Well after much deliberation I now have two wooden soprano recorders on approval. Both Moeck Rottenburgh, one ebony and the other palisander. It's going to be a hard choice, though first impressions say ebony will be good as a solo instrument and the palisander for group work. Got to be one though.

Choice aside, it looks a big minefield caring for these recorders, with playing in, oiling, anti-condense etc. Does anyone know any good books or web resources that deal with this, apart from Moeck's basic instructions that came with them.

Not that we should be doing this with approval instruments, but one will be staying in my possession soon.

The Saunders Recorders site is a good one to read through. I think that I gained most of my info from Edgar Hunt's book on recorder playing, The Recorder and its Music.

Dolmetsch have this PDF file: Complete Recorder Care

Thank you both for the web links. These look about as good as we will find on recorder care.

I think I have settled on the palisander model. The ebony sounded great at first but it is quite strident and the low register is quite bright for my liking. Maybe if I was doing lots of solo work like with piano, orchestra, string quartet it would be the sound I want, but the palisander one sounds better for my purposes at this moment. It has a sweeter and more rounded tone and should blend better with other recorders.