YRT-304B Tenor Recorder, Key of C , Black

Marvellously engineered, this is a beautifully sonorous instrument, solo or ensemble. At the top of the resin heap, the YRT304B has become my favorite out of the entire recorder family. It is also affordable at $59 - a fraction (10%-20%) of the cost of a wooden recorder of equivalent quality. Easy to maintain without the need for the initial "breaking in" process or need for ongoing oiling, it is immediately playable out of the box and easily replaceable should it be lost or damaged, though due to it's durable resin construct, it is an extremely hard wearing instrument which navigates temperature fluctuations well (not affected as with it's sensitive wooden counterparts). Washable, portable - what more can you ask. The only thing it is short of is: prestige value and the "edge" of exceptional handmade counterparts. Great utility and performance. Ideal spare or travel instrument or to bring on the road. Marketed as "professional" line. For the Adult Beginner seeking an instrument to play - this is ideal. Most relate to tenor recorder's sonorous tones and find it has a relaxing quality, calming even organic (wooden sound) - the only reason school children start learning those squeaky high pitched descants is because of reach limitations. Strain-free playing for smaller hands ======================== Out of the box, the YRT304B requires the widest reach handspanwise due to its unique hole positions (the Bass is easier to play because it already comes goosenecked and with added keys) and of those who manage to play the Tenor in it's straight unmodified form, there is talk about hand strains and sprains after prolonged play. All's not lost however, due to an emerging demographic of aging and arthritic tenor players, the Tenor can be now be professionally "custom modified" per individual requirements - so that smaller hands/shorter arms can now play it with ease and so that universally, the instrument can be played without undue sprains and strains, previously endured by tenor players. Well to start with my hands are too small for it, but I was determined to play the Tenor, so I had it professionally modified in the US prior to shipping at Bill Lazar's earlymusicshop based in CA. He simply added a gooseneck to the headjoint to shorten the instrument and two added keys at the 3rd and 4th holes on the body - in short, I had the works. Depending on your body's unique dimensions, each person has different requirements. In my case I needed all three mods, whilst for another it could be just the one of 3 and for another, 2 of 3 in varying combos. Bill did a great job - it wasn't cheap but I can now play the tenor EASILY AND ENJOY it. Well worth the investment. The total cost of a new tenor with full modification comes up to just a little over a quarter the cost of a wooden Mollenhauer. Well it may not have the prestige of a wooden European recorder but it fulfils it's niche function excellently. $59 from amazon, it is RRP$199 which is usually discounted down to $149 in oz. Hard to pass by. Buy with confidence as each instrument is of uniform quality which delivers a known reliable level of performance, unlike handmade gems which need to be painstakingly picked out from a bunch of instruments and difficult to replace due to it's unique handmade qualities. The 3 top reviews have said mostly everything there is to say about the YRT-304B II. Hope this adds some further value to what is already said.

I own this Yamaha model in an alto version, so I knew exactly what to expect when I purchased this. I was not disappointed! If you want to learn how to play a tenor, need a back up, a practice instrument, or a travel instrument, or you’re not ready to invest in a wooden model, this Yamaha model based on the Rottenburgh recorder style offers the most exceptional value for the money of any on the market. Many professional musicians have Yamaha models as their practice instruments, and yet the sound quality is good enough to play in an ensemble. The tone is lovely, smooth, and clear. The keys are strong and the whole in time to is solidly made. There is nothing flimsy about this instrument. It will last a lifetime. Although the description says that it does not come with a thumb rest, it actually does have a small one, as well as recorder joint cream, and a cleaning rod. You can use the rod with an eye glass cleaning cloth or a cotton sock. Use anything that doesn’t dishes fibers. Clean the cloth regularly. Before you play, as with all recorders, you always need to warm up your hands and fingers and engage in stretching exercises so that your fingers will be able to reach all the holes properly. It is a challenge for almost everyone at first to properly play the middle register C (the lowest note), so you don’t think that your instrument is defective. It is a process of learning how to make sure all the holes are covered and that you are applying the proper breath. This instrument is a great value for the money and I’m thrilled to have one. Although I do plan to buy my wooden recorder within the next four months, I will continue to use this one, as I do my Yamaha alto even though I have two other wooden altos, for my extended practices, as well as for my playing enjoyment.

A bit of background: I studied recorder for a fair number of years in musical school in childhood, and recently got back to music playing bass. Just for fun, decided to recall how to play woodwinds and discovered my childhood (soprano) recorders were really crappy and out of tune, besides I don't much like high pitch shrilling timbre of soprano recorder anymore, so I decided to get a tenor recorder, and this one sounded like a good idea. It turned out it was a good decision: 1) The instrument of excellent quality, everything is in tune (though you need some proper breathing technique to get notes' pitch exactly on spot, e.g. G sounds is a bit flat unless you add some air compared to F ). 2) All skills from the soprano recorder are directly transferable to tenor one. However large size requires a little practice to get used to and fingers need some stretching before you could get a consistent fingering, especially when playing fast. 3) Timbre is a very pleasant one, low and raspy and surprisingly not at all "plastic-y". Personally, I love it much better than even a wooden soprano recorder, though maybe that's a bass player in me speaking ("the lower the better") :) Overall I'm extremely pleased with the purchase - it is an excellent instrument which is a pleasure to play on. At the price it is sold it is a real bargain - it is cheap enough to buy on impulse to play around with (as I did), yet it is a proper musical instrument you can perform on, not a toy.

I have been looking for a good quality plastic tenor recorder for those occasions when I don't want to bring my expensive and more fragile wooden tenor recorder with me. For years I've been using an Aulos plastic tenor which I've never been all that happy with. The Aulos has only one key for low C, which makes playing low C# very difficult. This Yamaha has solved that problem by having two keys, so the full chromatic range is possible. It has a very beautiful recorder tone, and the full range speaks very clearly and easily. This is vastly superior to many of the wooden tenors available and should not be avoided just because it's plastic. Easy to blow, easy to clean, rugged. Excellent!

I love the sound when I can get the lower notes but my hands are average woman size and it hurts to play them, the stretch is a little too far for me with my arthritis. The instrument is good and well-made, the only problem is my hands are a tad too small.

Compared to an alto recorder, the hand stretches needed to cover all the keys is to be noted. Other than that, fantastic build quality, tone is spot on with deep and rich bass notes. Canadian goose calls will subside after an hour of practice.

The Yamaha 304 tenor recorder (which is what this is, although it is $1 less than the same instrument listed for some reason), is a solid instrument with a wonderfully pleasing, low, and rich sound. I am used to a soprano recorder and was kind of worried about this product because of people commenting on the finger spacing being quite wide, much to my joy the finger spacing is no problem. The product is almost twice the size of a soprano recorder, the spacing is much wider for the finger holes, but anyone with normal sized hands won't have a problem, and the recorder itself is very solid in its construction. The thumbrest included with the product it pretty much useless unless you put some superglue on it, however I don't really need one when I am sitting down and playing (which I usually am). Due to the finger holes being larger, you will have to adjust your grip to ensure that you are properly covering the holes when playing this instrument if you are used to a soprano, but it will become second nature to keep the holes covered properly very quickly. This recorder has the same benefits and negatives effecting all plastic recorders. The benefit is the thing will basically last forever and will require almost non-existant upkeep, the down side is that the material does not absorb moisture at all and the buildup will lead to blockage when playing pretty frequently. I am not detracting from the instruments quality, as that is common place when dealing with plastic recorders, but it is something that needs to be mentioned for those new to recorders. It makes up for that in price though, being less than a tenth of the price of a similar quality wooden recorder. The tone is absolutely remarkable with this instrument and if you are considering getting a tenor recorder I can't recommend it highly enough. If you are considering one for a child though, you should get a soprano recorder due to size and finger spacing and such. The good news is that this instrument is in the same key as a soprano and any skill learned with a soprano can be carried over to a tenor. Enjoy the music :)

Many of the other reviews give me the impression that the keys in this recorder were not present when they bought it, mine has keys, which make the low notes easy to play (mine says YRT-304B II rather than YRT-304B). Speaking of low notes, I own 3 tenors, and the Yamaha 300 low notes are by far the loudest (for a tenor recorder), very beautiful sound (check YouTube videos for a number of good examples, that's how I decided on buying). On the other hand, if you play tenor, you are probably a skillful player who can play throughout the entire register of a recorder. If you do that on this one, you will be disappointed with the higher notes on this recorder. All three 300 series recorders (soprano, alto, and tenor) have significant tuning issues in the high register, but you can compensate on the first two by using uncomfortable fingerings. On the tenor, the high notes that are out of tune cannot be fixed with any fingerings, as far as I have been able to determine. YMMV. You will need the soapy water trick on this recorder, it does get clogged, but the trick works very well to prevent this.

Sonido muy agradable

Why did you choose this product over others?: Good reputation of brand Size: Tenor keys are easier to reach than other brands I have small hands & with practice can reach the lowest notes comfortably- but you will take a little time to get accustomed to the stretch Cleaning ability: easy to clean with the cleaning rod provided Build quality: remember to remove the white protective ends before you assemble this tenor

I love this tenor recorder. Once you master the fingering you’ll love it too. I admit it took sheer determination to get my fingers to stretch out to reach the notes but it was worth it. A good sound.

Schnelle Lieferung

I received it 2 weeks ago. I only played the soprano before so the difference in size is shocking. I am still struggling to stretch my fingers especially with lower notes. The low C is really hard to get but I think it would have been much worse without the key (I originally wanted the Aulos but didn't know if I can make it without the key). The holes are way too far in comparison to the soprano but it gets easier everyday. So if the first day you think it is impossible to do it do not return it yet, it gets easier every time you try. It does need more physical strength than the soprano (I am an active person and my shoulders, neck and back muscles are sore from playing it, not to mention every single joint in my fingers). I cannot judge the sound yet because I am still missing a lot of note. But when I hit it right is sounds amazing! It came with recorder cream, a thumb rest (a neck strap would have been much better), a cleaning rod, a fingering chart. The bag is practical. In my opinion, tenor is a good choice for people who like to be challenged and at ease with some physical and mental stress. I can only play a few bars on it but just love it. Update after almost 2 years: I am in love with this recorder. The key for the C is not easy to master but it is way bettwr than tenors without the key. Its sound is so soft and tuned for most of the notes on 3 octaves. I have seen professional recorder players playing on it as well.