Customer Reviews
beautiful sound 
2007-12-16
I am in my fifties and learning to play the recorder. I started out with a fine plastic Yamaha (their "professional" soprano recorder, from their 300 series). I was, and still am, happy with it. Then recently, in an interview on public television, I heard the cellist Yo-Yo Ma say, on the topic of learning to play music: "Don't play a single note unless you want to hear it." Sortly thereafter I came across the Hameln Rosewood Soprano Recorder in question here, and I read the reviews of the two parents who commented on the instrument's beautiful sound. So I bought it. And boy do I like it. The sound is beautiful: soft, mellow, warm, and woody. Both my wife and my granddaughter, from a separate room, commented on "how beautiful" the sound is. The two parents were right. And Yo-Yo Ma makes a good point. The pleasure of practicing my recorder lessons has substantially improved, and so has the quality of the sound. No disappointment here, and no regrets about the purchase.
Disapointed 
2007-11-03
After reading the other two reviews this product had, I was very excited to buy one for myself. I'm a violinist primarily, but I love learning and playing other instruments, so I was determined to get a good quality recorder as well. Since this one seemed to be good quality and was fairly cheap I figured I'd hit the jackpot. I received the recorder only a few days after ordering it, but from the get-go, it did not seem to match up to the expectations I had built up from the other reviews. The case it comes in is cheaply made, the outside made to look good if you need glasses or are standing far away--made with cheap plastic covering and thin little clasps and hinges which I'm sure will break quickly. The inside itself was just barely adequate to prevent the instrument from rolling about, and did not look as good as the picture makes it look. Once I took the instrument out to hear what it sounded like, I realized that it didn't play at A=440. Instead it was an entire half-step lower (For those of you who don't know what that means, it means that when you place your fingers to play an A you get a B flat) It was in tune with itself, but since you can only tune a recorder to go lower to match with others, this one isn't suited for playing in a group. I couldn't hear a big enough difference between it and my plastic Yamaha, and there were still little wood shavings hanging onto some of the holes. All in all, I was extremely disappointed, and do not recommend buying this product. If you want a so-so instrument, just get a plastic one. If you want a good one, be prepared to pay through the nose. I'm a musician, so maybe I'm pickier than most, but I was very disappointed in this product.
Outstanding Instrument 2007-01-04
I bought the Hameln Rosewood Recorder for my son to play at school but I had no idea that it would draw so much attention. My son's music teacher and classmates where in awe of the quality sound and appearance of the instrument.
Thank you Amazon for the fine product and customer service.
Great sound for transitional players 2005-02-23
My ten year old daughter is in ensemble and very musically focused. When she broke her five dollar cheap recorder, she was in tears. Since she was so dedicated to music, we decided to purchase her a wooden recorder. You can spend a LOT of money on a wooden recorder, but we wanted something in between a cheap five dollar instrument and the five hundred dollar professional versions. This recorder was the perfect answer.
At $50.oo the price was reasonable, and the product is gorgeous. My daughter gasped when she opened the case. It comes with a crochet cover with tassles as well as the hard case with clasps. I was very happy about all the protection seeing as we had a recorder break before. And the tone is SO beautiful, more mellow and not as squeaky and piercing as the plastic ones. This was a great buy. If you're looking for something nicer than the beginning recorders, but aren't ready to spend the big mula for the professional ones, this is the answer for you!
