I just started fooling around with recorders again after I haven't touched one for 53 years (the 4th grade).Irish whistles too.Wood ones from iVolga are really nice sounding.Anyway, I recently purchased a Yamaha YRN-302B II, a Yamaha 402 B Ecodear, and a Woodnote Garklein, which I think is total garbage, and probably a cheapo counterfeit somebody switched that I unfortunately ended up with.Anyway, the Yamaha recorders are legitimate and are quite nice, and I especially like the Ecodear alto, but this Aulos 211A tenor is really, I think, a bit nicer looking, simply because it has a unique design with subtle differences that make it stand out as far as looks go.It's not overly done with white (ivory colored) accents like most Yamaha recorders are.Very subtle, very classy looking.It also has a nice mellow tone, but I really could not judge against a Yamaha tenor, because I do not own one.Because of it's size, it's going to take a bit of time to get my breath control in order, but I am making progress fairly quickly.Just don't expect to come directly from another size and dive right in.It is a bit of a curve as far as breath control goes.It's much trickier transitioning between octaves and right now, I'm getting a bunch of squealing.That's totally on me.It just takes time, practice, and very, very subtle changes in breath.I'm sorted at how little breath this recorder requires as compared to the others I've been playing with in the last few weeks.I'm sure an intermediate player would have no problem whatsoever.As far as fingering goes, I'm 6'2" and have the necessary finger reach for such an instrument.This one seems no more difficult to transition from than going from a Soprano to an alto did for me.I rather like the fact that there are no moving parts on this one.I really hate moving parts like keys, because, guess what?Moving parts wear, they make a bit of noise, and moving parts can break!I'm not sure, but would imagine the keys on other recorders have some kind of felt sealing pad on them too that will need replacement.Without keys, this recorder will truly last a lifetime with no maintenance other than keeping it clean.I would highly recommend this recorder.As a novice to the tenor,I feel it's something you can easily grow into, provided you have the necessary finger reach.It seems to be very well made and is also very classy looking.It comes with a snap-on thumb rest should you require one, and also a cleaning rod and joint lube.The zipper pouch is quite nice too.One thing I wish it came with is a plug that holds the mouthpiece and the end bell together in the bag as Yamahas do, however it does have end caps for the main body tube.There is a felt divider for mouthpiece and the bell sewn into the pouch.

It sounds absolutely incredible. Very steep learning curve as it requires very specific breath control, but sounds very very beautiful.

I am relatively new to the world of recorders (unless you count the Flutophone in Elementary School music class). This one seemed like a good affordable option and I liked that it wouldn't sound quite as shrill and piercing as a soprano while keeping the same key/fingerings.It is relatively loud (not sure how the rest of the family feels about this) and the tone is pretty good through most of the range of the instrument. Most notes are in tune as well though I'm sure the ones that aren't in tune are that way due to a lack of skill. The lowest and highest notes take a lot of care to get to come out cleanly but I'll attribute that to the aforementioned lack of skill as well.The hand position required to to play can be a bit awkward at this size as well. Many tenor recorders seem to get around this by using a key for the lowest hole which might be the better way to go. My hands are not that small and I still have trouble reliably covering all of the bottom holes.

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I purchased this recorder in June 2014, so I've got a bit more than a year's experience with it as of this writing. My other records (SAB) are Yamaha 300 series. I got this Aulos because I wasn't very comfortable playing the Yamaha 300 series tenor. I'm an intermediate player; probably others with more experience do more with the instrument than I, but I think I can at least speak to what it does well and what requires more struggle.The good:Definitely the reach is easier than on the Yamaha 300 tenor that I used for a while. My middle three fingers can comfortably span 4", or can do 5" with a stretch. My first finger to pinky is 6" comfortably, 7" stretching. I could manage with the Yamaha, but this is less tiring during longer sessions. The one caveat is that I find the low C to be a little finicky. It probably depends somewhat on things like the humidity (and therefore the condition of my skin), but some days it seems I require either more force to get a good seal or a somewhat awkward twist on the right wrist and/or elbow.I like the sound in the middle part of the range; the instrument plays very easily there. Up through high G is no trouble.The price I paid was very reasonable.The bad:I don't like the low C. Even when it's not finicky to produce, it has a thin and somewhat weak tone. Perhaps that's a compromise from having such a short instrument. The Yamaha that I used had a key/lever for the low C/C# instead of the double hole that the Aulos features. I prefer the Aulos arrangement on purely ergonomic grounds, but I liked the Yamaha sound better. Low D is better, though still a bit weak. I think the sweet spot starts with the E.High A and above starts to require more care, though I can generally manage at least the A reliably. This is similar to my skill with the Yamaha though, so I don't have reason to think the instrument has a problem with higher notes. Fortunately I rarely encounter a need for the higher notes in the music that my consort plays.I have significantly more clogging issues with this recorder than I do with my Yamahas. The frequency of clogging is one aspect, but I find that the rate at which the recorder goes from sounding good to sounding weak and airy is worse. With the Yamahas, I feel like I have lots of time before there's any noticeable effect, plus plenty of time between when the tone is beginning to deteriorate and when it really sounds bad. That warning time is usually enough that I'll come to a spot where I can clear it before it gets to the bad stage. The Aulos seems to fall apart more rapidly, so I have to be very diligent about clearing every chance I get, and even then I sometimes run into issues with longer passages where there's no good spot to clear.Overall: a reasonable instrument for the money, pretty comfortable to play, but with a couple of compromises.