Aulos 501S Symphony Garklein Recorder

My Aulos garklein is less expensive and better in tune than the inexpensive wooden garklein I bought on eBay, but it is louder and brasher. If you are looking to fill out your recorder collection, I strongly recommend getting a tenor, such as a Yamaha YRT-304B, before getting a garklein. The Yamaha tenor is slightly more expensive than the Aulos garklein, but you get so much more, and you will play it much more often. I doubt you will ever need a garklein. It is mostly for looks and not for people with wide fingers. A sopranino plays more easily and almost as high. If you already have sopranino through tenor recorders and can't live without a garklein, this is a good choice. There are less expensive plastic garkleins available, but they would be a gamble to me. Aulos has a reputation for quality, and I am glad my collection includes this Aulos garklein, along with an Aulos bass, alto, and two soprano recorders. (I also have plastic Yamaha tenor through sopranino recorders and wooden tenor through garklein recorders.)

This recorder has great intonation with itself, and a beautiful clear tone! The range up to second-register (fourth space in the staff) E sounds fantastic; out of deference to my housemate’s ears I elected to not play any higher while indoors, but it felt in control and like I certainly could find several higher notes. It is so small that I have a hard time placing my fingers onto the holes, but that is to be expected with any instrument in this register, regardless of model. A player with large hands will probably not be able to play this instrument, sadly - I wear men’s XS-to-small or women’s small-to-medium gloves and my fingers are all touching.The finger holes are generally placed in a very ergonomic and intuitive manner. For me specifically, the spacing on the pinky is ever so slightly uncomfortable, requiring an extra curve to the finger - but I have strangely long pinkies so others may not have this problem.The fingering chart is incredibly helpful, though it’s similar enough to a Baroque-system soprano recorder that one could figure it out with just a bit of experimentation. The included pouch case is very nice, too; really, this adorable little instrument is the perfect choice to round out your recorder consort!!!

Purchased for my daughter. She said it was the best Christmas present she ever received. We own and play several recorders including multiple sopranos, a couple of altos and a tenor. Some are plastic/resin and others are wood. This instrument has a great sound and is solidly constructed. It is crisp, clear and sounds a beautiful (high) tone. It is one piece and did not come with a cleaning wand, but it is plastic and can be washed easily under the tap. This recorder is super tiny. I am an adult male with medium sized hands and cannot play this instrument because my fingers are too big for the tiny spaces between the holes. My daughter is 10 and she is able to play it with ease.

The aulos quality is strong with this one. I was prepared for the super small size and the challenge, but if you can play through the full register of other recorders like I can, you will be disappointed to find that instead of having two full chromatic octaves and as many additional notes as your skill allows, up to an additional octave, this instrument only plays an octave and a sixth, and not all the chromatic notes in between, so that's a major let down, but it's the nature of the instrument. If that's not a problem for you, this will round up your recorder collection nicely. For me, I should have stopped at sopranino. Oh well.

I have played in an early music group in college and for years my teacher talked about this size of recorder and I really wanted one so I found this one and both me and my teacher both like it. The big thing I remember is playing in front of my fellow music majors on group recital class a solo on this recorder we did a group pease that I played an alto recorder on and then for my solo I put down my alto and pulled this out of my dress shirt and the pocket covered most of the recorder and played my solo. It is pitched in C an octive above the universal soprano recorder most play in school. I love this recorder and I hope you do too if you buy it

I own mostly Yamaha recorders, but they don't make Garkleins. This Aulos is on par with my plastic Yams. I'm glad they included the fingering chart. It's taking some getting used to, but it has a nice, happy sound. Unfortunately the dog doesn't feel the same about the sound.

This Tom Thumb of the recorder family is more than just a curiosity that fits in your pocket: it's a serious musical instrument that is well-designed and well-made. Although the easily-playable compass is slightly less than larger recorders (documented as an octave and a sixth, rather than the usual two-octaves plus) the sheer charm of its tone and the fact that it's a " C" instrument more than compensate. A lot of fun and worth the money!

I'm sitting here in my office practicing on different recorders of various sizes and makes. I find that this Aulos Garklein has an excellent response, tone and tuning compared to the others. Yes, it is tiny, so it helps to have small (or at least thin) fingers to play it, and even then it takes special care and attention. But once you get used to the claustrophobically close finger positions (and a fingering scheme that's a little different from standard recorders), it's actually a ton of fun to play! This is an octave above the soprano recorder, so can add a special festive color to your recorder consort. Thank you, Aulos, for making such a fine instrument!(Warning: it may drive your dog crazy! Mine is howling right now...!)