4567 replies to this topic

[willobie]

I have a pearwood descant (my treble, tenor and bass are plastic - Aulos, Dolmetsch and Woodnote respectively).
During this week I have a visit to the London Recorder Centre and I'm going to get a garklein because they are too ikkle to resist. I was going to get the Aulos plastic one...but I think if I'm buying it for the beautiful loveliness, I should buy a wooden one. They have a pearwood one listed on the website...
My eventual aim is to have the treble and tenor in pearwood in the same range as my existing descant. It's the Dolmetsch Academy range so nothing too fabulous, just a decent wooden recorder. I figure that by the time I'm ready for something fantabulous like a handmade, I'll be able to afford it, ha ha ha! But in the meantime I shall get myself something good-but-affordable!
The treble may happen soon as I expect after the shopping trip my husband will talk me in to making the purchase (especially as Dolmetsch now have on their website that online purchasing is 'coming soon).

I know there is absolutely no need for the woods or the range to match, I'm just deeply attracted to the idea Of course, it might all change once I have the chance to try some out...intellectually, I'm attracted to boxwood as the 'traditional' recorder wood, but I've never knowingly heard it. I do sense this shopping trip could be disasterous in an absolutely wonderful way

'Boxwood'...

[andante_in_c]

Palisander sopranino (my new baby); boxwood descant; olivewood treble ; boxwood tenor plus Yamaha 302 descant, treble, tenor, bass and a few others.

[salrec]

Brilliant! Serious talk about a proper instrument!!!

We have a rather large collection of recorders, all sizes from Garkleine (one plastic) to Bass (two wooden).

My Dolmetsch Conservatoire treble is one of my favourites - but then another is the lovely painted stripey one I received last birthday from one of my daughters. What it lacks in refined tone it makes up for in jolliness. . .

One of our basses isn't actually ours, but we've got it on more-or-less permanent foster care. It's a Hohner, a knick design with a metal (or metal-coated plastic?) knick joint. Quite old, but with an acceptable tone. Does anyone know anything about these?

Trying hard not to notice that EMS have a couple of Great Basses in their Used Instrument Agency at the moment.

[Rosemary7391]

Hehe! I'm getting slightly fed up of having no recorder consort to play with.. I'm thinking of starting one at school, but my teacher also wants me to start a clarinet choir! Does anyone know how hard it is to run a recorder consort? Mainly how much time it would take!

Great Basses? I imagine those would be huuuuge!

[salrec]

Yes, but not as huge as a sub bass

[hillyb]

I have a Rottenburg Ebony treble and Palisander descant. They're great!

A nice wooden tenor is my next dream......!!

[Roseau]

Hehe! I'm getting slightly fed up of having no recorder consort to play with.. I'm thinking of starting one at school, but my teacher also wants me to start a clarinet choir! Does anyone know how hard it is to run a recorder consort? Mainly how much time it would take!

I used to run two when I was in the sixth form. I had one for about 5 or 6 pupils in the 4th and 5th years (years 10 and 11? I'm afraid I'm not good at remembering the new names for the years) plus myself in the 6th form (we had a tiny 6th form and no one else played) and an English teacher. These were all people who could play and who had learnt at primary school from a recorder specialist and we used the full range of recorders from sopranino to bass but not always all of them all the time.

The other group were 1st and 2nd years who were either beginners or had never really had any proper lessons.

The idea was actually my English teacher's but I could play much better than her so she asked me to run it instead. The advantage of having a teacher involved was that I had access to rooms, a teachers' music library to find music and she even took me on a recorder course once aimed at teachers at which I was the only pupil.

It took up two lunchtimes a week, plus a few after school rehearsals before concerts. I really enjoyed doing it.

[sarah-flute]

I do sense this shopping trip could be disasterous in an absolutely wonderful way

Sounds fab!

Palisander sopranino (my new baby);

Ooooh!

Trying hard not to notice that EMS have a couple of Great Basses in their Used Instrument Agency at the moment.

Dangerous!

I have quite a selection of recorders but almost all plastic, and the one wooden one is totally naff. My favourite is the Yamaha 302 treble.

[Cyrilla]

Plastic sopranino, handmade Dolmetsch boxwood descant and treble, maple tenor and bass - oh, and a pearwood (?) Moeck descant which I really don't like and I only use as a last resort!

Bagpuss has a few scrummy recordery things that she keeps in a wine rack so hopefully she'll be along tomorrow to tell us what they're made of!

[Rosemary7391]

Hehe! I'm getting slightly fed up of having no recorder consort to play with.. I'm thinking of starting one at school, but my teacher also wants me to start a clarinet choir! Does anyone know how hard it is to run a recorder consort? Mainly how much time it would take!

I used to run two when I was in the sixth form. I had one for about 5 or 6 pupils in the 4th and 5th years (years 10 and 11? I'm afraid I'm not good at remembering the new names for the years) plus myself in the 6th form (we had a tiny 6th form and no one else played) and an English teacher. These were all people who could play and who had learnt at primary school from a recorder specialist and we used the full range of recorders from sopranino to bass but not always all of them all the time.

The other group were 1st and 2nd years who were either beginners or had never really had any proper lessons.

The idea was actually my English teacher's but I could play much better than her so she asked me to run it instead. The advantage of having a teacher involved was that I had access to rooms, a teachers' music library to find music and she even took me on a recorder course once aimed at teachers at which I was the only pupil.

It took up two lunchtimes a week, plus a few after school rehearsals before concerts. I really enjoyed doing it.

That sounds okay then! Though I would probably have to find some descant/tenor only music - I think I'm the only treble player in the school (This of about 1800 kids? )

[Good Intentions]

I only have my plastic Aulo descant at the moment I am STILL waiting for my tenor to arrive only a plastic one but im really excited......

if it doesn't arrive soon i really will have the
(sorry i have been waiting to use that smiley for ages )

There seams to be lots of types of wood recorders can be made of I have heard mention of Cherry, Rose Box, Pear etc, what are the differences, warmer sounds? Cost? quality?

I Recorder!!

[flutecake]

There seams to be lots of types of wood recorders can be made of I have heard mention of Cherry, Rose Box, Pear etc, what are the differences, warmer sounds? Cost? quality?

Cost and sound quality. Moeck have a neat little summery with pictures on their website: http://www.moeck.com/
Go to "recorders" and then "worth knowing and faq"

I have an aulos sopranino, descant and treble and a wodden tenor (no idea what the make is).
The moeck rosewood recorders look lovely though

[Roseau]

That sounds okay then! Though I would probably have to find some descant/tenor only music - I think I'm the only treble player in the school (This of about 1800 kids? )

We only had one other treble player apart from me and she couldn't read the bass clef. The reason I said we didn't use all the recorders all the time was because I got bored playing bass all the time. (Although the school did have a lovely wooden bass recorder lying unused at the back of the music store cupboard, which I had on permanent loan).

Going back to your own problem, you can get music for three recorders where the first line is for descant, the third line for tenor and the second line is written out twice, once for a treble and once for either a descant or a tenor.

[Alison]

I've got a 302 tenor which works beautifully, and a 302 treble which works beautifully when it doesn't start 'gumming up', which it always seems to want to do after a while...

Try dribbling some washing-up liquid down the top, then wash it out under the hot tap. Works brilliantly for stopping mouthpieces gumming up.... don't try it on a wooden recorder, though!!

Plastic sopranino, handmade Dolmetsch boxwood descant and treble, maple tenor and bass - oh, and a pearwood (?) Moeck descant which I really don't like and I only use as a last resort!

Bagpuss has a few scrummy recordery things that she keeps in a wine rack so hopefully she'll be along tomorrow to tell us what they're made of!

Piers Adams keeps his in a wine rack, too, so you're in good company, Bagpuss!

[Cyrilla]

Bagpuss has a few scrummy recordery things that she keeps in a wine rack so hopefully she'll be along tomorrow to tell us what they're made of!

Piers Adams keeps his in a wine rack, too, so you're in good company, Bagpuss!

Where do you think she got the idea from???