Письмо Молленхауэру на предмет массовой блокфлейты

[noname]

Недавно написал письмо Нику Тарасову со своими низменными мыслями о том "что было бы неплохо" осуществить на массовой блокфлейте (см. вложение pdf). Матамуне подправил мой паршивый английский (еще раз спасибо).

Получил ответ:

Ответ

Dear Denis,
It was very interesting to read your detailed and clever paper – so many thanks for the work you have put in it.
I am sorry that I cannot reply in russian language, so please let us continue in English.
I should point out at the beginning of my reply, that the Mollenhauer company is not active anymore in the production of mass-market instruments. The current philosophy is to leave more or less plastic school recorders to the asian manufacturers, but to concentrate on wooden instruments of the middle and higher price range. So Mollenhauer will continue to make also school recorders in wood, but in comparably smaller quantities than in the decades before, and all under different conditions: Mollenhauer will not buy cheap asian products and will not label them as like they were made in Europe. You should note, on the other hand, plastic production in Europe has become rather expensive. So it is nearly impossible to make a plastic recorder in high quantities here. The consequence is to change the strategy: Concentrating on the own traditions, knowledge, skill, which all stand for the reliability of the brand Mollenhauer. As in fact all our instruments are "made in Germany", we use european seasoned fruitwood for our school recorders. Through the usage of new CNC-computer-controlled machines, we already started to place diagonal fingerholes if necessary, and we are also able to undercut every tonehole through these machines if necessary. So what Mollenhauer is able to make are school recorders for beginners in wood and within the mid-price range.
The idea to propose a simplified bell key is clever. But you should note that there is no method or tutor who would make use of the third octave on a mass-market beginners instrument. Pedagogues are happy if the beginners are able to deal the notes within two octaves. The third octave is reserved for the advanced player. And these few advanced players would be possible customers of whatever octaving device.
So if you think of the basic learning or understand of an instrument like the recorder, parameters like special dynamics and all kind of register keys do not belong among elementary features of the traditional recorder. I know almost any kind of register key offered during the past 200 years in recorder or flageolet making. None of them was convincing, as nobody has still found a reliable system of octaving with a register key. If you look at these keys in detail, you will observe that their function is chaotic: some notes work good, others don't. The same thing with the dynamic key: its effect is sometimes good, but sometimes also bad on other notes. So handling such devices is nothing for the amateur, but a field for a handful of enthusiasts.
In terms of a build-in microphone you should know that it is not possible to catch a clear clean sound from the inside of a recorder. The sound there is always dull like if you would play in a very small room. A traditionally nice recorder sound, at least as we are used to know it, is produced outside the instrument. So if you should wish, you should think of the adjustment of a small microphone outside and fixed on the instrument in the area of the window. Elody's pickup was not made to amplify the natural tone; it was adjusted to the inside of the instrument in order to work on a loud rock stage and to deliver a suitable tone for an effects processor.
I hope that my explanation was able to clear some of the problems you have envisioned. I agree that it is necessary to rethink every aspect of the recorder from time to time. And I appreciate people developing ideas around a further development of our instrument. So please, if you wish, let us continue discussing what is possible today and what makes sense with an appropriate partner.
Best wishes,

Nik Tarasov

Head of Quality Management, Research & Development
Member of the Executive Board

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