Chiff and Fipple Forums

A few folks were interested in the Mollenhauer Adri's Dream Recorder, and I promised to report on what happened when I bought one for my wife. Which I did.

We were first of all held at verbal gunpoint by the owner of Susato and told to get single, not double, holes. Which we did. They are fine and not hard to get used to.

The instrument itself is visually beautiful, probably ostentatious by recorder standards, but I think it looks great. We got the red one with the gold at the joint and bell. It is made of pearwood, I believe.

At first my poor wife was flummoxed by moisture accumulation in the windway, which was killing the high notes after five minutes of playing, but George Kelischek (Susato guy) told me to make a weak solution of Jet Dry in water and soak the mouthpiece in it so that the windway is completely submerged. Well, that was that: no more problems. He told me all the professional recorder players do this.

The sound is typically rich and full due to the cylindrical bore (as opposed to the conical bore of the Yamaha) but does not get as terrifyingly loud in the high register as one might think.

Not being a recorder player, I can't say much else, except that I really like the sound, and my wife is pleased as punch.

Single holes as in how?

As in:

vs.

I hope we don't get kicked out of here for all this recorder stuff.

Sonja

Me want one!
Probably the natural wood colored version, so I wouldn't stand out like a sore thumb in our recorder consort...

Ooooh! I looked at those! Pretty! I wound up getting the Haka model aulos sop and alto in woodgrain, and the woodgrain alto in yamaha.

Hmmm, that's really interesting. I've heard such different things about these dream flutes. Most people seem to like them, but people say that the quality is variable. And they're not that cheap, are they? At least not the altos, I think. I guess most people on this board would be more interested in the sopranos, anyway. BTW, speaking of Mollenhauer, I mentioned a while ago that I'd purchased a Prima soprano--plastic head, wood body. I've got to say I consider it a pretty total bust. I don't think it compares in tone to good quality plastics, and it has tuning problems.

However, I did go ahead and get both a soprano and an alto Aulos Haka. Decent looking woodgrain. I already had a Yamaha 302 (non-woodgrain alto). The Aulos compares to the Yamaha pretty much like the internet comparison by three pros. That means, the Yamaha has booming low notes and plays pretty easy in the high end. But the Aulos has a more distinctive, "woodier" sound. FWIW, both my wife and my flute playing son prefer the Aulos. It is a little more challenging to play than the Yamaha, in that you have to adjust your blowing a bit more for the high notes in particular, but you also get a little more dynamic range and expressiveness.

That's the alto, which I got so I could go back to Baroque music a bit. I got the soprano pretty much to fool around with English country dance stuff. Unfortunately, the soprano isn't as satisfactory. It's easily better than the Prima or cheap Yamahas in tone, but it has tuning problems. I've had to fool around with both joints a good bit to get the two octaves in relatively decent synch--that was not an issue with the alto. But it is a nice sounding little - oops - I almost wrote "whistle"! It suits the purpose I bought it for pretty well, however my wife (and I) definitely prefer my Sweet Pro model for the country dances when it fits the tunes.

Hey vomit! I see you have both Aulos and Yamaha woodgrains. Would you care to compare them? Some people say the woodgrain Yamaha is somehow a little better than the 302 that I have. To be honest (why not, after all), I'm a little skeptical. If anyone has one of the woodgrain sopranos, and can compare it to an Aulos, I'd be interested in that.

Sonja, don't sweat it. If I haven't been kicked off the board for all my OT posting, there's no way a few harmless r******r posts will cause a problem.

BTW, I'm listening to a CD of Marion Verbruggen playing the Handel recorder sonatas: basically alto, harpsichord and cello. The recorder playing is out of this world! IMO, anyway. She plays a Fred Morgan instrument. I can only imagine how much it must have cost!

Oh, has anyone used Duponol on plastic instruments? Does it really work? I assume the Jet Dry solution is for wood instruments.

elendil wrote:Hmmm, that's really interesting. I've heard such different things about these dream flutes. Most people seem to like them, but people say that the quality is variable. And they're not that cheap, are they? At least not the altos, I think. I guess most people on this board would be more interested in the sopranos, anyway. BTW, speaking of Mollenhauer, I mentioned a while ago that I'd purchased a Prima soprano--plastic head, wood body. I've got to say I consider it a pretty total bust. I don't think it compares in tone to good quality plastics, and it has tuning problems.

However, I did go ahead and get both a soprano and an alto Aulos Haka. Decent looking woodgrain. I already had a Yamaha 302 (non-woodgrain alto). The Aulos compares to the Yamaha pretty much like the internet comparison by three pros. That means, the Yamaha has booming low notes and plays pretty easy in the high end. But the Aulos has a more distinctive, "woodier" sound. FWIW, both my wife and my flute playing son prefer the Aulos. It is a little more challenging to play than the Yamaha, in that you have to adjust your blowing a bit more for the high notes in particular, but you also get a little more dynamic range and expressiveness.

That's the alto, which I got so I could go back to Baroque music a bit. I got the soprano pretty much to fool around with English country dance stuff. Unfortunately, the soprano isn't as satisfactory. It's easily better than the Prima or cheap Yamahas in tone, but it has tuning problems. I've had to fool around with both joints a good bit to get the two octaves in relatively decent synch--that was not an issue with the alto. But it is a nice sounding little - oops - I almost wrote "whistle"! It suits the purpose I bought it for pretty well, however my wife (and I) definitely prefer my Sweet Pro model for the country dances when it fits the tunes.

Hey vomit! I see you have both Aulos and Yamaha woodgrains. Would you care to compare them? Some people say the woodgrain Yamaha is somehow a little better than the 302 that I have. To be honest (why not, after all), I'm a little skeptical. If anyone has one of the woodgrain sopranos, and can compare it to an Aulos, I'd be interested in that.

Sonja, don't sweat it. If I haven't been kicked off the board for all my OT posting, there's no way a few harmless r******r posts will cause a problem.

BTW, I'm listening to a CD of Marion Verbruggen playing the Handel recorder sonatas: basically alto, harpsichord and cello. The recorder playing is out of this world! IMO, anyway. She plays a Fred Morgan instrument. I can only imagine how much it must have cost!

Oh, has anyone used Duponol on plastic instruments? Does it really work? I assume the Jet Dry solution is for wood instruments.

I would be delighted to compair!
The sop and alto aulos look great. The woodgrain really does look and feel real. The sound of both seem to match very well. Subdued woodiness, consistant tone. Probably great for ensemble, but I can't say first hand. That is not to say at all that either would not make a decent solo instrument. I think I like that sop better, maybe.
The yamaha. I picked this up brand new on ebay for 32 bucks! Woodgrain! First impression-nice looking, but I don't think the woodgrain will fool anyone as readilly as the aulos. The tone is woodier, very slightly deeper, and a bit more intense, at least at first......after playing a few minutes, you pick up the aulos and realize there isn't that much difference in intensity or woodiness. It seems more profound at first. Most people seems to like the sound of the yamaha better. Most but not all. All three nail the notes with ease as well. Very easy players.
Fantastic deals, all three. Plastics have come so far the last few years. They compair favorably to at least a decent wood, and much better than a cheap wood. And the woodgrain finish, especially the aulos, will fool em most of the time.
I love em both. Poor things are being neglected since I picked up the whislte jones......sorta wish I could find a cheapie with german fingering so I could ignore the thumb and play my whistle music on it.
You know, I see people posting about the stretch on a low d. Sounds remarkably similar to the post I see about the stretch on tenors.......

Oh, has anyone used Duponol on plastic instruments? Does it really work? I assume the Jet Dry solution is for wood instruments.
*************

I use it on my wooden recorders, plastic recorders, and all whistles. It works fine, but probably no better than soap or Jet Dry. I buy the Duponol because it comes in a convenient little dropper bottle that I can carry around and use when necessary.

brewerpaul wrote:Oh, has anyone used Duponol on plastic instruments? Does it really work? I assume the Jet Dry solution is for wood instruments.
*************

I use it on my wooden recorders, plastic recorders, and all whistles. It works fine, but probably no better than soap or Jet Dry. I buy the Duponol because it comes in a convenient little dropper bottle that I can carry around and use when necessary.

I use liquid soap. Even dishwashing liquid is better than nothing. I've found thick liquid hand soap applied with a tiny brush or palate knife is goo. Just paint a little in the windway.

[quote="vomitbunny
I use liquid soap. Even dishwashing liquid is better than nothing. I've found thick liquid hand soap applied with a tiny brush or palate knife is goo. Just paint a little in the windway.[/quote]

Dilute it! A couple of drops of liquid an ounce of water works just fine. If you use straight soap and suck in to clear the mouthpiece ( which you may still need to do once in a while) the taste is awful!

morgan wrote:.......
We were first of all held at verbal gunpoint by the owner of Susato and told to get single, not double, holes. .....................

why?
can anyone tell me ?
whats wrong with having a low 7th and low diminished 7th
as well as 2nd and diminished 2nd. All others can be cross fingered when needed.

So, whats with that (about not getting double holers), hmmm?
I have never had a recorder. Am I confused?

morgan? anybaddy else?

you're all traitors.

talasiga wrote:

morgan wrote:.......
We were first of all held at verbal gunpoint by the owner of Susato and told to get single, not double, holes. .....................

why?
can anyone tell me ?
whats wrong with having a low 7th and low diminished 7th
as well as 2nd and diminished 2nd. All others can be cross fingered when needed.

So, whats with that (about not getting double holers), hmmm?
I have never had a recorder. Am I confused?

morgan? anybaddy else?

Probably they had a bunch of single hole ones that weren't selli... *ahem*... I mean... there are any number of reasons that Susato knows that are far above the grasp of understanding of an oridinary player, for example, single holes are more traditional (if you want real traditional, you get two bottom holes, one for players who use left hand top and one for players who use right hand top, and plug the other with wax), single holes are more fashionable on the Continent, double holes look like nostrils, and double holes just aren't necessary.

Walden wrote:......
double holes look like nostrils, and double holes just aren't necessary.

Do you breath thru your mouth?
Double holes allow you to play the half note on notes that you can't cross finger.
If Irish Flutes/Whistles had double holes for the right ring finger tonehole
we wouldn't get this plague of "newbie" questions about "how can I get an Eb on my pipe Ma?"

And you call yourself a recorder lover?

amar wrote:you're all traitors.

What do you expect in an OT topic - odes to Feadog?

Now
it is time you learnt about the birds and the bees:
The bosom of piping has two fipples - the recorder and the whistle!.