Dear Richard and Matteo:
I wish to be clear…I personally do not know exactly what “tweaking”/improvements the A.S.W. makes to the instruments in question…(I am only repeating that which I have read in their literature as well as that which David Green, (owner/operator), has stated to me via telephone conversations)…
I believe that both Richard and I are really very much on the same page regarding the instruments that we have both played in common…though Richard IS a bit more emphatic to be sure!… 🙂 …AND, HE both owns and plays a Bernolin resin alto…and if for no other reason, that allows him a broader/better perspective regarding all of the recorders of current interest.
I WILL admit that when I first began to purchase recorders, (some 30+ years ago, I was somewhat of a “snob”, and did not think that plastic/resin instruments were worthy of my time and attention! However, in the last 10 or more years, after obtaining several by various manufacturers, I have come to appreciate them for their value as relatively indestructible, high value instruments which I could leave in a hot vehicle or lose without worrying about their destruction or demise…
In addition, when I first began playing recorders, I TOO valued the round, mellow, smooth warmth of instruments that leaned in that direction…(I played French Horn in my pre-recorder days, and my first recorder was a pearwood tenor)…HOWEVER, over time I began to appreciate that complexity of timbre/richness that accompanies instruments with a bit of “edge”…(within balance of course), such that I DO value those instruments as well…(“horses for courses”, as one might say…
In ANY event, despite owning and loving the play-ability and timbres of my various altos…(including a rosewood, keyed, “Classical period”, Modern Mollenhaur alto), I really DO covet a fine, hand “tweaked”, genuinely baroque designed and voiced alto, and if it is made from a remarkably durable material(s), that is ALL THE BETTER!
Peace/Namaste,
Tim