I was wondering if anyone here has had an opportunity to play the new Yamaha 400 series recorder. Any of you that might have been to NAMM recently, maybe?
They are said to be similar in design to the 300 series recorders but are made from a plant based PLA (polyactic acid )material instead of the ABS that Yamaha has used for many years.
Just curious.
Feadoggie
US$34.50 on a couple different online stores. Antique Sound Workshop says they are only 30% Ecodear plastic. The other 70% is good old ABS plastic made from petroleum. ASW also says they are slightly denser and heavier (about 7%) than the Yamaha 300 series; the increased density supposedly gives them a tone “more like wood.” How much “more like” is left unstated. Other than the material, they are identical to the 300 series. I’m not in the market for another soprano but look forward to someone’s review.
I didn’t see them at NAMM this year, but I wasn’t looking for them. 
Thanks for the replies.
At $35 I am not a buyer. That’s a bit higher than the street price for the current 312 and 314 models. And I have too many recorders at the moment. But I am curious about the new material. I do like the idea of a more ecofriendly plastic. And I was thinking about whistle applications of the material.
The 30% to 70% PLA to ABS mix settles some of my concerns/questions. I have experimented with PLA myself and it seems rather sensitive to temperature, at least as I know the material. I was concerned that a 100% PLA instrument might not hold its shape as well as the current ABS versions do. I do not need a plastic recorder that needs to be re-voiced (re-shaped) because of use in warm settings.
I had read that Toray plastics has developed processes that successfully alloy Ecodear with other polymers, particularly styrenes. And the only specific detail that they offer is that the PLA content is limited to 30%. So I would guess Yamaha is working closely with them.
I would not have thought anyone was looking for them either. But I figured there was an outside chance that a banana yellow Yamaha recorder in a fluorescent green case might have caught someone’s eye. I did see photos of the Yamaha space at NAMM and I did not notice any of their recorders on display.
Thanks.
Feadoggie
Yamaha would have been displaying mostly electronics (and guitars, etc.), and I pretty much avoided the electronics area this year. Plus, Yamaha weren’t in the main hall, and I didn’t even make it over there. At NAMM you’re most likely to see recorders of any kind at one of the jobbers or one of the many (mostly) Chinese exporters exhibits. And after a few years attending, there’s only so much of that stuff you can look at with any degree of interest unless you’re a retailer.
I understand. Thanks.
Feadoggie
Has there been any official word as to whether Yamaha plans to make larger recorders with this material?