I think that Bernolin has a lot of the initial work that is done to create a resin recorder automated, kind of the way you see Prescott using “smart” machinery to do a lot of the grunt work. But resin is probably much more forgiving than wood, where every piece is different. So he can probably turn the resin recorders out faster with less human interaction. Even the fine-tuning that needs to be done on the resin recorders is probably easier since, again, there will be no variation from one sample to the next, whereas with wood it is no doubt much more time-consuming to accomlish the SAME fine adjustments. He explains some of this on his website, I think.
I think it is very cool that he has this down to a science so nicely and can sell these recorders at this price. Myself, I like the look of wood like anyone else, but ultimately I’d rather have a better-sounding instrument for the same price.
Yeah, unfortunately! That’s why I’ve said before that as much as I hate the plastic-recorder brown-and-white look, I’d still choose it over a cheap crappy wood recorder. With a black Bernolin, though, you could at least hope it looks like grenadilla from a distance… nothing you can do with a plastic Yamaha or Aulos; nobody will believe you’re playing a top-end instrument with ivory embellishments unless you’re a professional (in which case you’re unlikely to be playing a plastic Yamaha or Aulos in public…). 🙂
Many of the Irish flutemakers already do or are starting to work with turning resin– often Delrin, though I have a flute in PVC and I don’t mean PVC pipe. But some avoid it because of the toxicity (one has just gone to a sort of dip-3D printing to avoid turning the resin) and I’ve heard many say they need different tools because of the difference in hardness. I figure any maker of instruments willing to try working with it could hopefully get somewhere, and there will be buyers who will appreciate it.