Chiff and Fipple Forums

I had an Aulos tenor a while ago but it had no keys and I found it a stretch (Aulos 211 Robin). However they also make a keyed tenor, the 511B, and also Yamaha produce one for around the same price with keys (currently on special offer on Amazon). But which do people prefer?
The thing is I bought a Low D whistle with Christmas money but its really not for me, so if I could sell it I would use the money to get the recorder.

I had a keyless Aulos for a while but wasn't too enamored with the tone and some of the playing aspects. I tried the keyed Yamaha and I think the tone was better but the ergonomics didn't work for me. I ended up getting a keyless Huber ($$$) which was really nice, but I eventually decided it was also more than I wanted to deal with and sold it.

The point is that tenor recorders have inherent ergonomic challenges - as do low D whistles. The only way to see if one works for you is to try it yourself.

If you're going plastic, the Yamaha is probably the best option.

jimhanks wrote:I had a keyless Aulos for a while but wasn't too enamored with the tone and some of the playing aspects. I tried the keyed Yamaha and I think the tone was better but the ergonomics didn't work for me. I ended up getting a keyless Huber ($$$) which was really nice, but I eventually decided it was also more than I wanted to deal with and sold it.

The point is that tenor recorders have inherent ergonomic challenges - as do low D whistles. The only way to see if one works for you is to try it yourself.

If you're going plastic, the Yamaha is probably the best option.

Definitely plastic. No way I could afford a wooden tenor!

Sorry to hear you're not getting on with the low D, (the low F is much easier, if you change your mind).

However, I used to have the Yamaha tenor, It wasn't exactly easy to play, but the keys certainly made it easier than I imagine a keyless would be.

Nice tone to it, but it wasn't a loud instrument - so I went off to a pre used Buffet clarinet, then a Gemeinhardt flute, then ukes, harmonicas, & now I'm here.

fatmac wrote:Sorry to hear you're not getting on with the low D, (the low F is much easier, if you change your mind).

However, I used to have the Yamaha tenor, It wasn't exactly easy to play, but the keys certainly made it easier than I imagine a keyless would be.

Nice tone to it, but it wasn't a loud instrument - so I went off to a pre used Buffet clarinet, then a Gemeinhardt flute, then ukes, harmonicas, & now I'm here.

Its not so much I don't manage to play it, its just well, I'm not a fan of the sound. Far too airy. And I'm not a big lover of ITM anyway and should really have bought a tenor recorder there and then. I just prefer recorder to tin whistle.

Many years ago, after playing alto recorder for a while, I decided I wanted to try tenor. I went to either Sam Ash or Manny's Music on 48th Street in Manhattan and asked the guy at the band instrument counter to let me see the Yamaha tenor on the shelf behind him. He kept telling me to go away, the "recorders" were in the the "audio equipment section". Needless to say he was not much help.
Anyway, I found the Yamaha tenor unconfortable to finger, not so much the hole spacing as the right wrist angle. I suggest you try before you buy. As Mr. jimhanks pointed out, tenors are not ergonomic for some. I also do not recommend buying a recorder from a web retailer. You should buy from a reputable recorder retailer, they will tune it before shipping and they will be there to help if you need assistance. The minimal additional cost will be well worth it and will amortize quickly ($65 Amazon vs. $105 Antique Sound Workshop).
I have a maple Adler Filius tenor that was not expensive and is very ergomonic but Adler is out of business. I just got a Kung Studio cherrywood tenor and it is much more ergonomic than the Yamaha. A LOT more expensive though.
The "Tenor Recorder" section in this link might be of help: http://www.aswltd.com/guiderec.htm.

I have both the Aulos and the Yamaha (don't ask). I like both but do find I use the Yamaha most of the time. I think the Yamaha has a bit more complex tone, maybe a bit less plasticy. My musical partner (harp and flute) prefers the Yamaha sound to the Aulos. but agrees both are nice in their own way.

Both tenors have the C/C# keys, and I had a "comfort" key added to both for RH hole 1. The Aulos has a key added by Lazar's Early Music, and Kelisheck (Susato) Workshop did the other. Both work a treat but the Kelisheck was much cheaper.

Most folks will have keys added for LH 3 and RH 1 but I only needed the RH 1 key. The folks at Kelisheck said they'd never only added just one key, but for me it works great.

If the Yamaha is on sale at Amazon grab one...you can always return it. But I bet you won't.

Piper Joe

FrankPerrone wrote:...
Anyway, I found the Yamaha tenor unconfortable to finger, not so much the hole spacing as the right wrist angle. ...

Straight tenors are uncomfortable for me as well, which is why I had my Aulos Robin transformed into a bent-neck ("knick") recorder. Kunath Instrumentebau in Germany (attached to Blockfloetenshop.de) have lots of experience, but everybody with the skill, a super-fine saw and the right glue (and the skill to use all that) could do it.

Regarding hole spacing, the completely keyless versions are easier for me than the ones with only a c-key (because the keyless ones are constructed differently in order to make the c-key unnecessary), but by far the most comfortable version is the one with four keys. Only the Mollenhauer Canta Komfort Knicktenor is now over 800 Euros, and that's the least expensive version "off the rack".

The way I see it, in order to play tenor recorder one either has to be lucky and have large hands, or be willing to train the hands to the stretch (and still lucky enough to have trainable hands), or to be willing and able to fork over the money. Or exceptionally lucky and find the "right" recorder by chance in a flea market.

Alternatively one could always skip tenor recorder and play f-bass instead. The one sold by Thomann has lousy keys (i. e. they are uncomfortable and hard to press) but the sound is not bad for a plastic instrument, probably better than that of the Yamaha bass (which was my favourite among the reputable brands).

An interesting snippet of info someone brought up on Facebook, if you have keys you can't do glisses. Its why you can't play that Gershwin rhapsody intro on bass clarinet.