October 2020

How to Choose a Recorder by Bill Lazar

There are many considerations in choosing a recorder, just as there are in choosing any musical instrument. Playing music is both a technical exercise and a very personal, emotional experience. Your choice of an instrument should ideally involve both technical or objective aspects and emotional or subjective aspects.

What should I look for when deciding on a wooden instrument? Check the condition of the instrument, whether new or used. Look for scratches, cracks and examine the condition of the labium, the ramp whose edge starts the air vibrating to produce sound. Are the bore and windway undamaged, clean and without mold? Is the thumbhole worn? If so, it could be bushed but you won’t know how it plays until that work is done.

Bring an electronic tuner to check instrument tuning. Check to see if octaves, fifths, fourths and thirds are in tune. A slightly sharp overall instrument is OK, as you can pull out the head joint. Don’t buy a flat instrument, as you can’t play in tune with others. Does the instrument play in tune in all the common keys? Check to see that standard or easy alternate fingerings work on Eb and Bb, for instance (for alto).

How does the instrument speak? Do the highest notes speak easily and cleanly (no hissing/breathiness, squawks or chiffs)? Conversely, can you attack the high notes relatively sharply without them cracking? Are the lowest notes stable--don’t overblow easily? You want to be able to play fully on the bottom--not have to baby it. Is there a burble/instability on the next to lowest note (low D on soprano/tenor; low G on alto/bass), especially when blowing more fully? Don’t pick that instrument! Does the instrument speak/articulate easily throughout its range when single- and double-tongued? Do high C# and high F (on alto) speak easily and cleanly? How is the tone quality, clarity, richness and evenness of dynamics throughout the range? To check dynamics, try using a long tone to see how much can you drop or raise your breath pressure while still staying close to in tune. The instrument should have some flexibility. Bring music that you know and enjoy to test instruments on. Also, try playing these pieces loud and soft.

How does the wood affect tonal qualities? While design and construction are the major factors determining tonal qualities, instrument wood does contribute to the sound quality. In general, the harder the wood, the stronger and fuller the sound. Softer woods such as pearwood and maple tend to be warmer and quieter and have minimal overtones. On the other end of the spectrum are hard, fine-grained woods like ebony and granadilla which are more likely to be strong and brilliant. In between are such woods as cherry, plum, rosewood and tulipwood, which usually are stronger and richer in overtones than the softer woods.

Know what type of recorder is right for you. There are different styles of instruments: Medieval, Renaissance, transitional, Baroque or modern. Baroque instruments have a 2-octave range; Renaissance instruments normally have an octave and a fifth or sixth range. Most players will start with a Baroque style instrument. What type of music will your recorder be used to play, in what setting and with what other instruments? Are you playing medieval, renaissance or baroque music? Modern music, classical music, folk music, country dance music, etc.? Are you wanting your recorder for solo, recorder consort or mixed consort? Do you want to blend or stand out? Will you be playing it with loud instruments? With soft instruments? Is this your first instrument, or are you upgrading? What pitch are you going to play at: A415 (Baroque), A440 (modern) or A465 (Renaissance)? The vast majority of players will be playing at modern pitch. How much are you willing to spend? In general, don’t buy cheap wooden instruments. A good plastic recorder will sound better and be easier to play. The price range for a wooden recorder will vary from shop to shop and depend on the brand, model and wood. Factory manufactured wooden instruments from makers such as Kung, Moeck and Mollenhauer are a great choice to replace your plastic recorders. They have school models, amateur models and even more advanced semi-handmade models. Handmade instruments by individual makers are another choice and the most expensive. Buying a used instrument might save you some money while still getting you a high-quality instrument--check early music shops. Some examples of good amateur models include Kung Superio (their tenors, basses, great basses and contrabasses are wonderful!) (altos from about $600 to $1000, depending on the wood); Moeck Rottenburgh (altos from about $350 to $900, depending on the wood); Mollenhauer Denner (from about $350 to $850, depending on the wood).

Mollenhauer and Moeck also make semi-handmade altos in both A440 and A415 versions. Mollenhauer Denner Edition ranges from about $900 to $1600, depending on the wood. Moeck makes the Denner, from about $1200 to $1700, depending on the wood. Moeck also makes a Stanesby model in A415 and A440 (pictured above), from about $1200 to $1300. All of these can be quite nice.

Above: Mollenhauer Dream Alto in Pearwood—a fuller Renaissance-type sound with the 2-octave range of a Baroque alto Handmade Recorders As for handmade instruments, there are many good makers out there. In the US, von Huene Baroque altos are $2400. Prescott Workshop altos are $2300. In Canada, see Jean-Luc Boudreau. Handmade instruments are often at A415 as they are modeled after the original Baroque pitch instruments. There are some fine European makers. Martin Wenner altos sell from about $1200 to $2100, depending on the model and wood. Other excellent makers include Blezinger, Coomber and Netsch, among others. Some makers are more successful with their Renaissance instruments than their Baroque ones, and vice versa. Try Buying used! If buying a used recorder, you should expect to pay from 60% to 80% of the new price for an instrument in good condition.

What size recorder do you want? The most common sizes for recorders are soprano, alto, tenor and bass. An alto is a good instrument to start on, as it is mellower than a soprano. If you are playing in a consort, what size do they need? Don’t let clefs scare you away. Bass clef is easy to learn, if that is the size you want to play. There are even instruments for one-handed players or players with unusable or missing fingers.

Paetzold Contrabass, 1 octave below a bass—with all holes keyed for an easy stretch Stretch your budget! If you are buying a wooden instrument that you intend to play for years to come, stretch your budget, if necessary, to pick one that you love for both its sound and playing characteristics. It doesn’t hurt if you love how it looks, but this should not be the primary criterion for choosing your instrument. An instrument that you love will encourage you to practice and give you more pleasure than an instrument that is just OK. And isn’t that why we amateurs play music—for the love of it?

I trained and worked as a research biochemist/molecular biologist for many years. I didn’t have any music training as a child, but started playing recorder in graduate school. I also studied and play viola da gamba and early double reeds—shawms and dulcians. I’ve played for many years in recorder society chapters (Rochester, NY; Monterey Bay, CA), the Mid-Peninsula Recorder orchestra here in Northern California and in small consorts. I have attended and thoroughly enjoyed dozens of early music workshops over the last 45 years. In 1994, I ordered four Paetzold square basses for some friends and myself from Germany. Paetzold asked me if I wanted to be a distributor for his instruments in the U.S. I said, "Sure," and ran this side business from my home, gradually increasing the array of instruments I sold. I got downsized at work one too many times and in 2004 decided to see if I could make a go of this full time. Lazar's Early Music succeeded beyond my wildest dreams, as they say. I had many years of very satisfying experiences dealing with early music enthusiasts, helping them find instruments that they love. In 2018, I sold the business to Martin Shelton and retired. I spend much of my time doing photography—landscape, macro, abstract and astrophotography—as well as playing recorders and early double reeds. My wife and I moved to Northern California in 1975 and now live in Sunnyvale, CA.  (photo: Bill in his former shop, playing a Kung contrabass.)

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