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Any recorder experts out there?


leschirons
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Hi,

I have a Moeck 3 piece recorder (soprano I think, it blows a D with all holes uncovered) it's 33cms in length and made of what looks like maple or maybe box wood. Problem is, I can't identify the model, The Moeck website is no use and when I look at suppliers websites, there seem to be about 10 models that all fit the description, ranging from £90 to £500.

Any help appreciated.

Edited by leschirons
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[quote name='lowdowner' timestamp='1359405809' post='1954356']
Does it have a serial number? It will often be on the head joint somewhere embossed into the wood. If you have a serial number then Moeck will usually be able to help. Their customer support are usually pretty helpful with identification and stuff.
[/quote]

I've scanned this with a magnifying glass and there is no serial number anywhere. But now you've mentioned customer support, I guess I may be able to send the pictures to them.

Thanks for the input.

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You're a hard lot, all right. Can't leave a decent thread alone, can you..? A perfectly reasonable question, even informative for those with a bit less culture than some, and in you swarm like Brazilian Killer Bees, You're a hard lot. Oh, well, at least Milty's OK, I suppose... :mellow:

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[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1359487935' post='1955580']
You're a hard lot, all right. Can't leave a decent thread alone, can you..? A perfectly reasonable question, even informative for those with a bit less culture than some, and in you swarm like Brazilian Killer Bees, You're a hard lot. Oh, well, at least Milty's OK, I suppose... :mellow:
[/quote]

Calm down ;) I saw the thread and wanted to check it wasnt about recording. Seeing it wasn't I contributed in the only way I could, humour.

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Recorders are brutal instruments - they have almost no dynamics at all. If you play softly, the tone goes flat, and loudly and it goes sharp. The 'fipple' mouthpiece has no means to compensate for greater or lesser air flow (unlike flutes or reeded instruments).

Still, good luck :)

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[quote name='charic' timestamp='1359490235' post='1955657']
Calm down ;) I saw the thread and wanted to check it wasnt about recording. Seeing it wasn't I contributed in the only way I could, humour.
[/quote]

No need to explain, really; I'm posting in similar vein, but using the 'deadpan' ( :mellow: ...) 'smiley' to denote non-serious content. It's not yet recognised world-wide, but I'm spreading the word as best I can. Now where were we..? Ah, yes; Killer Bees... :mellow:

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[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1359486570' post='1955550']
Well that just goes to show how little you know about recorders. It's an office chair ;)
[/quote]

Ahhh but I said [i]"Looks like"[/i] I realised with the double panelled stitching it could have been a smaller surface area, so therefore It "looks" like a sofa but it could be any leather coated sitting/bum parking item.
Most likely the curved plastic arm version as often supplied with the oval arm system not the straight ones as they came in later in production of that model.... :huh: **



[size=2]Now I'm doing that BC expert/forum thing of trying to sound like I know more than I do by guessing & waffling in equal measure lol [/size]

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[quote name='fumps' timestamp='1359536805' post='1956137']
Ahhh but I said [i]"Looks like"[/i] I realised with the double panelled stitching it could have been a smaller surface area, so therefore It "looks" like a sofa but it could be any leather coated sitting/bum parking item.
Most likely the curved plastic arm version as often supplied with the oval arm system not the straight ones as they came in later in production of that model.... :huh: **



[size=2]Now I'm doing that BC expert/forum thing of trying to sound like I know more than I do by guessing & waffling in equal measure lol [/size]
[/quote]Okay, I'm giving up recorders and music in general after this post. See my new "Sofa" Forum along side "Other instruments" I'm offering the Mod job to Fumps.

You'll all have the smiles wiped off your faces when "Sofa-chat" is the talk of the town B)

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All fingers off would give a slightly sharp D and at 33cm in length that would make it a soprano (in which case the bottom note is C).

It looks like the Rottenburgh (4200 series) design so it's either maple or boxwood (conceivable pearwood but looks too light). The photos pitch the colour of the wood somewhere in between so I'd say maple which has aged a bit.

Steve

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[quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1359711267' post='1959037']
All fingers off would give a slightly sharp D and at 33cm in length that would make it a soprano (in which case the bottom note is C).

It looks like the Rottenburgh (4200 series) design so it's either maple or boxwood (conceivable pearwood but looks too light). The photos pitch the colour of the wood somewhere in between so I'd say maple which has aged a bit.

Steve
[/quote]

Yes, I would agree.

It's probably worth around £50, assuming it's in good condition. Fortunately, there's no moving parts in a descant recorder and they don't go out of whack like other woodwind instruments that need repadding. Are there any cracks in the wood?

One concern is that you haven't pictured it with its case. Is there one?

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Well I'm no huge expert but I can tell you a few things about it. :)

If it's 10+ years old then it's made of maple (Moeck have never used boxwood).
As you've correctly worked out already, it's a Soprano (or 'Descant' if you want it in school speak) and it's baroque.
It's certainly not part of Moeck's current product range but it looks very similar to the old 'budget' school range which was 'updated' about 10 years ago to include some plastic components - so at worst, it's a budget instrument that was very well made about 10 years ago.

Still can't give you a model number though as it's never been a specialist subject of mine and most of my product experience of recorders was either with the more expensive Yamaha or much cheaper Aulos product ranges. :)

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[quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1359749316' post='1959945']
Sorry Ian but they have used boxwood and still do quite extensively (I was in EMS at Saltaire a couple of weeks back and had a look at a Moeck Tenor in boxwood, SWMBO over-ruled me :( ).
[/quote]

Well I never knew that! :)

I thought they were either maple or pearwood.

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[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1359759226' post='1960145']
Well I never knew that! :)

I thought they were either maple or pearwood.
[/quote]

Rosewood, ebony, palisander, African blackwood, they have about a dozen choices if you're prepared to pay for them. Sort of like bass guitar wood :)

Steve

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Thank you all for the input. Still can't identify the actual model as Moeck have not come back to me.

To answer one or two points, it did not come with the case but a local elderly professional flute player tells me that it is maple and is probably 20 years old. He was not aware of any of the school models being a three section instrument but says he could be wrong.

His (only slightly informed) opinion is that it may have been the fore-runner to the Rottenburgh range. He's offered to take it to a shop in Paris for identification next time he's working there so will probably go with that.

I had intended to move it on but having messed around with it for a week or so, it blows really nice and although I'll never be a good player, seems easy to get a passable tune out of it so may well keep it and use it at acoustic folky evenings.

So, thanks again everyone :)

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