Customer Reviews

Yamaha YRN-302BII Sopranino Recorder, Key of F

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This sopranino recorder is a legitimate musical instrument despite the fact that it is priced as if it were just a toy. The tone is really rather impressive with an accurately intoned and complex sounding lower end and a ringing and brilliant high end. Overall I'm very impressed, and not just because of the price. It can stand in comparison to a wooden instrument, but a wooden instrument would definitely sound more rounded and resonant-but thats what you get by spending upwards of 1000% more. Also there's the added benefit of not having to care meticulously for it.

Any complaints about intonation are really poorly founded. A wind instrument of any sort (at least that I'm aware of) will never play perfectly on pitch when you simply blow any stream of air through it. Its always possible to be a little flat and more likely a little sharp even on a blockflute type instrument like a recorder. That said, a good instrument will limit the discrepancy by which you can be sharp or flat and still produce a sound, and this recorder does that quite well. You do have to wield it with a good sense of control, but after getting your feel for the instrument down, that should come quite naturally. This instrument is worthy enough to be recorded or performed with other A=440 instruments and sounds.

Any one who likes playing recorder should definitely pick this one up. It's cheap, more portable than a soprano, very fun to play, and definitely worthwhile for anyone with a serious musical intent. This is the smallest size recorder that can be easy played by someone familiar with the larger sizes. The garklein really is a pain in the ear and a pain in the a$$, but still fun for a gag. The finger spacing on a sopranino should be comfortable with average sized hands or less, and workeable so long as you are not Shaq or Andre the giant. Yamaha products have always struck me as quality and trustworthy and this recorder is no exception.

As has been pointed out by the other reviewers, this is just short of a professional instrument. No, Bernard Krainis would not play this instrument, but then, Julian Bream would not play a Fender guitar, either. For the price and what it is, this is a very nice little instrument, though. It is superior to the somewhat cheaper versions of Yamaha plastic sopranino recorder, the YRN-22B, in that this has a somewhat mellower sound. Let's face it, though, sopranino recorder is somewhat shrill, even if it's a $400 version. For the money, you can't beat this little instrument. If you want a professional version, then spend the money on a cherry wood sopranino or buy one in a $500 set. For what is it, this is a sweet instrument.

The reviewer who complained about the pitch of this instrument is a little like the guy who complains about service at Denny's. If you want a real "professional" sopranino get a Moeck. Otherwise this little Yamaha is fine, with decent pitch and very loud. Great for covering fife and piccolo parts. There's also some very beautiful music by Vivaldi written especially for the instrument.

I have the Soprano and Alto recorders in the Yamaha 300 series and this is another great instrument. Forget what the above comment says. The sound is clear and lovely. I advise you to buy it. It's worth the money.

I have both the Alto and Soprano 300-series recorders, and have been very pleased with them. I was less pleased with the Sopranino. It just doesn't seem to have the quality that the others do. The fingering holes feel a bit rougher and the sound is not as smooth. This is not a terrible instrument, but definitely not that great, either.

This was a nice instrument that I needed in a hurry for a concert. It did require a little overblowing to hit some of the notes, but I managed to make it work. It was a nice sound for a "plastic" and a "Sopranino". It did the trick for the short notice that I had.

I wanted to add to my arsenal of recorders and opted to go for a sopranino. This is not a bad little instrument. The tone, especially on the lower register, is quite clear. The upper few notes, at the top of the instruments range, are of necessity a bit shrill - this is a sopranino after all. This is probably not the recorder to buy for your first or only recorder, but if you are looking to add to your recorder collection, this can be a nice addition. The small size makes it rather convenient to stash in a briefcase, backpack, or purse to have something available to play whenever. There are some works intended for the sopranino, and playing works for the alto an octave higher puts a different sound to them.

To my ears, there are no noticeable problems with intonation and the notes speak reasonably well. There can be some issues adapting to the small size and close spacing of the fingerholes, especially when switching back and forth between different sized instruments, but I find after a few minutes, this is no problem.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a recorder of this size who doesn't want to spend big bucks for a high end wooden model.

As someone used to the alto, I found the finger-spacing surprisingly easy to adapt to. The size isn't really an impediment at all. Actually my tenor took longer to get used to. What was very different for me was the very careful blowing pressure needed to eek out the sweetest notes. This did not take terribly long and became natural after a while, at least in the lower register. I need to work on the second octave notes still. Highly recommended! The sound is very bright and "piping."

I would also try learning Vivaldi's 3 concertos for this instrument -- RV 443, 444, and 445 -- the slow movements at least are not too difficult although they use overblown notes extensively. The lower register of recorders in those days was often rather weak, so Baroque recorder music tends to stay away from the lower few notes most of the time and utilize the upper register more. This music is public domain of course and sheet music is available at IMSLP.

An update: I've been able to master the second octave and work a bit on the third. The trick for the upper octave is to place the thumb very carefully on the thumb-hole, but more importantly just to play very loudly with a high windspeed. There seems to be no getting around the fact that this instrument's upper register is pure but very loud from high D up. Another interesting note (no pun intended) is that, unlike the yamaha alto and tenor, a trill on high D can be executed simply by trilling on the second finger-hole, just like in the first octave but with a much higher windspeed. It sounds quite sweet as long as you slur from D and don't try any tonguing, which will shift the instrument back to the first octave. This is very useful for cadences in C major. It seems to be much more satisfactory than the fingerings listed on various online trill charts since both notes are quite in-tune.

The Yamaha 300 series recorders are fantastic instruments. (I adore my soprano, alto, tenor, and bass!) Unfortunately, the Yamaha sopranino does not live up to the pure sounds of the others. It sounds both husky and nasal. The Aulos sopranino, which is about the same price, is a far better option.

Once I became accustomed to the little teeny spacing, I decided that this was the coolest thing I've bought all week. The notes are clear (and piercing!), and the tone is very nice. I especially like the lower register ("low" being a relative term!). Buy with confidence and have fun. Shipping was very quick.