Month: December 2021

Dushkin Recorders

I've picked up a trio of Dushkin recorders over the past year.  Soprano, alto and tenor.  I haven't been able to find out a lot of information about them.  It seems David Dushkin started making recorders around 1934.  And he was the first American recorder maker.  He started out in the Chicago area, then moved to Vermont.  Other than he and his wife opening two music schools, there's very little information available.  And the is virtually nothing about his recorders.
Dushkin's wood of choice seems to have been walnut.  Although the tenor I recently received looks like rosewood, with a little walnut on the beak.  He also made his headjoints overly complicated.  Most recorder headjoints are comprised of two parts, the headjoint body plus a "block" insert.  Dushkin's headjoints have four components; the headjoint body, the block, a plastic sleeve that goes around that first two things, and then a wooden sleeve that goes around the plastic sleeve.
They all play very differently, but fairly well.  The soprano has a very "reedy" quality.  Intonation is a little wonky, but not horrible.  The alto has a beautiful tone, but it's super quiet.  And you need to blow extremely hard.  The (keyless) tenor plays great.  The tone is a little reedy like the soprano, but the intonation is really good.  The tenor looks to be a later model than the soprano and alto.  Overall, they all play really well.  I couldn't find any information online about how Dushkins played, but was pleasantly surprised.  
Photos below:
Soprano, alto and tenor
Dushkin stamp on the soprano and alto
Dushkin stamp on the tenor
Complicated headjoint components

Re.corder by Artinoise

I recently picked up a Re.corder by Artinoise.  It is an electronic, midi recorder.  I'd been looking at them for a little while, and after playing a nightmare gig, decided to use the money from the gig on something fun.  At the time (a week ago), you could only buy them online from Thomann in Europe.  A few days ago, a US distributor was announced, but the price is considerably higher.
So this thing is pretty interesting.  First, even though it is an "electronic" recorder, you can also play it acoustically.  There is a plastic plug that needs to be removed to play it that way.  And the sound isn't a typical clear recorder tone, but it plays really well just by itself.  But its main purpose is to be used as a midi controller.  An app needs to be downloaded, then it connects to your device through Bluetooth.
Out of the box with the default settings, it'll take some getting used to.  There is a bit of latency, which might be different with different devices.  When I start a note, there is a noticeable (slight) delay in me hearing the note which causes me to play slower.  That's getting better though with practice.  And there are tons of settings that can be changed that may be able to alleviate that problem a bit.  
The app comes with quite a few "instrument" sounds to choose from.  Some of the sounds are better than others.  There are woodwind, brass, string, percussion and synth sounds.  The muted trumpet sounds really good.  It's still a relatively new product, so I figure there will be updates to the app to make improvements.  And there are ways to connect it to other midi apps.  I'll have to explore those options at some point.  There's also a section of the app which is a learning tool.  I haven't explored that side of it.  
I'm pleased with the purchase so far.  It gets better every time I pick it up.  Plus, there are lots of settings that need to be explored.  I need to write down the default settings before I get into changing things though.  Included with the re.corder is a USB charging cable, an extra plug (which covers the fipple when you are connected to the app), a "quickstart" guide, and a cleaning rod.  Comes in red, blue, white, and black.
re.corder box
re.corder in box
re.corder by Artinoise

Cesari Ocarina

A vintage Italian ocarina just arrived from Italy.  It's an alto G by Emilio Cesari.  Cesari was born in Budrio, Italy which was the birthplace of the modern ocarina.  He briefly studied ocarina making with Cesare Vicinelli, then he made his own ocarinas in Budrio in the 1920s.  He then moved to San Remo, Italy where he was a professional French hornist.  He resumed ocarina production there until his death in 1962.  
This ocarina is from the San Remo period, although the "mo" is the only part of the San Remo stamp that is visible.  It's in pretty good condition (just a little paint loss here and there) and plays really well.  The seller was in Milan, so presumably this ocarina spent its whole life in Italy.
Cesari Alto G Ocarina
Cesari Alto G Ocarina

Metronoma Metronome by Crystalab

This Metronoma metronome arrived today.  I have a small collection of metronomes of various vintages.  This one was listed as "not working" so I got it pretty inexpensively.  The listing said it needed a new vacuum tube and a new light bulb, but  I was pleasantly surprised to find that it works fine.  The vacuum tube seems fine, and the bulb was dislocated and just needed to be secured back into place.  The seller had even just replaced the electrical cord.
This particular Metronoma has a wooden case meaning it's an early one.  It's more commonly found with a plastic case (mostly brown with some marbling, but other colors pop up).  I found the patent information after a quick search.  The patent was applied for on 5-29-1946 and granted on 9-19-1950.  This one has "Pat. Applied For" on the back, so it should fall somewhere between those two dates.  The case has some worn spots, but overall I think it's in pretty good shape for being 70+ years old.
Metronoma front
Metronoma back
Metronoma angled
Metronoma inside