My daughter's descant recorder which has seen her beautifully through to Grade 5 distinction has become very loose at the footjoint. It is an Aulos plastic one but is much loved. How can we fix it? Hopefully not selotape!!

Sara

Sounds like it's about time to invest in a cheap maple one Moeck, Mollenhauer, Kung and Yamaha are your best bets (especially Moeck)

Depending on who you ask, a decent plastic one might be a better bet if you need to replace it. -for example the Yamaha 302 - I own the treble equivalent and it's an excellent recorder... it will set you back around £10 I think - to get a reasonable wooden one you will pay a lot more, and the plastic instruments stand up to wear and tear extremely well... depending on how old/responsible your daughter is that may factor into the choice, as well as whether she plays anywhere that an expensive instrument might get damaged. It's lovely to have wooden instruments and the good ones do sound lovely, but sometimes it just isn't practical. If you can afford to get her a decent one with maybe a good plastic for times when she needs a studier instrument (to take to school for example) then she'll probably be very pleased!

...But some of the recorder experts may have an idea how you can mend her current one. Is it actually broken or just loose? I should think it would be harder to mend if the plastic is actually broken...

Instruments which have done us proud do tend to be treasured - however, it sounds as if this one might be tricky, especially if anything has cracked. If your daughter were planning on continuing - and it certainly sounds as if she has made excellent progress thus far - then either a Yamaha instrument (favoured by ensemble leaders, as I understand), or, as IL says, a cheaper but well-made maple one would be best. Just a thought - would she plan on taking up the treble too? If so, it might be better to look to getting a reasonable entry-level treble instead. Eek! it's starting to sound expensive. I'd better shut up now...

Kids here have to have plastic recorders for school. The loose footjoint problem almost always seems to be caused by the "seam" where it was molded cracking open - it probably is better to replace it.

If your daughter has already passed Grade 5 you really should be thinking about getting her a good wooden recorder, and perhaps just buy a plastic Yamaha 302 as a spare. Aulos are definitely not the best plastic instruments to go for!

As a recorder teacher for many years, I would disagree with those who advise buying a maple recorder. They do have a sweet tone, but the wood is not all that durable because it is soft - so the thumbholes tend to wear quite quickly, and I've known several instances with maple recorders where the very thin edge that the air is directed to has warped, with the consequence that the instrument has become unplayable.

For a student at your daughter's level, I would recommend the Moeck Rottenburgh, preferably in olivewood or rosewood, although ebony, palisander and boxwood are also OK. Prices vary from about £175 to £275. This might seem a lot, but for that money you will get an instrument which your daughter can enjoy for many years - and the depth of tone you can get from a good wooden instrument is far superior to that from even the best plastic descant!

I hope she is learning the treble too, as that is the main solo instrument in the recorder family. All my pupils start on the treble as soon as they have got to around Grade 1 level on the descant, and then they learn the instruments in tandem, so to speak.

Definitely it's time to get a new one - and unless daughter is very young I'd agree, go for a decent wood recorder. I'd just add Mollenhauer to the list of brands to consider - whilst acknowledging that I could be biased

And yes, absolutely agree she needs to be learning both descant and treble if she isn't already.

Liz

Thanks everyone for the advice so far. Clearly there are no takers for having it mended which is a shame. We already have 4 other plastic descant recorders (one Yamaha, the rest Aulos) but only this one thats now loose sounds really beautiful. It's not cracked or broken though, just used and aging I suppose We also bought a wooden Yamaha descant (about £40) for passing an earlier grade but that never sounded open and clear,in fact the pitch was dodgy however it was adjusted. We thought because we had spent 4 times the price it would be 4 times as good but it was worse.

We have an Aulos Treble (sound's fine) which she is going to take up after getting grade 5 theory

Why do instruments which are essentially the same produce such a variable tone?

Sara

You don't really have anything to lose trying to tighten up the joint do you? As it is the bottom joint you might find you can fix it so it will play, but will be happiest if not taken to pieces when not in use and that won't really matter.

You could try thread wrapping http://www.flutes.fsbusiness.co.uk/tenon.html but probably you don't have enough of a gap for this to work. A thin bit of sellotape iinstead of the thread as you mention might work or I would be tempted to try warm beeswax which will be harder when cold. Even painting shellac or nail varnish on the bottom of the middle joint may add enough thickness. All sorts of options, and most of them will clean off easily if they don't work. You like the instrument which seems a good enough reason to try and keep it going.

Try wrapping a small amount of PTFE tape (plumbers tape) around the tenon. Alternatively I've done similar repair jobs with dental floss (the tape varieties work best). If it isn't very loose washing the existing junk of the tenon and replacing it with vassaline/beeswax may also help.

Cheap wood recorders are often bad. £40 is extremely cheap in Yamaha terms, in fact I didn't realise they did anyhting that cheap.


Sounds as if you have one of those teachers who thinks the way to go is to do a sudden switch from one to the other. I never have understood that point of view - recorder players have to play both and it isn't difficult to do.


O there are lots of factors - the material used, the shape of the windway, the way it is voiced, the bore, and doubtless several others that i know nothing about.

Liz

I'm interested to see Jo.Clarinet's advice regarding maple, and it does ring true for me in one respect - the wood is softer than the others mentioned, and mine did need to have its thumbhole repaired rather soon after I got it...though I didn't actually get the job done until many years later! Having said that, that particular instrument is still going strong after eighteen years, which was why I was prepared to recommend it, but I'm happy to defer to greater experience on this one. My newer "best" instrument is of boxwood, and has a much better tone, but also cost me so very much more to buy, and I could not have afforded it at the time I got the maple instrument.

Thanks folks. The Moeck Rottenburgh sounds like a beautiful concert instrument. I don't think we'll be buying it just yet. The whole business of choosing seems like a veritable minefield. Meanwhile we'll try some of the repair suggestions on the old one...

Sara

They really are I got a Moeck Rottenburgh in ebony (second hand from the Early Music Shop in Bradford) and it's doing me absolute wonders! Much better than my previous Aulos

Please don't discount the idea of a good wooden starting model - if your daughter is doing so well and is keen to continue, this would be the best way of ensuring she gets the most pleasure from playing. I should know - having struggled on an awful oboe for years - an instrument so awful that my second teacher gave me hers to play in lessons - I never got anywhere. I took up the recorder as a student, saved and got my entry-level wooden instrument, and have done far better than I ever expected I could have done. I love the sound of my best instrument, and it gives me a real boost to play it.

Trying out instruments in the shop never seems to be satisfactory. Especially woodwind - they dont really like you blowing into them. So I tend to go on reputation of make/model, personal recommendation, and then just buy the most expensive of those you can afford...

Sara

At the risk of becoming a pest about instrument-buying....some music shops (including one of which I know which sells a lot of music by internet) will let you have a couple of instruments away to try out, and it might be worth giving that a go. I'm incredibly lucky because I have ready access to a little concert hall with perfect acoustics for recorder-playing - just enough echo to send the sound back to the player and give a feel for what it sounds like to the listeners, but our dining room, with its wooden floor, is also good. If you can get the instrument you want to try into such a space, it is so much easier to judge. Any decent woodwind supplier MUST let you try the instruments! How on earth are you supposed to judge, otherwise? The shop which sold me my beloved Denner copy let me loose on an entire cabinet of recorders.
Right, I will shut up now. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Yes, anacrusis is right.

I always send my pupils and their parents to the Early Music Shop/London Recorder Centre (34 Chiltern St, London W1) to try out the recorders there when they are ready to buy wooden ones. They are able to try out as many as they like (and even ones which are the same model in the same wood do vary slightly).

It is very important that the player tries them first, as what suits one may not suit another at all, so I always emphasise to parents that they mustn't buy one as a surprise! I tell the pupils to check that the low notes are good and full-sounding and that they can get the highest notes easily. If they narrow the choice down to two or three which they like equally and can't make a final decision, the staff in the shop are very obliging and will play each instrument for the pupil and will help with advice!

I see that the OP lives in Surrey - so when you are next in London with your daughter, why not drop in and try a few out, even if you do not intend to buy at the moment?

Thanks. Early Music Shop in London sounds like a good place to go.The best places have a sound proof room where you can go. Nothing worse than trying out instruments in the middle of the shop floor, or with sales assistants hovering over you (however well intentioned)

Sara

Absolutely.

Liz