I would like to buy a tenor recorder. I consider myself to have small hands, but I can stretch 9 notes on the piano. I have looked at the Aulos 211 Robin, which is described as being good for small hands. However, I have been told the intonation suffers a little from the small holes.
So should I go for it, or a more standard version and get stretching my fingers!
Knowledgeable views would be very useful.
Thank you.
The Yamaha has two keys for the lower hole(s), C/C#, I used to have one, but found them awkward to use, but it might be worth a look, it certainly had good tone.
Would a key be better than a tenor with smaller holes and shorter distances between notes do you think? Just for the record, I used to be quite fluent on the recorder but am restarting after many years, so no plans to appear at the Royal Albert Hall any time soon!
It looks like it is smaller bore & closer holes than my old Yamaha, which used to be almost the same size as the Aulos tenor of the time, when I bought mine; other than that, I honestly can’t say.
I’ve seen some people say the difference isn’t actually that great-- IIRC, it’s because while the key may make those low notes easier to reach, the hole spacing is a bit wider, so it ends up being sort of 6 of one and half a dozen of the other? I’ve never tried a keyed tenor, though.
These replies are helpful. My head says to go with the Aulos, my heart would like the little key to play with. A professional recorder player says if I go for a Yamaha or Aulos, I can’t really go wrong. I’m going to the music shop to feel them.
Thanks all!
Found a very useful article here:
http://www.saundersrecorders.com/recqual.htm
I thought it cleared up a lot of my thoughts on key or not, wood or plastic and what constitutes recorder quality.
An interesting read?
I have a 211, I don’t find the intonation dodgy at all. And because of the slanted holes its reasonably easy to reach.
https://youtu.be/Hi_KMDqSSSU
I think you can’t, either. Between those two and Zen-On, they’re basically the recommended plastic-recorder makers.
I have a Kung Studio tenor in cherrywood and I find it very easy to cover the holes. I believe the Huber Model II is also very ergonomic. These are going to be sort of an expensive option though. I had patronized one recorder dealer (ASW) for many years and was given a 25% discount on any purchase of my choice and the Kung was still around $500. It has given me a lot of pleasure over the last few years though so I think it money well spent.
As for plastic tenors I think the Yamaha is better than the Aulos 211 (per what I have read) but must confess I have only held the Yamaha (could not cover holes) and have no experience at all with Aulos.
I do have an old Alder Filius tenor and I can cover the holes. The tone is not that great though. I do not think they are available anymore except maybe on Ebay.