Customer Reviews

Yamaha YRT-304B Professional Tenor Recorder with Baroque Fingering

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I played the recorder in school, so I thought it would be easy to pick it up again. I always liked the sound of the tenor, and Yamaha has been a favorite of mine, so the choice was easy. The quality of this instrument is excellent. Very solid, and great tone for a resin (plastic) recorder. My only problem so far is the finger spacing. I had read that it was pretty wide, but heck, I play the piano, and I've always had fairly long fingers, so I didn't think it would be a problem. Either my fingers shrunk, or this is one tough instrument to play. I would not recommend it for a beginner like me. I may have to sell it and get a Yamaha alto instead, but it's got such a great sound that I'd hate to do it.

The Yamaha 304 tenor recorder (which is what this is, although it is $1 less than the same instrument listed for some reason), is a solid instrument with a wonderfully pleasing, low, and rich sound. I am used to a soprano recorder and was kind of worried about this product because of people commenting on the finger spacing being quite wide, much to my joy the finger spacing is no problem. The product is almost twice the size of a soprano recorder, the spacing is much wider for the finger holes, but anyone with normal sized hands won't have a problem, and the recorder itself is very solid in its construction. The thumbrest included with the product it pretty much useless unless you put some superglue on it, however I don't really need one when I am sitting down and playing (which I usually am). Due to the finger holes being larger, you will have to adjust your grip to ensure that you are properly covering the holes when playing this instrument if you are used to a soprano, but it will become second nature to keep the holes covered properly very quickly.

This recorder has the same benefits and negatives effecting all plastic recorders. The benefit is the thing will basically last forever and will require almost non-existant upkeep, the down side is that the material does not absorb moisture at all and the buildup will lead to blockage when playing pretty frequently. I am not detracting from the instruments quality, as that is common place when dealing with plastic recorders, but it is something that needs to be mentioned for those new to recorders. It makes up for that in price though, being less than a tenth of the price of a similar quality wooden recorder. The tone is absolutely remarkable with this instrument and if you are considering getting a tenor recorder I can't recommend it highly enough.

If you are considering one for a child though, you should get a soprano recorder due to size and finger spacing and such. The good news is that this instrument is in the same key as a soprano and any skill learned with a soprano can be carried over to a tenor.

Enjoy the music :)

I bought my yamaha 300 tenor about five years ago. In terms of tone and tuning, I've been very happy with it. You do have to work a little harder to get it in tune for the higher octave, but this has been the case with all of the tenors I've played. The lack of absorbtion can be an issue too. It gets clogged up very easily.

Also, do you have small hands? - it is a big instrument. If your hands are small like mine are, you will probably find yourself avoiding middle Cs, C#s, and Fs (or suffering the consequences, as I am currently... ouch). I can only play it for short amounts of time. Some others who have played it haven't any problems in that respect though. But I wouldn't reccomend it for young kids.

To preface this review, I have only been actively playing for a few months, and began on my old soprano (equivalent to a yamaha 20 series) from elementary school.

I purchased this recorder a few months ago, and I've been quite happy with my purchase. I chose the tenor because I was still learning the C fingerings, and didn't want to confuse myself so early in the learning process. The transition wasn't AS simple as it seemed, since the spread of the instrument takes time to get used to, but I (along with my roommate and girlfriend) found the lower tone well worth the effort. I have not personally heard any other tenor recorders, so I can't compare to others, but when played well, the sound is full, rich, and enjoyable. I feel like I have more expressive flexibility within each note than I did with my own soprano, which may be quality related, or may just be the nature of the instrument.

The biggest issue I've had with the instrument is comfort. The first week and a half of playing was brutal on my hands. I'm kind of tall, and have relatively large hands, and it still took time to get used to this instrument. Playing sitting down has become a non-issue, but playing standing up is another story. The included thumbrest takes trial and error to find the perfect placement, and the double sided tape included couldn't handle it. I ended up finding a position that was a bit higher than I needed, and I used part of a command strip situate it. I then cut up a wine cork to make a softer, adjustable thumbrest. If you try hard enough you can make the thumbrest work, otherwise there are plenty of inexpensive detachable thumbrests online that I'm sure would do the trick. On an unrelated note, this recorder clogs with moisture like any other plastic instrument. It isn't that big of a deal though.

If you want a recorder with C fingering and an awesome deep tone, this recorder is perfect. Just be aware, it's rather large, and takes time to adjust to.

I own all of the Yamaha 300 series (tenor, alto, and soprano). All are fine instruments for being plastic construction. The tenor has excellent sound quality and is easy to keep clean. Very highly recommended!!! Please note that tenor recorders require fairly large hands, or at least the ability to stretch your fingers pretty far to reach all the sound holes. I am about an average sized man and fingering the instrument is not too difficult after getting used to it.

It does sound excellent and everything everyone said is true, just to reiterate: you DO need very large hands for this. I'm 5'11" and have been playing piano my whole life, I have big hands for a woman and I am struggling to finger the holes properly, but I do LOVE the sound.

This Tenor Recorder was on my son's Christmas wish list. My son plays Alto clarinet, clarinet, and has another recorder we purchased from a local music store. The sound that he generates when playing his tenor recorder mirrors that of a professional instrument. He's been playing Mannheim Steamroller songs with it and it sounds just like the real thing. Overall, I would highly recommend this instrument. He also wants a soprano recorder, which will be our next purchase.

Yamaha 300-Series 3-Piece C-Tenor Recorder (Dark Brown)
This is my first tenor recorder. It sounds good to me. It has a nice low sound. I don't get a consistent low 'c' note, but I think it is my technique and not the instrument. I am pleased with the the instrument except for the thumb rest.

You have to attach the thumb rest yourself with supplied two-sided tape. I hve never done this before, so I used trial and error to find the right position for it. After several tries the tape no longer holds well. The instructions with the instrument recommends buying more tape if it gets to the point where it doesn't stick. Instead I found what I hope to be the best placement, stuck the thumb rest on and outlined it with a magic marker. I then took it off, cleaned tape off the instrument and the thumb rest. I put the thumb rest in the outlined spot and glued it on with super glue. I am not recommending this, but it works for me. I believe Yamaha needs to re-think the taped-on thumb rest.