Caution: Wordiness and Unorganized Rambling Ahead
More and more often I'm asked for my opinion about a recorder when a player is considering a purchase. I always hesitate to give an outright opinion, however, because the right instrument for one player may be the wrong instrument for another player. But I do think that anyone making decisions about purchasing a recorder should consider the following points:
1) How you will use the recorder:
Are you playing the recorder by yourself for your own enjoyment? If so, you have only yourself to please. Intonation (playing well in tune) may not be something you need to be overly concerned about. Recorders are the friendliest instrument for folk songs on a beach or a mountain top, on a rainy Sunday afternoon with a cup of tea, or even to soothe your nerves as you while away long minutes in stalled traffic. Pick the recorder that appeals to you. But try before you buy.
Are you part of a group of players? To some extent, the group will have an effect on what you choose. Your recorder must be reasonably well in tune, and the tone (the sound it produces) might be a consideration. Renaissance and baroque-type recorders, for example, have different tone qualities. Blend may be a consideration. The range of the recorder - how high it plays and how easily it responds up there in the stratosphere - may be a consideration. Try before you buy.
Will you be taking recorder lessons from a teacher? The teacher may have opinions about the quality of the instrument. Consider the teacher's suggestions, and then buy the recorder you like. But try before you buy.
2) Life expectancy of the recorder:
This refers not to its actual lifespan before it falls apart, but how long you will be playing it - satisfied with it - challenged by it. Beginners aren't likely to spend a lot for a recorder, but adults in particular are likely to make better progress on a good-quality recorder than on a poor instrument. Players are often taken aback when I suggest that the reason their old faithful recorders are not playing as good as before is because the owners are now better players than the recorders are! It sometimes doesn't take long for enthusiastic beginners to outgrow their recorders.
3) Differences between high-quality and mediocre recorders:
This is what most players seem to want to discuss, and rightfully so. There are a number of factors to consider, and this is where I start to ramble.
Wood: the most expensive recorders are usually made of harder, denser woods, like rosewood, bubinga, grenadilla, and ebony. Less expensive recorders are often made of softer, less expensive wood - maple, pear, plum, and other fruitwoods. In between are a host of other woods - boxwood, kamba, olive, etc., etc. Generally speaking, the harder and denser the wood, the more brilliant the tone; most concert soloists play hardwood recorders. Softer woods tend to produce a mellower tone that blends well in a consort. But correct voicing is all-important in the way a recorder sounds and responds. See the "Repair Services" page for a discussion of voicing and tuning.
Hand work: A more expensive recorder is usually the product of more hand finishing, voicing, and tuning - a real factor in its cost.
Finer features: Higher quality recorders often incorporate features that cheaper ones do not have, such as:
A) Curved windway: the end you blow in is gently arched from side to side, instead of being made straight across.
B) Tapered block: the block (the all-important insert that forms the bottom of the windway) is narrower from side to side at the window end than it is at the beak end (where you blow).
C) A block set quite high: the beak opening is quite a bit smaller from top to bottom than in less expensive recorders, requiring very accurate voicing dimensions. It also results in more resistance and requires more consistent breath support for the player, unlike a recorder with a wide-open windway where the breath just flows. And flows. And flows. In other words cheaper recorders often use more air, while more expensive recorders use less air but require more breath support and control.
D) Undercut tone holes: the holes that your fingers cover - their bottom edges inside the bore are somewhat flared.
E) With soprano recorders, a three-piece instrument is usually preferable to a two-piece one, though most Renaissance sopranos are indeed made with two pieces or in one piece. The movable foot enables a player to fit his or her pinky exactly. It also makes for more exact tuning; if the highest notes on a soprano are sharp, pulling out the foot a bit will help correct them.
4) Cost factor
This is what many players consider first - how much I can afford. Good thinking! It's wise to set a realistic limit and abide by it. And depending on the level of expense you can afford, there will surely be several recorders to consider.
One question I am often asked: "Does a recorder that costs twice as much as another recorder play twice as good as the cheaper one?"
Probably not. The better the player you are, however, the more you will expect from your recorder and the better recorder you will want. An $800 alto in the hands of a beginner doesn't make much sense; in the hands of an experienced player, however, the quality of that fine recorder may well be worth every penny of the $800 or $1800 or $2800 it cost.
One comment I often hear: "I love the way my friend's (fill in the maker's name) maple alto plays, so I bought one just like it - same model and everything. And it plays and sounds a lot different.
Why? - because of its voicing, its tuning, the shipment of wood it was made from, how long the recorder wood seasoned, how long the cedar block seasoned, how the person at the workbench who voiced it felt that day, how long it sat on a store shelf before you bought it, etc., etc. Most makers of high-quality recorders maintain stringent quality control standards, but wood is wood is wood and people are people are people; wooden instruments can vary quite a bit, as do players.
Remember, correct voicing is essential for a good recorder to play its best. Most makers give a warranty for a period of time after purchase. During that "break-in" time, the voicing will probably change somewhat, and that is one reason why Collins and
Williams is the "authorized US repair agent" for a number of overseas firms; voicing is necessary when the windway dimensions change even a little, and over a period of time the warmth and moisture in a player's breath can certainly change those wooden
dimensions. Wood or Plastic?
Some players seem to think plastic is almost blasphemous; to them, wood is the only material for a recorder worthy of the name. "If the good Lord had wanted us to play plastic recorders, He would be growing plastic trees!" There is certainly no question that plastic recorders cannot compare with fine wooden recorders. But the operative word here is "fine." There is also no question in my mind that a high-quality plastic recorder is far superior to a mediocre wooden one.
The reason for that superiority is because many characteristics of fine wooden recorders are built into high-quality plastics (see "finer features" above). The best plastics on the market today are, in my opinion, the higher-priced Zen-Ons and Yamaha 300-series, and they have the features of fine wooden recorders. What those plastics don't have is a wooden block to absorb moisture and lessen windway clogging. One reason the Collins & Williams customized Zen-On plastics sell so steadily is that their cedar-surfaced blocks do absorb moisture and sound "woodier." In addition, they have been voiced to play their best - impossible to do with other plastics. See the "Customized Zen-On Plastic Recorders" page for further information.
A beginning player would be wise to buy a good plastic that is built to play like the good wooden one he or she will be playing one day. When that day comes, the good plastic becomes a practice/travel/back-up recorder; the mediocre wooden one is rarely played again. Think about it. And try a good plastic.
and opinions have been helpful and not confusing. If further questions come to mind, don't hesitate to get in touch with me. I'll be happy to help if I can.
Q. "Should I be oiling my recorder?"
It's a question that players often ask, and I can, with assurance, unequivocally and categorically state that it depends! I have worked on wax-impregnated maples whose bores were caked with oil residue from over-oiling and on rosewoods that were dry as bones.
Speaking of bones - the following might be of interest to any of you with bone-loving dogs. I use what can best be described as cow thigh-bones to make recorder thumb bushings, and they must be as hard, dry, and durable as possible. A veterinarian friend passed along a tip from the owner of a large dog who used to go through a bone a day: keep the bone in the freezer for a while. Freezing dries out and hardens the bone, and a dog will get a lot more chew out of it. And a recorder player will get a lot more wear out of it.
Back to oiling. Where to oil? Only the bore and the labium (the lip). If you are super-careful, dab a very little bit on the end of a toothpick around the area above where the air leaves the windway, but only on the vertical surface. DON'T get any on the slanted part (the head chamfer) that angles back into the windway. The labium (lip) should be oiled because it gets continually bombarded by your warm, moist breath, and you can oil the walls beside the window labium if you want. But DON'T get any oil in the windway; the block must absorb as much moisture as it can, and it CANNOT have oil on it. When oiling the bore, if any oil runs into the finger holes, wipe it out so that dust doesn't accumulate there
How to oil? I use a slotted plastic stick with a cloth from an old T-shirt or handkerchief. Swab a thin film of oil evenly throughout the bore of all the pieces - not on the corks or in the windway. Wipe off any that runs. Stand the pieces upright (with the open joint end of the head down) for several hours. If the recorder hasn't been oiled for a long time, it might be necessary to repeat the process.
With what? I recommend RAW linseed oil, used by most major recorder-makers. You may not care for the smell, and in hot climates linseed oil can make a recorder get a little rancid if over-used. Some people use olive oil, salad oil, or mineral oil that is sold for clarinets and oboes.
They are better than nothing, but they probably won't polymerize as well as linseed oil does, which means that raw linseed oil soaks into the wood and then hardens to seal the pores. It doesn't evaporate; it solidifies without diminishing in size.
You must use RAW linseed oil. "Boiled" linseed oil is for sale. Don't use it. "Boiled" is fine for furniture, but not for your woodwind. Today's linseed oil hasn't really been boiled, by the way, but has just had dryers added to it. (You might be interested in an intriguing book entitled "The Periodic Table" by Primo Levy, in which he described the
early Italians gauging how long to boil linseed oil by throwing in some onion rings; when the rings were browned, the oil was done. Neat.)
How often to oil: Now it gets iffy, depending on what wood the instrument is made of, if the maker coated the bore with urethane or varnish, and if the wood has been wax-impregnated. Let's deal with the last item first: some makers impregnate their softer woods (most often maple and fruitwoods) with paraffin wax, rendering the wood denser and fairly inert. These instruments will absorb next-to-no oil, and there is little reason to oil them, unless they are years old and some of the wax has seeped out. The heavier blackwoods and boxwoods should be oiled perhaps twice a year, and the more open-pored rosewoods somewhat more often. Players in dryer climates and those who keep their instruments in dry heated rooms may decide to oil more often. Remember, it is not usually the consistently dry or consistently moist wood that cracks and warps; it is the wood that from use becomes wet and dry, wet and dry, wet and dry, that reacts the most. Look through the bore. Does it look dry and in need of oil? If it is smooth and shiny, it is made of a dense, close-grained wood, or perhaps it has a finish on it. Neither will need much oil. If it is dark and rough-looking, it probably needs an oiling. You can't really hurt an instrument by oiling it if you:
1.Use only a thin film of oil;
2.NEVER get oil into the windway;
3.Stand it upright so that excess oil drains off.
Problem: raw linseed oil is sold at most hardware stores in pints, each of which is enough to last several lifetimes. It is not expensive, but it may turn rancid after a while. Collins and Williams will send you a film canister (the little black plastic container that 35 mm film comes in) with about an ounce of raw linseed oil blended with some sweet almond oil (very expensive, but it sweetens the linseed oil and keeps it from from turning rancid). See the Accessories web page. Keep a strip of swabbing cloth in there, a slotted stick handy, and it will last you a long time.
For a thorough discussion of oiling, see the article Wood, Water, and Oil by Raymond and Lee Dessy in the November, 1995,"American Recorder found at
http://www.iinet.net.au/~nickl/wood.html.
Q. " I've been told that I must 'break in' my new recorder: why is it necessary, and how do I do it?"
Breaking in a recorder is a process to introduce the warmth and moisture of your breath over a period of time to a new recorder, whose wood gradually adapts to it with small changes in dimension and moisture content. Long periods of playing a new recorder sometimes produce changes quickly in some parts of the recorder and more slowly in others, resulting in uneven expansion; cracks are often the result. Gentle playing at first usually prevents this.
first week - no more than ten minutes a day; second week - no more than 20 minutes; third week - no more than 30 minutes.
After that, go ahead and play away, although I will say that playing for hours a day on a wooden recorder - three to four hours a day, perhaps - will shorten its life. Most players who are that devoted to recorders, however, usually have several recorders that they use in rotation during practice sessions.
The larger recorders, such as the bass and contrabass, don't seem to be affected as much by moisture and temperature as the smaller ones. With their large bores and thicker walls, moisture just doesn't condense as much in the bore. Since the windway is also bigger, moisture clogging is usually less of a problem there. So while breaking in a new recorder is always advisable, the big ones probably don't need as much attention to the process as smaller ones.
Hard woods seem to require more careful breaking in than soft woods. Again, I think the expansion rate inside and outside the recorder takes longer to equalize and stabilize. Also, some softwood recorders are wax-impregnated, which lessens the risk of cracking. Finally, a very few recorders have tiny invisible flaws in their wood that will crack, no matter how careful the care. Most makers have a warranty period to allow for these cracks within the first months of playing.
"How about an old recorder that hasn't been played in years? Does it need to be broken in?"
Yes, I would go through the same process as for a new recorder. The wood has probably dried out, and there is the same chance of the wood cracking due to uneven expansion. By the way, if there are keys, the pads have probably hardened and will need to be replaced.
Q. "My right pinkie can no longer reach that bottom hole on the foot. Can you add a key to a recorder for me?"
Maybe, but only if it is a single hole. I may also be able to add a key to a tone hole on the middle section (a prime candidate for this procedure is the first finger/right hand hole on the Yamaha YRT 304B plastic tenor). See the Repair Services page.
If you have a foot with double holes, a key cannot be added. Your only option is to buy a new foot with keys on it from the maker. Contact me for availability and a price estimate.
Q. "The top of my recorder is blackish, and the window where the air comes out is, too. And it smells funny. What is the matter?"
It sounds like you have mold and/or mildew. Mold and mildew growth is a real problem in some recorders, most often maple, fruitwood, and boxwood instruments. Not only is it unsightly in light-colored woods, but the recorder's tone and response can be
adversely affected. If left unchecked, mildew can permeate the wood, resulting in a punky, rotten surface. In the windway, such a soft surface means that the recorder cannot be voiced with any assurance of success. In short, mold and mildew can significantly shorten a recorder's useful life.
I say "can shorten", because experience has led me to believe that moisture from different players' breath must differ chemically, to the extent that some recorders will show mold and mildew growth, while other players' instruments, under essentially the same conditions, will not.
Related to that, deposits of hardened "crud" (for want of a more sophisticated term) are also quite evident in some otherwise well-cared-for instruments, again (I think) the result of an individual player's saliva. While these deposits do not affect the wood of an instrument like mildew does, they do indeed affect the tone and response. Don't let these deposits build up in the end of the windway. One reason God gave us thumb nails is to chip away at the deposits around the mouthpiece without damaging the finish. But removing deposits gently from the block in the end of the windway must be done with the end of a knife blade, being VERY careful not to remove any wood.
Back to mold and mildew: I recommend the following for all players, with a further suggestion for those with a more serious mold and mildew problem.
1) Always dry your recorder as thoroughly as you can after even a short playing session. A lint-free cotton cloth on a stick is better than a woolly swab. Take care to wrap the cloth over the the end of the stick to avoid hitting the edge of the labium (lip).
2) Blow out the head joint. It's NOT a good idea to cover the window with your finger to prevent a shriek and then blow through the beak end. Over a period of time, even the slight finger pressure on the warm, moist labium can produce a sway-backed labium edge, and a head that makes a fine piece of kindling wood! Instead, take the head joint off, cover the open joint end with the flat of your hand, put your mouth on the window, and give a vigorous puff to blow moisture out the beak end.
3) Clean out the windway after playing, but not with anything harder than a small feather or a folded piece of file card or cardboard. These types of materials are fine for regular windway maintenance to help reduce deposit ("crud") build-up. No pipe cleaners, paper clips, steak knives, screwdrivers, or nail files in there! The only exception is the TLC scraping away of deposits at the beak end of the block, as described above.
4) If your case is fairly air-tight, leave it open for a while to let the recorder air out and dry out. If your case is a box with a hinged cover, putting the head in backwards may keep the cover open enough to let air in but keep dust out.
5) Though unrelated to mold and mildew, it's a good idea to disassemble your recorder between playing sessions. Leaving it together will compress the corks over time, resulting in loose joints and the need to recork.
For those with an evident mildew problem (darkening around the window and labium, at the beak end, and in extreme cases, an evident discoloration on the top of the head joint following the outline of the windway), the following will help: Fill a water glass 1/3 full of household chlorine bleach; add the same amount of water for a one-to-one mixture. Immerse the windway area of the head joint in the bleach solution, up to and including the labium (the inclined ramp that the air hits when it leaves the windway). Leave it there for five minutes or so, then take it out, wipe off the outside, blow out the moisture as directed in 2) above, and let it dry. The smell will disappear with drying and airing. It's best not to play it while the bleach remains in the windway, since ingesting bleach can be unpleasant.
The finish on your instrument should not be affected by this treatment. If in doubt, test it on the bottom of the foot joint. I don't recommend the bleach treatment on a regular basis, but I know it works, especially for players whose breath seems to foster the mold farms that I occasionally see.
Q. "How about humidifiers? Do I need one in my case?"
You may, if the year-round climate where you live is hot and dry, or the winter climate in your living quarters is hot and dry. This situation can obviously apply to both a hacienda in New Mexico or an apartment in New Hampshire.
Wood kept in a state of dryness or a state of moisture does not usually deteriorate as much as wood that is subject to changes from wet to dry and wet to dry. Off-on-a-tangent time: I grew up on a farm, and every year my father and I had to replace fence posts that had broken off. It was evident that the above-ground wood in those posts was fine and could be used for firewood; the wood below ground was still solid and wet and had to be dug out - the worst part of the job! - before a new post could go in. What had happened was that the post had rotted off right at ground level - the wet/dry line. It was a graphic illustration of what wood will and will not endure.
Your wooden recorder doesn't like the shock of changing quickly from dry to wet. Oiling will help ease the shock (see "Oiling the Recorder" above). A humidifier will also help. The ones that I stock are small plastic tubes with holes in the end and a piece of sponge inside. From time to time the sponge is wetted and left in the case to raise the ambient humidity. You can make one yourself by poking holes in a little plastic pill bottle with a hot needle or nail and putting a piece of sponge inside.
But don't use one if you don't think it's necessary. Too much humidity can result in mold and mildew (see FAQ above). Use your own judgment.
Q. "I left my maple recorder in the trunk of my car on a summer day, and it must have been pretty hot. When I opened the case, everything was covered with a slimy wax-like stuff. What happened? Is it ruined?"
No, it isn't ruined, but it needs a good cleaning by a professional. It is indeed wax that melted in the heat and seeped out of the wood.
Some makers of fine recorders - Moeck and Mollenhauer are two - impregnate their maple instruments with paraffin wax. It is done under extreme pressure and renders the wood quite stable and fairly impervious to moisture. On the downside, if a
wax-impregnated recorder is left in a hot environment, the wax will melt and seep out of the wood. The bore and windway will collect pools of wax, and the recorder will be out of commission. Cleaning is a messy job, the block may need to be replaced, and the whole thing is best left to a repair person.
On the upside, I've never known of a player who let his wax-impregnated recorder sit in a hot place more than once.
Q. "After I've played my recorder for a while, moisture collects in the windway, and the recorder sounds awful. What's happening, and what can I do about it?" Clogging is a real bother for some players and not a problem for others. If your recorder clogs up with beads of moisture, the sound becomes choked and fuzzy, and the highest notes won't play. Maybe it's because you're so excited about playing that you begin to salivate? Anyway, the following may help:
The recorder should be in proper voice; this is the single most important factor. If your recorder hasn't been voiced for a while (or ever), it's the best first step toward correcting the moisture problem. A plastic recorder cannot be voiced, however; it is glued
permanently together and the windway is not accessible. A treatment with a prepared solution may help (see below).
Are your playing habits part of the problem? Remember, the only part of your mouth that touches the recorder is the outside part of your lips - not the moist inner side of your lips, not your tongue, not your teeth. If any of these three does touch the recorder, moisture will find its way in. The recorder rests on the lower lip, which covers the lower teeth; the upper lip holds the recorder in place, and it also covers the upper teeth. The basic tongue technique consists of starting the tone by making a "t" or "d" on the roof of the mouth in back of the top teeth.
Most players instinctively make a quick quiet suck on the mouthpiece during a rest or pause, bringing any accumulated moisture back into the mouth; it is the simplest way to clear the windway, though not entirely effective, and some people think it's yucky. But do it. It does help.
The best way to clear the windway of anything, however, is to remove the head, cover the open joint end with the flat of the hand, cover the window with the open mouth and blow with a quick, sharp puff; almost anything in the windway will be blown out the beak end. Putting your finger on the labium to prevent a shriek while you blow into the beak end of the windway with a vigorous puff is NOT a good idea, at least with a wooden recorder. Over a period of time, that warm moist labium can get pressed down
and retain a permanently warped shape, irreparably ruining the tone and response. That will not happen with plastics, but it's best not to get into the habit.
There are prepared solutions available to help moisture clogging in the windway; Moeck makes Anticondens and Dupont makes Duponol. They can be a real help. While I refer to Duponol in the following, the use is the same for Anticondens. Duponol is a detergent solution that helps moisture in the windway to stream, rather than form beads. It works much like dishwasher detergent does, helping the water to form a sheet, rather than stay in drops. That's why your glasses shouldn't have spots when they come out of the dishwasher.
To use Duponol most effectively, let the head section dry thoroughly, preferably overnight. Cover the beak end of the windway (the end you put in your mouth) with waterproof tape like electrical tape or duct tape. Or if you're the patient type, just put your finger over the end. Hold the head or prop it up in a secure place with the beak end down. Drip Duponol into the narrow opening of the windway until it is full. Let it sit and soak for five minutes or so. Hold the head joint over a sink, take the tape (or your finger) off and let it drain. If not much comes out, it's because some of the solution seeped down between the sides of the block and the inside of the head - not a problem. Wipe any solution off the outside of the instrument, but don't shake or blow it out of the windway. You want a coating to remain in there. Let the head joint dry overnight. If another treatment is necessary, follow the same procedure. The treatment may last for a month or more, or you may find it must be repeated more often.
Two considerations for those players plagued with moisture problems:
1) More experienced players usually have fewer problems than beginners. Your clogging problems will probably lessen the longer you play the recorder.
2) If it's any consolation, most dentists say that people with more saliva in their mouths usually have healthier mouths than those people with dry mouths. So drool and be happy!
Q. "Playing a soprano recorder and an alto recorder at the same time from the same music sounds all wrong. Sopranos and altos have the same fingering, but the notes that come out are different. What's going on?"
This can be very confusing for a beginning recorder player. I'll do my best to explain it. The recorder, like the contemporary flute, is a non-transposing instrument - that is, what you see on the music is what sounds on the recorder; when you play C on the recorder music, C comes out of the recorder. That is different from the Bflat clarinet, for example, which is a transposing instrument. When you play C written on the clarinet music, Bflat comes out of the clarinet. Don't ask why - that's a whole other question that doesn't concern us. Okay so far?
Now it changes and gets even more confusing, but stick with it. The clarinet family all has the same fingering - soprano, alto, bass - whenever you see C below the staff, it's always left-hand thumb and three fingers. Not so with the recorder. The soprano and tenor recorders are said to be in C, because C below the G-clef staff is the lowest written note that they can play - all holes are covered. When the tenor plays that C, it sounds that C; when the soprano plays that C, it sounds a C an octave above the tenor, but it is still a C.
The sopranino, alto, and bass recorders are said to be in F, because first-space-on-the-staff F is the lowest written note they can produce, with the sopranino producing an F two octaves above the alto, and the bass two octaves below. And C music looks the same for all C recorders, and F music looks the same for all F recorders (except the bass, which is often written in the bass clef). That's why the same method book serves to teach the soprano and tenor in C, and the method book in F works for the sopranino and alto.
Therefore, the finger pattern for every recorder is the same from top to bottom, except that the fingering for a particular note will be different for the two groups, F and C. Second-line G on a C recorder is left hand thumb and three fingers; second-line G on an F recorder is all fingers down except the bottom pinkie. You can play "Mary Had a Little Lamb" with the same finger pattern on both a soprano and an alto; the alto version will just sound four notes lower the whole way through.
For experienced players that want to play all recorders, that means switching fingering patterns when changing from C to F recorders and back again. For beginners it can be a challenge, but it is definitely worth being at ease with both fingerings. One of the joys of recorder-playing is being able to enjoy the whole family of sounds.
But the range of each recorder is also a factor. The alto and sopranino cannot play below first-space F, which leaves out a lot of vocal music. Experienced players routinely switch octaves, which may take some planning and practice on a particular piece, however, to make it come out sounding at all musical. The low C on a tenor, for example, may sound fairly soft and not be effective in a group of instruments. Recorder music is often arranged and rearranged for different consorts of recorders in order to produce the most effective ensemble sound. Again, one of the challenges for the recorder players is to adapt its capabilities to the musical situation that presents itself.
Q. "One of my recorder joints is stuck, and I can't get it apart. I don't want to break it. Do I have to send it to you?"
Probably not. If you're careful and persistent, you can do what I would do. Stuck joints seem to occur most often on tenors and basses. Here are suggestions for two different situations:
1) To separate a too-tight joint: sit down, spread your knees, and lay the joined pieces across them, with the joint in the middle. Rock the joint gently but firmly up and down, all the while pulling and/or turning the joint apart. The two pieces should slowly
2) To dislodge a cap that has become stuck on a bass head: with the head joint on your lap, take a sturdy kitchen carving knife and while rolling the head back and forth, carefully force the cutting edge into the crack between the pieces. (Make sure you are working on the crack; don't be fooled by a turning that looks like the crack.) As you roll it back and forth, the knife will push the cap away from the head. When it separates a little, change to a duller, thicker table knife, to prevent cutting the cork. Then rock and pull as described in 1) above. Be careful with those sharp knives!
In both situations, use cork grease! Or something! Vaseline is better than nothing. But at $1.50, cork grease is a cheap and easy maintenance item that belongs in every recorder case.
Q. "The low F on my bass recorder is very weak and soft, and I have to really push hard on the key to get it at all. It must be leaking air. Can I send you just the foot to repair?"
Recorder keys and pads can be the cause of problems, particularly when the pad doesn't seal the hole properly. Repairs on tenors and basses are often time-consuming and fussy, since the tone hole rims must be perfectly level and the pads must meet them exactly, so that no leaks occur. It's no fun for the player who must cram the keys down hard to get notes to respond. Some older recorder key assemblies are also fairly flimsy in design and don't provide much force to the pad, however, even when the player exerts what should be sufficient pressure.
If you're having problems with a pad sealing properly, you may help it temporarily by squeezing down on the pad with your thumb for a moment before you begin to play. Don't use the lever that your finger normally uses, but push down hard directly on the cup that holds the pad. It will help the pad conform to the hole and should help stop the leaks. If you aren't sure what pad may be leaking, squeeze down on them all. You can even put a rubber band over the pad cup to hold it down between playing sessions - anything to get the pad to fit the hole better. But eventually you should get the pad or pads replaced.
And no, don't send just the foot. In order to ensure that the low notes are responding properly, I need the whole instrument.
by Gary Cook
Contents
Introduction Reamers
Windway Cutters Underside Edge Cutters Other Tools
Introduction
In the public eye, recorders are usually regarded as "simple" wind instruments, a bit like tin-whistles. This is perhaps not surprising as recorders are most often heard in the hands of massed groups of young children at schools. Everyone is familiar with the awful strangled shriek of those overblown plastic instruments. This has led the general public to the natural conclusion that recorders are simple, because children usually play them, and they sound awful, so they cannot be real musical instruments. I've often seen parents pushing their children into giving up their recorders in favour of a proper (grown-up) instrument. This is a shame, because anyone who has learned to play the recorder will appreciate just what a lovely, and challenging, instrument it is.
In fact, the recorder is not a simple instrument. It evolved continuously over many centuries, from its birth, probably in early Medieval times, until its death at the end of the Baroque period. The instrument was brought back to life again less than 100 years ago, by Arnold Dolmetsch, initially in the Baroque form. The recorder probably died out originally because it could no longer compete with the louder, newer instruments of the time. The Baroque recorder is an inherently quiet instrument compared with those of the modern orchestra. However, the early makers designed these quiet instruments with a purpose. They are designed to have a wide range, play especially well in the higher register, and sound wonderful. These key attributes are due mainly to the shape of the bore, and to the design of the windway and voicing.
This article describes methods for fabricating modern special hand tools for Baroque recorder making, with emphasis on bore and windway cutting. It also lists the ordinary tools which are needed to make a recorder. All of the tools can be used to make earlier
Renaissance and Medieval versions as well. The article is aimed at those who either already make recorders, or those who wish to have a go at making their own recorders. The information on tools should be of greatest value to keen amateur makers, like myself, but may also be useful to some professional makers. Everyone has a different approach to recorder making; this is mine.
Reamers
Reaming the bore of a recorder to the correct dimensions is an essential part of recorder making. Recorder bores generally follow a complex profile, especially Baroque
recorders. This profile is achieved by first drilling through the timber blank with a conventional drill, and then reaming the bore with special tools to produce the required shape. Some of the tools used by the original makers from the Renaissance and Baroque periods have survived to this day. Large sets of spoon reamers were used by these early makers to cut different parts of the bore separately. Indeed, the same spoon reamers were probably also used to make adjustments to the tuning of their instruments. Some surviving illustrations from these times also show what appear to be simple tapered wooden reamers, fitted with metal blades, although these were probably only used for roughing out in preparation for spoon reaming. Spoon reamer marks are visible in the bores of many surviving original recorders.
There is nothing to prevent anyone who intends making recorders from doing exactly the same as our ancestors did. However, accurately reaming recorder bores with spoon reamers is a difficult and skilled task, requiring years of patient dedication to learn properly. It is much easier, today, to produce single reamers for each joint that cut the whole section profile in one go. The idea is to make a "former" that has the same shape as the finished bore. The former then has cutting edges set into its surface to become a working reamer. Once the timber blank is drilled through, the reamer is inserted into the hole and slowly rotated by hand to cut away the bore. When the reamer has been
advanced to a pre-determined depth, it is withdrawn and Hey Presto! the bore is
finished. A good reamer will leave the bore perfectly smooth and polished, requiring no further attention.
The simplest home made reamer, the bargain basement model, is made from an old metalwork file. All that is needed to make this is access to a bench grinder, or at a pinch, an angle grinder. Take great care with these machines, they can be dangerous if used improperly. Remember to wear the appropriate safety equipment, and work slowly and patiently.
First lightly grind away both sides of the file so that they are as smooth as possible. This is so the finished reamer will have a good cutting edge. Any trace of the original file surface would spoil it. The next step is to grind away the edges to the required profile. It is important that both sides of the file are ground away identically and symmetrically about the centre line of the file. If one side is different from the other, the reamer cannot possibly produce an accurate bore profile. Slow, patient work will give its rewards. The finished edge should be bevelled back slightly, so that the trailing edge just clears the bore. If the bevel is too shallow, the reamer will tear the wood. If it is too steep, the trailing edge will foul the bore and prevent the cutting surfaces from working properly. Figure 1 shows how this works.
Fit a standard wooden file handle to the reamer. Drilling a hole through the handle will allow a suitable length of wooden dowel or metal rod to be inserted, making it easier to turn. The finished reamer should be advanced gently into the recorder body. If it is used too aggressively it will bind and tear the wood. Making the first few centimetres parallel and of the same diameter as the initial drill will also help to make the job easier. This type of reamer will not usually produce a perfectly smooth and polished bore. It cannot compete with the finish quality and accuracy of the steel reamers described below. However, it is simple and cheap to make, and it allows people who do not have access to metalwork lathes to have a go at recorder making. It can also be useful for quick prototype instrument development. It warrants a recommendation because of this. The second type of reamer is made of wood, and appears to be similar to the reamers seen in surviving illustrations from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Access to a wood turning lathe (which is necessary for recorder making anyway) is required for this reamer. It is particularly useful for bigger recorders, where the large bore size makes the reamer strong. This type of reamer is not suitable for descant or sopranino instruments. It should really only be considered seriously as an option for tenor and bass recorders. However, it produces a much better finish than the metal file version, and it is easier to use.
The reamer is made by first turning a length of timber to the exact dimensions of the finished bore. The timber must be very well seasoned, to avoid warping and distortions occurring later, and it must be very strong and hard. Suitable timbers are Lignum Vitae (Guaiacum officinale), Greenheart (Ocotea rodiae), Brazilwood (Caesalpinia echinata) and other timbers with similar properties. The surface finish should be as smooth and polished as possible.
The next step is to fit a metal blade; a hacksaw is ideal. The blade can be fitted in one of two ways. Either a 90 degree quadrant is removed (by sawing, by routing, or with an edge plane) so that the blade can be screwed to the reamer, or alternatively by carefully cutting a narrow slot along the reamer and gluing the blade in place. If the latter method is chosen, it is good practice to plane away a small flat area immediately in front of the blade to allow the shavings some clearance. The first method allows the blade to be changed easily, while the second method gives a slightly better finish. Figure 2 shows the general idea for both options.
Once the blade is fixed in place, grind away the protruding excess until it is just level, or very fractionally above the wooden surface. The last grinding should be done with a fine grit wheel, or with a hand slip-stone so that the edge is left as sharp as possible. Finally, drill a hole through the thicker end so that a suitable wooden or metal dowel can be inserted to act as a handle. Do not apply any kind of varnish or wax to the finished reamer, as this will cause it to jam in the bore. Instead, liberally apply a non-drying oil, like almond oil, which will prevent any warping and make reaming process much easier. Any excess oil should be wiped off before reaming commences, otherwise the shavings will stick together and clog the reamer.
A third type of reamer is based around a linear metal taper (i.e. a shallow cone). A linear taper is easy to turn on a metalwork lathe, by simply off-setting the tailstock and taking straight cuts along a metal bar. The metal used for the taper will not be used to form a cutting edge, so it can be relatively soft. Brass is free-cutting and is ideal for this purpose. The degree of taper should be sufficient to clear the finished bore profile at all points.
The next step is to cut a narrow slot along the entire length of the reamer, into which will be set a cutter. In this respect, the reamer is similar to the wooden taper described above, except it is strong enough to be made small. Again, a hack-saw blade makes an excellent cutter. The slot needs to be narrow, and it is best to cut this using a small slitting saw. I do this using an electric drill (fitted with a speed reduction gear or electronic speed control), mounted onto a vertical slide which is attached to the cross-slide of the lathe. The cut is made by gradually lowering the drill and making repeated passes back and forth. Providing the drill mounting is robust and cannot flex, an excellent finish can be achieved.
Once the slot is completed, the hack-saw blade can be fitted to the reamer. It can be glued, but it is better to drill and tap some grub screws fixings through the reamer for this, so it can be replaced easily. The grub screw holes must be carefully de-burred to avoid scoring the bore. All that remains is for the blade to be ground to the correct dimensions and sharpened.
The linear taper reamer is best suited to gently tapering bores, like renaissance instruments. If the bore shape changes rapidly, the blade will stick out too from the surface of the reamer, and the finish quality will suffer. Also, the side opposite to the blade will tend to ride on the high spots of the bore. This can cause an eccentric cutting action and an inaccurate profile if the blade sticks up too far. It is best to choose
recorders that allow the blade to be no more than 1 or 2mm proud of the surface at any point.
The last, and best, reamer design is the so-called "D-bit". Most professional wind instrument makers use this design. It gives supreme accuracy and finish and lasts for a very long time. D-bit reamers can be re-sharpened hundreds of times before they need to be replaced. The principle is very similar to that used for the wooden reamer described above. An exact bore profile is turned from a piece of steel and the cutting edge is machined directly into the surface. The type of steel used depends on what timbers are to be reamed. Mild steel is OK with softer timbers like Maple or Cherry, but stainless or silver steel should be used for cutting harder woods. Silver steel rusts easily if not protected in storage, but it can be readily hardened by heating and quenching to produce a longer lasting cutting edge. Brass could also be used, but a suitable steel blade would have to be fitted, and it is easier to make the whole thing from steel. The first stage is therefore to accurately form the reamer shape. This is best done by turning a series of small steps, of about 0.1mm depth, in a steel bar. The length of each step is chosen so that the inner corner corresponds to the bore diameter at that point. Remember to add a suitable length to each end of the reamer to allow for a handle, and for transitioning from the minimum bore diameter to the drill size used to make the initial hole through the timber.
Once this is done, the small steps need to be removed to leave the finished profile. I do this by hand using a fine metalwork file while the lathe is running. Take care to avoid loose clothing etc. while doing this, and use a chuck guard! As soon as the steps have almost disappeared, swap the file for some emery cloth/paper glued onto some scrap wood. Once the step marks have just gone, polish the reamer to a mirror finish using wet & dry paper and some metal polish. Figure 3 shows the idea.
The next step is to machine a cutting edge along the length of the reamer. The traditional way is to machine away a quadrant from 12 o'clock to 3 o'clock from the cross-section. If access to a milling machine is available, this is straight forward. This can also be done using the lathe mounted electric drill described above, but fitted with an end-mill cutter. The reamer is sharpened by raising a slight burr with some tool steel on one of the machined faces. Alternatively, either an end-mill or slot-drill can be used to machine away a wide trough along the middle of the reamer. This is my own
preferred method. The slot can be any width, but the reamer works best when the slot gap is wide. It should not be too wide though; limit the cutter width to approximately half the diameter of the reamer at its narrowest point. This also means that less metal
needs to be machined away than with the traditional D-bit. Figure 4 shows the cross-sections of the two alternative methods.
You will notice that the latter method produces a more acutely angled cutting edge. This is why I make my reamers this way. The traditional D-bit, and indeed all of the other reamers described here, cut by scraping the bore. My design cuts the bore, leaving a superb finish. The shavings look like they have been planed away.
One last practical note on machining the slots/quadrants in these reamers. Most small metalwork lathes, like my Myford ML7, do not have the facility to separately drive the leadscrew while the headstock chuck is locked. This makes it impossible to
automatically feed the milling cutter along the reamer using the leadscrew, because the reamer has to be held static by the locked chuck. After spending hours manually traversing the cutter back and forth, I found a solution. Grip the reamer by its smallest end using a drill chuck mounted in the lathe tailstock. Support the other end at the headstock by using a live centre. This allows the headstock spindle to rotate freely, so that power can be applied to the leadscrew, while the reamer remains static and supported at both ends.
Windway Cutters
Most professional makers, and certainly all of the larger volume producers of recorders, use special machines to cut the windway roof into recorder heads. This consists of some form of cutter, usually a broaching tool, mounted onto a reciprocating drive bar which moves the cutter back and forth into the head joint. The recorder head is held in a jig which is gradually lowered down onto the moving cutter until the desired depth of cut is reached. Sometimes, the broaching tool also has an extension which simultaneously cuts the underside of the edge as well.
Although I do not own a windway cutting "machine", I can appreciate how useful they must be to volume producers. Some makers of hand built recorders might also find them attractive as a labour saving device for roughing out the windway shape. All of the cutters that I will describe here are intended for hand use, because that is the way that I use them. However, anyone who owns a windway cutting machine could easily fit most of these cutters onto their devices.
The easiest windway cutter, suitable for school-style recorders which have flat
windways, can be made from an ordinary flat file. Grind the sides away until the file is of the required width for the windway. A couple of files, one coarse and one fine, will usually be enough for each size of recorder. Make sure the file is seated accurately
within the bore before starting to cut. Do this by making sure the file is parallel to the bore axis, and by gently rocking the file from side to side while holding it against the bore wall. If it rocks easily, it is not seated properly, so that it is resting in the bore on just one corner and one edge. Waggle it about slightly and it will seat itself properly. When it is seated, it will feel stable and a gentle cut can be made. Once the cut has been started, it will guide itself. Carefully inspect the cut regularly to ensure that the cut is indeed flat, is not becoming slightly convex, is cutting evenly on both sides and is not slanted up or down.
Finish the windway with some fine abrasive like wet & dry paper, 600 and 1000 grits, or some very fine (0000 grade) wire wool. Wet the windway surface and allow it to dry out completely, then re-finish the windway again. This is because the windway will become wet when the recorder is played. If it is finished only once, the first playing will raise the severed wood fibres at the surface and make it look "hairy". The tone quality will suffer if this happens. Pre-wetting allows the hairy windway to be shaved off so that it doesn't become a problem. Don't put any kind of wood finishing like oil or varnish in the windway. This would cause the condensation to form beads and quickly block the instrument. An untreated surface allows the condensation to develop as a flat film which is partly absorbed by the timber, and does not block the windway. Cheaper wooden recorders, which are make from pressure treated timber (usually with paraffin wax) to stop cracking, and plastic recorders, suffer acutely with blocking because the condensation cannot film properly.
Curved windways usually give a much better tone quality to recorders. Half-round files could be used to make curved windways, but I have found the finish they leave to be inferior to the curved cutters described below. Most curved files also have a radius that is too small for larger recorders, They can only really be used for sopraninos and descants, but I wouldn't recommend them.
A curved windway cutter can be easily made on a metalwork lathe. Fix a cutter blank, a rectangular bar of steel of the right width and length, to a hexagonal support bar,
mounted between centres. This is best done by screwing through the support bar, into the underside of the cutter blank. Make the mounting holes blind so that the fixing screws don't break through. The same screw holes can be used later to fix the cutter to a handle. Several blanks can be mounted onto the same support bar so that more than one cutter can be produced at once. A simple straight cut, taken along the rotating blank, will produce a nice uniformly curved surface. The radius or curvature can be varied simply by inserting a spacer between the blank and hexagonal bar. As with the reamers, the best material for the cutter is either stainless steel, or silver steel.
Once the blanks are correctly shaped, a cutting edge needs to be put into the curved surface. Either machine a series of simple slots across the cutter, or alternatively a saw-tooth profile using a shaped lathe tool. Figure 5 shows the two schemes.
The saw tooth profile is slightly trickier to machine accurately, but it cuts very quickly. However, it wears out fast because the cutting edges are narrow ridges with little surface area. The multiple slot style lasts indefinitely, but requires constant sharpening. Do this by raising a slight burr edge at the top of the slots with a slim piece of tool steel. The best surviving examples of Baroque recorders had windways which were not only curved, but which had a radius of curvature that varied continuously along the length of the windway. The windway starts off curved at the beak, and gradually flattens out towards the exit at the chamfers. It took me a while to figure out how to make a cutter to reproduce this effect. What is needed is a cutter whose radius of curvature varies along its length, just like the recorder windway. As long as the cutting surface is relatively fine, a very short cutting stroke (a few mm back and forth) can successfully reproduce this type of windway in one operation. The reduced stroke length prolongs the cutting time, but the results are worth it.
A cutter with a varying radius of curvature can be made in a similar way to the previous uniform radius cutter. All that is needed is to mount the blank at an angle onto the hexagonal support bar. One end is closer to the lathe axis than the other, so the radius of the finished cutter will be smaller at this end than the other, and it will gradually change along its length. The beak end of the finished cutter is the end closest to the lathe axis, with the smallest radius. The same choice of cutting surfaces as before can also be used here. Figure 6 shows the tooling arrangement.
I find the cutters easiest to use by fixing them to a short flat handle, using the tapped mounting holes in the underside. The finished tool looks a bit like a metal toothbrush, but is very effective. Figure 7 shows the finished device.
Underside Edge Cutters
Make these from either old chisels or from woodworking flat drill-bits. First grind the tool square and to the required width. Then grind a suitable concave radius into one side, to form the underside of the cutter, by holding the steel sideways onto a grinder. Choose a grindwheel of the right radius, or use one of the cheap disposable drill
mounted grindwheels found in local hardware stores. Finally grind a shallow bevel onto the top edge, following the curvature of the underside. Don't make the bevel too steep, or the cutter shaft will foul on the opposite side of the bore, as the bevelled surface is brought parallel to the underside of the edge.
Other Tools
The remaining tools for recorder making are all commercially available, and can be found in most woodworking tool kits. This is a short description of the main tools that are required:
Abrasives A range of abrasives is essential, 240 - 600 grit for most uses. "0000" grade wire wool is also useful.
Beam drills
A range of sizes for initially drilling through the timber blanks before reaming.
Block plane
For block making (the name is a coincidence!). Use one with a shallow blade angle and an adjustable mouth, such as 9 1/2 and 60 1/2 sizes.
Callipers
Vernier, dial or digital, take your pick. Use to accurately measure turned diameters. If you can find one, an internal calliper with a dial gauge is ideal for checking the windway depth. If you can't get hold of one, make your own using a standard dial gauge fitted to a pair of thin "scissors" arms. The gauge fits on one side, while the other end of the scissors arms is inserted into the bore.
Coping
saw To cut the beak underside profile.
Dowel Lengths of dowel are useful for removing the block.
Drills
Lip and spur type is best for drilling the tone holes. Metal drill-bits are next best. Pack the bore with a wooden former made from scrap timber to prevent internal splintering.
Files
A range of needle files is always useful. Use round needle files to undercut he tone holes, but break off the sharp point and grind the end smooth first, to avoid damaging the opposite side of the bore.
Forstner drills
Forstner bits are used for seating thumb bushings. Larger Forstner bits, or preferably saw-tooth bits can be used to cut tenon sockets. However, I prefer to use a metalwork lathe for the job, to get a good fit.
Gents saw Cutting block blanks.
Plug cutters
Used to make thumb bushing blanks. Use in conjunction with Forstner bits for a perfect fit.
Scalpels Use for delicate cutting of the chamfers, cutting the step in blocks and preparing cork strips for the joints.
Steel rule Ditto callipers, but for lengths.
Turning tools
Make miniature scrapers, parting tools and beading tools from short lengths of slim tool steel set into wooden handles. Grind to shape as required. Use to form the delicate beading and detail on Baroque recorders.
The most important tool is patience! A good recorder can take a long time to make. Count on at least 30 hours labour for an alto; 50 if the timber is difficult or the recorder has embellishments like contrasting wood fittings. A hand made recorder is a thing of beauty. Enjoy creating it.
Malvern Recorders (Gary Cook) | Recorder Home Page
Part 1:
Making Reamers
A stainless steel blank is first step-cut in 0.1mm radius steps to the required profile.
A finished step-cut blank ready for smoothing.
The 0.1mm steps are gently blended together by hand using progressively finer grades of emery paper.
After blending out the small steps, the finished profile is given a very high polish. This helps to maximise the sharpness of the finished reamer.
A cutting slot is milled along the length of the reamer blank.
The machining marks left from milling the cutting slot are worked away by hand using a diamond slip-stone. After final sharpening with a fine water-stone, a T-handle is fitted and the reamer is ready for use.
Three different sizes are needed (one each for the head, middle and foot respectively).
Part 2:
Drilling and Reaming
Square sections of carefully seasoned timber are turned round prior to drilling through.
Each round blank is drilled right through using a drill diameter which corresponds to the reamer minimum diameter.
After drilling through, but before reaming, the sockets are bored into the ends of the head and foot joints using a specially made tool.
Each section is reamed to produce the required complex internal bore profile. Some timbers (e.g. boxwood) are initially part-reamed and allowed to "rest" for a few days. This allows any movement to occur prior to final reaming to the finished dimensions.
Part 3:
Turning
Turning the outside profile of the head joint. Great care is needed to produce the delicate fine beading.
Applying the finish. Shown here is the application of a tung oil based finish. Oil finishes take several days to several weeks to apply, depending on the take-up by the timber. Each section is liberally coated with oil and left to soak for a few minutes. As much of the surface oil as possible is then removed by buffing on the lathe. After hardening, further oil coats are applied in the same manner. Eventually a beautiful surface sheen develops.
Turning the foot joint. Again, attention to detail is paramount.
Applying an oil finish to the foot as described for the head joint above.
Oil finishes are ideal for recorders. The finish penetrates below the surface of the wood and is longer lasting than surface lacquers. Many makers choose to simply submerge the whole joint in oil for a time, followed by burnishing on the lathe to harden the oil. I do not do this as the surface finish is inferior and easily scratched. A quality finish takes time!
Turning the middle joint. At this stage, the outside profile is only part finished in readiness for adding the thumb bushing.
Cutting bone blanks for thumb bushings. Bone is a very hard-wearing natural material which is ideal for recorder thumb bushings. Bone sections are glued onto scrap wood and sawn into sections. Each section is turned round and faced-off ready for gluing into the recorder.
Drilling the thumb bushing recess using a Forstner drill.
After gluing in place, the thumb bushing is carefully trimmed flush to the surface of the middle joint.
An oil finish is applied, but not to the recesses for the cork seals, which are left bare.
Drilling the finger holes. All of the holes are drilled slightly under-size ready for tuning.
Drilling the angled foot joint holes using a support jig.
Filing the finger hole recess for the foot joint. The same operation is carried out for the 6th hole of the middle joint.
Adding cork seals to the middle joint. The ends of the cork strip are steeply bevelled to create a lap-joint.
Drilling an access slot to form the window in the head joint.
Filing the window square. The finished dimensions of the window define the axis along which the rest of the voicing is aligned.
Cutting the windway roof. I use a special hand broaching tool to do this. Details of this tool can be found in my article in Nicholas Lander's Recorder Home Page (see links to other sites).
The windway roof is further adjusted using a tiny scraper during the final voicing.
Cutting the ramp. The head joint is carefully protected during this operation. A slip of wood is inserted into the window to prevent the chisel from striking the windway exit.
Fine sanding the ramp to the finished
dimensions. The ramp profile is refined at this stage ready for the final voicing.
Each joint is sealed with masking tape and filled with oil for a period until no further oil is absorbed by the wood. The time taken varies considerably with different timbers, and this can take many weeks.
I prefer to use almond oil to which a small amount of vitamin E has been added (the vitamin E is a powerful anti-oxidant and prevents the oil from going rancid).
Cutting the chamfers. This is a critical operation and must be done with the utmost care. A similar chamfer is also cut into the block.
Fitting the block. This is not glued in and must be a perfect fit. The block is made from very stable timber which does not swell too much when wet, and readily absorbs water to prevent the windway from glogging with moisture during playing.
Cutting the beak. After cutting, the beak is carefully sanded smooth and finished with a porous sealant
Tuning the recorder by undercutting the finger holes. This process smooths out the response and balances the octaves for each note. I often carry out this operation in parallel with the voicing as tuning can slightly alter the tone of some notes.
The finished recorder!
Time taken from start to finish for this instrument is approximately 30 hours, not including the time needed to make the reamers.
You have complete freedom of choice for your recorder. I can make copies of historical recorders by most of the great makers (Bressan, Stanesby, Denner, van Heerde, Haka, etc.). However, you do not have to be bound by these designs. You can, for instance, have a Denner style windway fitted to a Bressan body, or a Baroque voicing to a Medieval recorder. It's your choice. The options below represent the extremes available. You don't have to choose any of these variations, but they are available if you want them.
Exterior Design. Choose from any known recorder profile, such as Baroque, Renaissance, Medieval, or design your own! Within the Baroque range, you can specify either a generic Baroque profile or a specific one like a Stanesby, Bressan, Steenbergen, Denner, van Heerde, Haka, etc.
Bore Profile. Select any bore profile you wish, such as Baroque, Renaissance, Medieval, Transitional, Ganassi. Some combinations of outside profile and bore don't go well together. I can advise you whether a chosen bore profile will fit within a given outside profile shape. For instance, I can create a Medieval or Renaissance looking instrument with a Baroque bore, but a Medieval or Ganassi bore will not fit within a Baroque outside profile (a Baroque foot section is too small in cross section to accommodate the width of a Medieval or Ganassi bore).
Tuning. I can accommodate most tuning schemes. By default I use equal temperament, but I can also produce recorders with other temperaments such as Werkmeister, etc.
Fingering. Where possible I try to adopt the standard Baroque fingering pattern for all my recorders. For a few instruments, such as the Ganassi bore, this is not possible for the full range. On request, I can adjust the fingering patterns in some cases, although the variations possible are limited by the bore profile.
Voicing. For this, the most critical feature of any recorder, you have a complete choice. I can generally make recorders with the sound you want. There are limitations, however. The range of notes obtainable with a given bore profile depends on the voicing, and vice versa. The dependence varies greatly from one bore design to the next. I can advise you on whether a particular tone colour is compatible with your selected design.
Pitch. I make recorders at any required pitch. Modern pitch is at a'=440Hz and modern low-pitch is at a'=415Hz. However, I can match other pitches such as the original pitch of antique instruments (e.g. a'=405Hz) or renaissance pitch at a'=466Hz. I can also lower or raise the pitch slightly to accommodate a player's high or low breath pressure respectively.
Timber(s). If I have it, you can have it. My favourite timbers are Maracaibo Boxwood and Lemonwood, but I have stocks of other timbers as well. I can also embellish joints with contrasting timbers or imitation ivory. I can even use your own timber; I have made recorders from storm-felled fruit-trees.
If I don't have your required timber, I can probably get it (but see timber policy below). However please bear in mind that it takes several years to properly season the wood before I can use it. Obviously, where possible I buy seasoned or part-seasoned stock, but I still keep the timber indoors for a few years before using it. Some stock, like genuine Boxwood, can take a decade before it's really ready for use. I won't use rapidly dried stock for my instruments as I don't trust the dimensional stability of such material.
Genuine European Boxwood is becoming hard to find in good enough quality. Many makers seem willing to fill knots and cracks in poor quality small-section timber, just to be able to state that a recorder is made from genuine Boxwood. This seems to me to be a pointless exercise as there are excellent alternative timbers with equally good tone properties and better dimensional stability.
Timber policy: Although I will do my very best to meet your timber requirements, I will not use rare or endangered
timber species. Although I use very little timber annually, I am very careful about sourcing my timber. I only buy from responsible suppliers who obtain their stock from a sustainable source and actively encourage a maximum replanting policy from their suppliers.
certain hard timbers like African Blackwood, Karanda, etc., or imitation ivory.
Finish. Your choice. My favourite is a tung based oil finish. This is built up gradually using many coats until a deep lustre sheen is achieved. This is hard wearing, easy to renovate, looks beautiful and doesn't mask any detail of the turning. An alternative is linseed oil, popular with many makers, but is easily scratched. There are also some excellent polymer sealants available, which are incredibly hard wearing, but more difficult to repair if damaged than oil finishes. The polymer finishes can be either a high gloss or a semi-gloss finish. Other possible finishes include shellac based polishes, wax polishes and varnishes.
I generally don't recommend staining or colouring recorders. Wood is a beautiful natural product and I always feel it is a shame to hide the beauty of the grain and its natural colour. However, I can certainly colour or stain your recorder to your requirements if you wish. I regret that for reasons of safety, I am unable to acid stain recorders.
Bore Oil. I prefer to use Almond oil in all of my recorders. I add a small quantity of vitamin E (an antioxidant) to the oil to prevent it degrading through oxidation or decay. On request, I can use other bore treatments such as linseed oil, tung oil, etc.
WOOD, OIL, AND WATER
by Raymond & Lee Dessy
HTML version by Nicholas S. LanderContents
Basic Chemistry The Wood Oils and Waxes Wood and Water Oils and Water Oils and Wood
What, Which and When An Informative (?) Survey Commercial Products or "DIY" Wood, Oil and Water do Mix Alternative Impregnation Strategies Acoustics and Woodwind Materials Acknowledgements
Prior Cellulose Publications Authors
