WANTED AND RARE – Johannes Adler great-bass recorder in C

[Cricket]

For context, I am a collector of recorders by the maker/company Johannes Adler. I understand that their quality isn’t the best, but its still interesting just how rare they can get. Case in point, the elusive Johannes Adler great bass. There is next to no information about this instrument on the internet. Most of the time my research simply links me back to my own original reddit posts. The best lead I’ve found is a defunct auction that incorrectly labeled one as a regular bass (said auction is linked at the end of this post). I have been searching for nearly a year now, only finding the bare minimum of information.

I’ve come to this forum to hopefully find someone who possibly has this extremely rare instrument. I am willing to pay any amount of money at this point, as its more than worth it to put it in my collection. If you have, or know anyone who has, a Johannes Adler great-bass recorder in C, please let me know. I would do anything to finally acquire this rare instrument. Thank you for your assistance.

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/price-result/johannes-adler-bass-recorder/

[Charles Brault]

I have two of these knick-great bases. Both are German fingered, both have the low Eb key for the right thumb and the open-holed F key which also allows for a good F# (usually a difficult note on a German fingered instrument). I found one (along with an Adler knick bass) at an antique shop in New Hampshire. The other I found online just a week later. They are fairly good instruments, the bass being better (and with baroque fingering). I don’t know if revoicing would improve them. They are made from maple and stained to look like pear. One of the great basses had a fingering chart in the case dated 1956. The practical range is up to A or Bb, but I have found fingerings up to D.

They were advertised in the American Recorder in the mid 50’s until around 1960. I played on Adlers in the late 1960’s and they were decent instruments for the price.

Charlie

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