Ken and Alessandro,
I understood the opposite. That the exotic hardwoods require oiling, as they do not have paraffin applied to the inside. (From my personal, non-musical instrument, experience with exotic hardwoods ie… Purple Heart, Teak, etc… they usually have an oil content in them.) That pearwoods and maple usually have paraffin. I have an ebony Moeck alto that I oil periodically. In the beginning of ownership, it is suggested by some to oil ~every 2 weeks. Mollenhauer has an excellent video on how to oil a recorder. Pay close attention to how they use the rod to measure where the fipple (back of the block) is from the outside — Great idea! Here’s a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFjdHWnNrZo . Sarah Jeffery is also an outstanding resource for information about learning to play, care for, and enjoy recorders. She is a brilliant musician on youtube. Here is a link to her video on oiling and cleaning a recorder:
OILING and CLEANING your recorder! – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFZnSDieYkI (Side note: If your recorder is new, I would *not* knock out the block. I didn’t even remove it from the alto, as it is in new condition.) When I received the alto, second hand, I oiled it immediately and let it stand overnight. I have now read that one should oil with very little oil and swab out immediately. Just like everything in the world, there are varying opinions… An instrument must be dry before you should oil it, otherwise you risk trapping moisture between the oil, against the wood. I figure it is driest upon arrival. When you order an instrument from a shop, often they oil it before it goes out the door. So, you can play it immediately upon receiving. Ken, you are correct: Von Huene in Boston is excellent. One can call them and speak with them, they’re very nice and knowledgeable. Here is their link: https://www.vonhuene.com/default.aspx
I think one of the most important things you can do is slowly break in a recorder. There are several guidelines for this available. Here is a link to Sarah Jeffery’s video on that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4GAht7em9s I looked up your instrument (I think) on The Early Music Shop site (another outstanding resource, especially for the sound files they have collected for various instruments) and it indeed says the pearwood has “Wax Impregnation.” You can read this for yourself by going to this link: https://earlymusicshop.com/products/mollenhauer-denner-alto-recorder-in-pearwood . The words and other information are on the right hand side in list form if you scroll down. You can often email a shop such as this one with a simple question, and they will respond. The Early Music shop, located in the UK, is also run by pretty nice people.
Good luck!
