Bernolin’s resin alto recorder is a beautifully finished A=442hz instrument and comes with a very nicely made 3 pocket lined bag. Packing and Post was € 10.00 and took about a week to get from France to Australia.

The low F/F# G/G# are reasonably even in tone and only the low F# is a little unfocussed compared to the other ‘double hole’ notes, but the G#/Ab is ok.

The cut-outs for low F/F# G/G# are comfortable and take subtle movements to uncover and once you get used to them and also to the slightly shorter length of the instrument it is easy to play.

Top C# is not too ‘fragile’ and trills easily to/with D.

Top F and G are clear and easy to produce with the right amount of thumb hole aperture/breath pressure as is top Ab. I did not try any higher notes to date.

The overall tone is clear without being too strident ‘plasticky’ or too resonant especially in low register.

The alto’s weight in the hand is similar to a Grenadilla instrument maybe slightly more so the resin used is quite dense.

The anti-condensation treatment really does work and there is no wind-way clogging but condensation does collect a little in the main body of the head but it is not a problem once fully warmed up. In very cold rooms/weather it may take a while to get it really warm.

It is a very nice instrument to play very often!

Graham Ranft (Canberra, Australia)