bass recorder on ebay.de

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MichaelLoos
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Location: Klietz, Germany

bass recorder on ebay.de

Post by MichaelLoos »

Just found this by incidence, and as bass recorders have been mentioned here quite a lot lately, I thought this might be of interest for somebody:
http://cgi.ebay.de/Alte-Bassflote-Bassf ... 3f0bf92534
The seller doesn't seem to know much about this instrument, but at the moment the price is very favourable.
It is advertised as a Germany only sale but I see no reason why he should not ship abroad if contacted beforehand.
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James_Alto
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Re: bass recorder on ebay.de

Post by James_Alto »

Hi there,

the design is very similar to the older Moecks from 30-40 years ago. There is no F sharp key and for an unnamed bass recorder, it could be either a great bargain or a complete lemon.

Most unbranded bass recorders sell for between 80-150Euro - that's a great bargain even for an unbranded one (as long as it works). This one is really quite strange though. It uses threaded wrap instead of cork - maybe the last owner did this himself. If you think about the amount of recorder you get for the price, bass recorders are an excellent way to enjoy deeper richer and softer music :)
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MichaelLoos
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Location: Klietz, Germany

Re: bass recorder on ebay.de

Post by MichaelLoos »

To make things easier, I've translated the text:

"I guess it might be an "Alexander Heinrich".
(This has exactly the same shape: http://www.blockfloeten-museum.de/instr_heinr-5.shtml )
Alexander Heinrich founded a trade company for musical instruments, in 1918. In the 1930ies he included recorders in his catalogue, which were made by "Max König & Söhne", until the company was transferred to state ownership in 1974. Hereafter, "Heinrich" recorders were still being made, unfortunately, the quality decreased.
I can not say how old this bass recorder is, not even, if it has been made prior or after the nationalization. Sorry!
If the case is original, I guess: before 1974, but as I said, it's only a guess.
So:
You are getting a bass recorder, presumably by Alexander Heinrich, with bocal.
German fingering (if I'm not mistaken).
Ordinary key for th fingerhole, ring key for 4th fingerhole.
Thread wrapping on joints, these are not original.
The wood is probably pearwood, varnished."

I myself don't know anything about this instrument (nor do I know much about recorders in general), and I don't know the seller, either. I just thought this might be interesting, if the price doesn't go up too much.
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James_Alto
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Re: bass recorder on ebay.de

Post by James_Alto »

Yes - it is one of those 'German fingered' flauto dolce basso mutant variants :lol:

The 'key' to this one, is that the B and the B flat are operated by the same and single sliding (left hand) index finger. Some users really like this, rather than the clumsier B flat variation of the baroque fingering, which requires an extra two fingers to switch between the two.

The problem with the German fingering ... is very evident in Irish music. Say for example - any music in the key of D or G: you move from B to C on the bass recorder. This is dead simple on a baroque fingered recorder, but on a German one, you actually have to slide the B finger, and reach for the two lower holes with two extra fingers at the same time. It is in practice, more complicated a movement, than simply using baroque fingering. Consequently, it takes a lot of practice (ironically), to make a simple B --> C fingering, without accidentally hitting B flat --> C, since both B and B flat keys are operated by the same joint key.

Apart from that, it's great and I daresay that the standard of Heinrichs and Adlers are as good as Moecks from the same era. That is - neither were as good as Roesslers, Coolsmas or Mollenhauers or Kungs, but were decent enough for students of bass instruments, and these are still my favs over and above those ugly and awful knick bass ones which short armed students seem to rave about.
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