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Introducing Electronic Recorders
by James Howard Young
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The recorder is an ancient instrument, but also lends itself well to different types of innovations - for instance, modern recorders designed to be loud enough to play with an orchestra, recorders with extended ranges, and some that abandon the traditional design to be more ergonomic. Another, perhaps more controversial development is that of the electronic recorder.
This article will discuss the various types of electronic recorder available today as well as some topics related to their use. For the purpose of clarity, I will be using two terms in this article: the “standalone” electronic recorder and the “controller” electronic recorder.
A standalone electronic recorder is any instrument that plays electronic sounds by itself. That means that you don’t need a phone, computer, iPad or synthesizer to make music. Everything you need is in the instrument already. These instruments are generally more expensive than controller instruments. They will usually feature a headphone output so you can plug headphones into them and play without disturbing the neighbors. Instruments in this category include the eCorder Faraday Z1, eCorder Faraday Y2 and the Aodyo Sylphyo. You can liken these instruments to a standard electronic keyboard. You turn the keyboard on and can play without hooking it up to anything and in the same way, you can play the standalone recorder without hooking it up to anything.
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A controller electronic recorder is any instrument that depends upon an external sound source to produce sounds. This external sound source can be a phone, iPad, laptop, synthesizer, etc. They do not have a headphone output but rely on MIDI to produce sounds. The concept of MIDI used in this article can be likened to a player piano. On a player piano, you have a roll of paper containing holes that trigger certain notes on the piano. These holes are basically what MIDI is: messages telling the sound source what notes to play and when and also transmitting data such as length, volume, and attack. An electronic recorder that uses MIDI exclusively will not have sounds on its own but will depend upon some sort of synthesizer or software instrument in order to produce sounds. Instruments in this category include the re.corder, the Warbl, and the eCorder Faraday Y1.
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A third type of electronic recorder is the “amplified” recorder. These instruments are standard recorders that are amplified in some way but still rely on acoustic means to produce sounds. The Mollenhauer Elody is an example of this category. These types of instruments will not be covered in this article. | |
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At the risk of confusing the reader, I should note that standalone instruments also transmit MIDI just like a controller instrument. That means that if you purchase a standalone instrument, you can choose to either play it with its built-in sounds, or play an external device as you would with a controller instrument. The advantage of a standalone instrument is that you do not need to rely on an external device. You don’t need to worry about setting it up or purchasing anything extra. There is also no delay (latency) between the player and the resulting sounds. The disadvantage is that you will end up spending more than you would for a controller instrument.
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A Wealth of Sounds
If you choose to purchase a controller instrument, you will need to decide what you will use for a sound source. The re.corder by Artinoise uses Bluetooth MIDI to communicate with a wealth of devices. It has a free app that contains some simple sounds to get you started. These sounds are rather primitive so you will likely want to branch out into any of the several software instruments available. Since the re.corder uses MIDI, you can play basically any synthesizer you want to, provided you can make a Bluetooth connection to it. The Warbl uses a USB cable to connect to your external sound source which means that you might need an adapter to connect to your phone, iPad or synthesizer. The library of sounds available for these instruments is endless. Here are a few noteworthy examples:
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A Wealth of Techniques
Many of the electronic instruments mentioned here make use of special techniques. The eCorder Faraday models and the Warbl allow the player to execute finger vibrato (flattement). The Sylphyo, eCorders, and the re.corder allow the player to manipulate sounds by tilting the instrument. All instruments allow the player to play in any range. That means you can play all the way from sub-contrabass to garklein. The eCorders allow the player to select the range directly from the instrument. This means that you don’t need to use any software to change the range. This is a great advantage for when you need to change range on the fly.
In addition to playing in any range, the electronic recorder allows the performer to practice completely silently. All that is required is a pair of headphones. It also opens up the possibility of performing any instrument or sound that one desires. I have used an electronic recorder to perform string parts of an orchestra as a concerto accompaniment. And changing from A=440 to A=415 and back, for example, is easily accomplished via software. All in all, the electronic recorder gives the performer access to sonic possibilities that previously were only accessible to keyboard players.
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Playing an Electric Recorder
If you read any reviews of electronic recorders, you’ll probably come across the term “latency.” Latency is the delay between when the performer plays a note, and the note speaks. Latency will vary depending upon several parameters. As I have stated, a standalone instrument will have no discernible latency since the sounds are located within the instrument. Controller instruments will have a small amount of latency which can affect rapid passagework and rapid tonguing. It may take some getting used to in order to play the instrument, but once the player is familiar with it, it should feel no different than any other electronic instrument. Latency may also increase with the use of Bluetooth headphones or speakers so the more that is cabled together, the better the results should be.
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Which Instrument is Right for Me?
When deciding on an electronic recorder, you should first consider your budget and whether you want a standalone or controller instrument. Below, you will find a list of the instruments described in this article and their current prices. The re.corder is the cheapest instrument on the market, but may include some latency. However, it is feature-rich and plays well. The Warbl is a good option for whistle players, closely replicating the experience of playing a whistle. The Sylphyo is a solid all-around instrument and will be a good choice for people familiar with wind controllers. Lastly, the eCorder range includes a wide range of instruments, both controller and standalone, at a slightly higher price point.
re.corder: $199 https://www.recorderinstruments.com/en
Warbl: $250 https://warbl.xyz
Sylphyo: $970 https://aodyo.com/sylphyo
eCorder: $1200 - $1750 https://www.ecorder.io
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The author performing Gabrieli on a re.corder and an eCorder Faraday Z1 as well as a Yamaha WX5 (discontinued) | |
The author performing a Bach triple keyboard concerto with digital re.corder orchestra | |
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