Luca, I can only partially answer your questions. I’ve tried a Moeck Rothenburg soprano in pearwood and olive wood and I know someone who plays this model in grenadilla. Both the pearwood and olive wood instruments seem like very good instruments. They have an even register, excellent intonation and the high notes speak really well (provided you use good technique, of course). The tone is lovely and the instrument is comfortable to hold. The olive wood has a slightly bigger sound and character but the pearwood is still pretty strong and perhaps sweeter. I know someone who plays the Moeck Rothenburg soprano in grenadilla and it sounds beautiful. The difference is that it has more edge, power and projection but it still sounds very similar to the instruments I described above. I would say the Moeck in grenadilla is more suitable for solo work, although I know people who play it in an ensemble as well. I have never tried the Mollenhauer Denner soprano because the owner of the shop that I ordered from indicated the Mollenhauer did not have as good intonation as the Moeck so he decided not to send me one to try out. I am testing out a Mollenhauer Dream soprano in pearwood and a Mollenhauer Dream Edition in plumwood. The instrument in plumwood is gorgeous and the pearwood one is pretty good considering it’s not that expensive. The Dream models have a wider bore, similar to Renaissance instruments. They have a different character from the baroque instruments. With these instruments I see a bigger difference between pearwood and plumwood than between the Moeck pearwood and olive wood. The plumwood instrument is superior to the pearwood in my opinion. Maybe someone else can comment on the Mollenhauer Denner.
