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.
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.
Welcome to my new-and-improved website, now including a blog! This is my first foray into blogging, so I’m not sure how it will go. But hopefully, here you will find my ramblings on new instrument acquisitions, musical/woodwind equipment, gigs, etc. It will mostly be focused on woodwinds, but there will probably be posts applicable to musicians of all types.
Brian Blauch - Clarinet/Woodwind Specialist 