Maizie thanks! The ‘blackwood’ label really confused me unless of course they meant ‘black wood’. Acacia melanoxylon was used to make spears and delivers an analgesic which I thought was a bit risky for a blowing instrument. Brain was clearly still struggling yesterday; it never dawned on me to look at Moeck! Doh!
So, that’s what the famed grenadilla sounds like. I struggle to hear the difference between good plastic and wood but even I heard the difference there. My husband heard the snippets and thought it was me at first which is very flattering. He insists my playing has improved considerably. I asked him if he didn’t hear how beautiful it was and he used my exact adjectives ‘clear, bright’ and offered to buy me one. He didn’t know the price tag though so I rescued him: ‘No more recorders – especially wooden ones!’
What was interesting though was that I could hear the sound of the keys working and found that somewhat irritating. Some years ago, I developed hyperacusis at the same time as tinnitus and it’s just the kind of noise that would really get to me! Along with people playing with pens. So, perhaps I really do have to learn to reach the bottom notes!