. I test it (with Dutch, the other language I speak) and it appears to work really well! chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/auto-translate-for-youtub/codommceejgdnbmfednpkhkfnlbepckf/related?hl=en
I also found a service that translates videos for a much cheaper rate than I thought. I can't do this for all 250 videos, but if you have a selection you'd really like to have in Spanish, let me know and I can see what I can do.
Also, do you Spanish speakers out there prefer Spain or Latin Spanish? (the two options given)
Hope this helps!
@@Team_Recorder that is true dedication to your followers, what a wonderful, caring thing to do.😎👍
I have two of the plastic recorders from the '60s. they don't sound very good.
Dude a good yamaha plastic recorder is like 25€ surely you can afford that
In North America we have barely nothing for recorders. And music in general.
USA have the biggest market on music (as a country) and whole North America have the second. Perharps you mean about recorder makers in comparison with europe. Even so, north america is far far away better than latin america.
@@leofloten Maybe it is different in the US, but in Canada, it is barely non-existent, but in Québec, the music comunity is just growing up (espacially in the luthier domain). What I meant is, by the way, that I never heard of any recorder maker in Québec or Canada.
I recently found a Craigslist listing for some old pearwood student recorders that I kinda wanna buy (and talk down the dude’s wayyyy too high asking price), but there’s a noticeable wear around the mouthpiece… *as if the player exclusively played by biting down on the instrument.* 😰
The varnish is basically completely stripped from the entire first inch or so of the mouthpiece (it seriously looks like it was hand-sandpapered by a drunk child, or repeatedly dipped in acetone or something…I can’t see actual tooth marks in the low-res listing photos, but I wouldn’t be surprised)
That’s like…nasty, right? I’d be totally justified in bringing that up to the seller and offering lower than what those particular instruments normally sell for, right? My instinct is that I should NOT pay full price for something like that, and I’d love for anyone to chime in with some encouragement (or discouragement if I’m totally off base!) before I try to lowball this guy.
Hi are you in disendent sleeping Beauty daughter