HOHNER vs YAMAHA Recorders?
John H. Chauvin
some advice on which brand to purchase. I do not feel comfortable puchasing
a moeck at this time. The general opinion within this newsgroup is that
YAMAHA makes pretty good plastic recorders. How do they compare to the
top-of-the-line HOHNER pearwoods? What do people think of HOHNER recorders?
Thanks,
John Chauvin
--
John H. Chauvin jcha...@netcom.COM
Netcom - Online Communication Services San Jose, CA
David Cashman
: I am currently planning on buying a SOPRANO and ALTO recorder and would like
: some advice on which brand to purchase. I do not feel comfortable puchasing
: a moeck at this time. The general opinion within this newsgroup is that
: YAMAHA makes pretty good plastic recorders. How do they compare to the
: top-of-the-line HOHNER pearwoods? What do people think of HOHNER recorders?
I personally think that the Yamaha YR?-802B series (I think that's the
name) are one of the best recorders on the market at the moment in the
under-millions-of-dollars class. For the Soprano, I'll usually use the
Yam in preference to my wooden ones, and the Alto is also a very fine
instrument, albeit a bit soft in the lower register.
Well that's my 2 cents worth.
Cheers
David
John Howell
>some advice on which brand to purchase. I do not feel comfortable puchasing
>a moeck at this time. The general opinion within this newsgroup is that
>YAMAHA makes pretty good plastic recorders. How do they compare to the
>top-of-the-line HOHNER pearwoods? What do people think of HOHNER recorders?
>
>
>John Chauvin
>
>--
>John H. Chauvin jcha...@netcom.COM
>Netcom - Online Communication Services San Jose, CA
I've never heard, seen, or played a Hohner recorder that was decent.
Both Yamaha and Zen-On make top-of-the-line plastic recorders copied from
good 18th century makers (Bressan, Stanesby, etc.) that are quite
satisfactory, but go for the top of the line. Yamaha also makes T & B in
plastic. Zen-On does not. This might be a factor if you're thinking
eventual consort. The Zen-On wooden recorders are really nice, as
well--quite comparable to the Moecks, but different. Their wooden tenor is
a sweet instrument, and the keywork is professional woodwind quality, which
the Moecks did not used to be.
John
John & Susie Howell (John....@vt.edu)
Virginia Tech Department of Music
Blacksburg, Virginia U.S.A. 24061-0240
(703) 231-8411 - FAX (703) 231- 5034
David Grant Barton
> I am currently planning on buying a SOPRANO and ALTO recorder and would like
> some advice on which brand to purchase. I do not feel comfortable puchasing
> a moeck at this time. The general opinion within this newsgroup is that
> YAMAHA makes pretty good plastic recorders. How do they compare to the
> top-of-the-line HOHNER pearwoods? What do people think of HOHNER recorders?
>
> Thanks,
>
> John Chauvin
No contest, John. Get the Yamaha. As music director of the Dallas
Recorder Society, I have seen many Honers walk in the door, and I have
never seen which would compare favorably with a $14.95 Yamaha soprano.
They are simply the best recorders you can get without spending about
$400 to 500 more. And that's just for the soprano. Aulos makes good
sopranos and altos, but don't mess with the tenors and the bass. The
Yamaha tenor and bass are vastly superior to most wooden recorders and
are incredibly cheap. The Yamaha wooden recorders (sop and alto) are
quite nice, and are priced in the same range as Honers. There's no
comparison. For pricing and other information, I advise you to pick up
your phone and dial 1-800-2-Richie. That's the # for Courtly Music and
he will send you instruments to try. Check it out.
Dave Barton
dav...@tenet.edu
Martin Lodahl
John H. Chauvin <jcha...@netcom.com> wrote:
>I am currently planning on buying a SOPRANO and ALTO recorder and would like
>some advice on which brand to purchase. I do not feel comfortable puchasing
>a moeck at this time. The general opinion within this newsgroup is that
>YAMAHA makes pretty good plastic recorders. How do they compare to the
>top-of-the-line HOHNER pearwoods? What do people think of HOHNER recorders?
I should preface this by making it perfectly clear that this is NOT
current information; the last time I bought a recorder was over 20
years ago.
At that time, there was absolutely no comparison between the two. The
plastic Yamahas were far, far better instruments than either the
plastic or wooden Hohners. Hohner, in fact, made only one recorder I
considerred an acceptable instrument, and that was their bass. I
bought one, and play it still. German-fingered and with no high
register to speak of, it has a big tone (especially in the bottom
end), good intonation, and it speaks well.
The picture may have changed a lot over the years, but if there
isn't a way for you to try both of them out, I'd lean toward the
Yamaha.
- Martin
--
= Martin Lodahl Systems Analyst, Capacity Planning Pacific*Bell =
= mal...@pacbell.com Sacramento, CA USA 916.972.4821 =
= If it's good for ancient Druids runnin' nekkid through the wuids, =
= Drinkin' strange fermented fluids, it's good enough for me! (Unk.) =
Eileen Silcocks
Well, I can only support what has already been said. I start all my
students off on the Yamaha 802B model - the cheaper Yamahas, I do not
like.I cannot remember ever having heard a decent Hohner in my lifetime!
It takes a really top class wooden recorder to beat the Yamaha plastic,
especially in the case of the bass, which I think is amazingly good
(except the low b).
Have fun with your new recorders, John, make music! Shame you don't read
Icelandic - a new method recently came out here, which I consider one of
the best I have seen, having taught in the UK, Netherlands and Iceland.
greetings, Eileen Silcocks
eil...@ismennt.is
Richard Hargrove
Don't overlook the Aulos 703 (descant) and 709 (treble) recorders.
These are the one's modeled on the 17th century Haka recorders and
are considered by some to be the finest non-wood recorders made.
They are $25 and $42 respectively from Sweet Pipes (the Yamaha 300's
are $16 and $27.50 respectively.)
If you are buying an ABS recorder, I recommend getting the Sweet
Pipes catalog. Their prices are lower than any others I've found.
Sweet Pipes
6722 Brentwood Stair
Fort Worth, TX 76112
voce: 817/446-3299
fax: 817/446-0484
Any comments from anyone else on either the Aulos Haka model recorders
or Sweet Pipes?
Richard Hargrove
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Joan Mullhaupt
>
>I am currently planning on buying a SOPRANO and ALTO recorder and would
like
>some advice on which brand to purchase. I do not feel comfortable
puchasing
>a moeck at this time. The general opinion within this newsgroup is that
>YAMAHA makes pretty good plastic recorders. How do they compare to the
>top-of-the-line HOHNER pearwoods? What do people think of HOHNER
As Dave Barton has suggested, the YAMAHA plastics are excellent. YAMAHA
now has "wood grain" models of the Soprano and Alto. As Music Dir. for
the Buffalo Recorder Society I have seen a number of our members get them.
They not only sound very nice, they are quite attractive. It's better
to get a "state of the art" plastic rather than an inexpensive wooden one.
Joan M. Mullhaupt
ESJG34A
Barbara Anderson
> Thanks,
> John Chauvin
I started with a Wesner-Superior tenor. It was adequate, mainly
because it was all I could afford and I didn't know any better
(I'm also not a musician by talent - only by interest).
I then got a Hohner (I'm pretty sure it's Hohner - it's not marked and
this was several years ago) soprano. I've notice that a few people
don't think much of the Hohner wood recorders, but I'm quite
pleased with it.
I got a Moeck alto. It is FAR superior to my other recorders. Please
rethink getting a Moeck. It's significantly more pleasureable to play
when I don't have to work so darn hard to get a sweet tone!
Finally, I have a (?) bass, which has quite "watery" a tone. But it's
a bass and at the time I bought it, it was all I could afford (similar
to my tenor).
If I ever buy another new recorder, it'll be to replace my tenor. And
based on my experience I'll probably try to get a Moeck.
Patsy Moore
jcha...@netcom.com "John H. Chauvin" writes:
> I am currently planning on buying a SOPRANO and ALTO recorder and would like
> some advice on which brand to purchase.
I haven't yet seen the advice I give to anyone thinking
of buying an instrument. Once you have decided what you want, if you
aren't an experienced player yourself see if you can find someone who is,
and ask them to try _all_ the available instruments of the make and model
you want to buy, checking them with an electronic tuner. There
are amazing differences between individual instruments, even
mass-produced plastic ones (including Yamaha), so try to avoid buying
on the name alone.
If the instrument is one on which you intend to take lessons, I recommend
finding a teacher before buying the instrument, as some teachers have very
strong views on what (or what not!) to buy.
Good hunting.
--
Patsy Moore (pa...@hpsl.demon.co.uk)
* aka Moore Music * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Publisher of "bridge to facsimile" editions of *
* unbarred Renaissance polyphony *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *