I just found this on a recorder player’s message board I look at from time to time:
— In recorder@yahoogroups.com, “Charles P. Fischer” <bizweb@p…> wrote:
- Used Morgan in good condition: $4-6000 (estimate)
- Morgan/Ronimus: $2,808
- Shigeharu Hirao: $2,761
- Michael Grinter: $2,659
- Ernst Meyer: $2,618 Etc…
Note that Morgan is a legendary maker who died a few years back. These are for Alto recorders, comparable in size to a low G whistle.
Count yer blessings! 
Yeah, but you can get several keys out of a single recorder. Even I can.
Yeah, but you can get several keys out of a single whistle. Even I can.
Really? I find it to be a few, vs. several.
Just as a matter of curiosity, can anyone explain this discrepency in price?
“whatever the market will bear”. Supply and demand. 
I should have known better than to ask that question.
That’s part, but a recorder is more complex too. Especially the Baroque ones, with tons of intricate decorative turning. The Baroque also have tapered bores, which are harder to make. Recorders require larger pieces of exotic woods, etc.
Maybe Loren will chime in on this one ,as he works for a superb recorder maker.
oooo you are evil Gary…
So they’re like a Bussman or an O’Riordan in the whistle world then. 
And they still cost MUCH less tghan even a bad set of pipes.
Because recorders are used in classical music, therefore making them a “serious” instrument.
that’s it.
That nails it! 
Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club sell beginners band instruments, as I recall a trumpet, violin, clarinet and flute. There are very few whistles that you couldn’t buy for less than one of these ‘beginners’ instruments.
I know the instruments you mean. “First Act” is the brand, at least here. I got a First Act guitar for someone for Christmas. It was smaller than a standard guitar, but other than that, her instructor says it’s not a terrible beginner’s instrument.
Cost: $120. Whole lotta top-of-the-line whistles fall into that price range.
I’m really a bit confused about this. I have a tenor recorder which I bought from Beth (Avanutria) for, from memory, around $100. I only decided to bid when it had gone to eBay so I guess that’s market price. But it looks good and plays well and has no blemish that affects playability. Now I don’t have a wooden whistle that is worth so little and my wooden flutes, keyed and unkeyed, are worth much more again. Looking at my whistles and my wooden flutes I can see where the extra work has gone into the flutes. The recorder looks so different—perhaps it’s the choice of wood and the finish—yet clearly considerable work has gone into it, or so it seems to me.
This is good to know. My daughter wants to learn to play guitar, and I don’t want to spend a fortune (that I don’t have anyway) on something if she’s not serious. Thanks Wanderer! 
You’re quite welcome. Such were also my thoughts when I bought the guitar
There is a huge amount of handwork (labor) that goes into the making of a top hand made recorder, many times more work than what goes into a whistle. Even more so when keys are involved (as on tenors and lower pitched). I’m down to 4 minutes of PC time, so I’ll try to go into details at another time.
Loren
The Sams here sells the flute for $129. I have wondered if it was any good. A friend of mine got a very decent flute at a yard sale fro less than that.
Ron