Customer Reviews

Hameln Rosewood Alto Recorder with Case

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was puzzled by the other review posted regarding this product, so I felt compelled to post my assessment which is orthogonally different. This recorder is excellent for the price. I own 4 other wood recorders by Gill and Yamaha and I am an intermediate level recorder player with years of experience. This unit has a more clean sound throughout the full register than any of those. I attribute the advantage to the Hamlin recorder to its Rosewood construction. I find that Maple constructed recorders sound "strained" to produce the higher band of their intended range. Note that the Rosewood models by the popular brands (e.g. Yamaha, Gill, Moeck) are considerably more money than the Hamlin. The Hamlin is produced in Vietnam, and its low price point is presumeably acheived by the cost of production in that country of origin. The finish of the Hamlin recorder is very good, not excellent. There are some rough finished areas, but the wood is beautiful. For the money, I submit that it is an excellent value. It came in a very nice custom-fitting hard case, and the case was packed very well from the shipper.

I was a bit concerned ordering this product at firt since It had sort of mixed reviews. Well I am very glad I was guided by the good ones. This alto recorder not only has a beautiful sound: perfect pitch for baroque music, but it is a very handsome instrument as well. It comes on a very pretty case, packed very nicely. I have been playing the recorder for a while and I thought it was time to upgrade to a wood one. I was tempted by the price and the fact it is made of rosewood. I am very very happy indeed. You will not regret it either. Just keep in mind as with any other wood recorder. You shouldn't play at firt for too long, not more than 10 minutes and then after not more than an hour a day if you wish to have a good instrument for years to come. It requires a bit more care than a plastic recorder (I have a yamaha 300 series) but it is definately worth having it.

I was attracted to this recorder because of its low price. I should have known better. The pitch is off on some of the notes in the higher registers and it is more difficult than most recorders to get a clear sound in the higher registers. The tone in general is ok but not great. I have owned several other wooden recorders - a low cost pearwood recorder and two expensive (Moeck) rosewood recorders. Even the pearwood recorder sounded better.

I notice there are reviews in here for the Soprano. It should be for the Alto.

This Alto recorder was a terrible waste of money for me.

It is a nice looking instrument, and that's about it. It only plays o.k. in the first octave, and the sound was pretty nice, what with it being made of rosewood. Then going to the second ocatve, it was completely off. I figured, give it another try the next day, as recorders have to be broken in, and I was thinking maybe the wood was wet. I was really hoping it would sound better, but somehow knew that I got gypped.

So, if you don't want to waste your money, don't buy this product. It will only be nice to look at and not good for much else. Maybe firewood.

It also plays a 1/2 octave lower, so would be o.k. for playing for yourself, but if you are playing with other people, not so good. It would sound "off".

I should have sent it back. Too late now.