Yamaha YRA-302B Alto Recorder, smooth brown finish, key of F

I ordered this on a whim. A recorder, low cost. I wanted to learn to compose better melodies, something I struggled with when I was working as a musician.When my wife discovered I bought a recorder, I had to close two doors and play in the bathroom so it wouldn't drive her nuts. And it drove ME nuts that I couldn't control my breathing well enough to play it, but I just loved the sound. A little reverb and it sounds pretty nice! I went to youtube, looked up videos and found some songs I wanted to learn to play. Lamentarola was on top of my list. Within a year I could play it well enough to play for my family. At one point a Christmas concert (I think it was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir) was on TV and an alto recorder player stood up and played, solo, the first bit of "What Child Is This." I was able to play along with him for a bit. I was happy that I had come that far in a year.The biggest benefit, though, was the performing musician's mindset. I had other habits, things I would do when I was stressed out that annoyed me. Nothing of terrible consequence, but I'd surf the web too much, or go grab a snack, etc. Now instead I am picking up a musical instrument and playing. I crank up iTunes with one of these guys and it's a nice, productive stress reliever. If you like to ad lib, try one of these:Talulah - JamiroquaiStaple it Together - Jack JohnsonBom Le Bom (Ft. Fred Wesley) - Redtenbacher's FunkestraThere is a guy, user "hermeline80" on Youtube -- look him up. He plays an alto recorder and learned to play by copying improv performances. It's beyond impressive.

I've had this recorder for over a month now. I had played a soprano recorder as a child and kept it until it cracked sometime in my 20s. It had been quite a while since I'd played an instrument and this alto recorder turned out to be a great choice for me. It's bigger than the soprano, so it took a few days to get used to stretching my hands a bit for the wider spread, but I've been practicing every day and now it's second nature. I really like the slightly lower voice and I think it has pretty good sound for a plastic recorder, particularly in the lower range.The one downside for me: As others have noted, it can get clogged pretty easily unless/until it's warmer. I took a free class and the instructor swears it's just condensation so the easiest way to unclog it is to suck it up (literally). It's a little annoying, but I sometimes practice for over an hour and clogging lessens once it's warm.Bottom line: Good sound and value for the price!

[I am writing this review as someone who owns several plastic Yamahas and also a nice wooden Moeck instrument, focused mostly on comparison.]I bought this recorder to replace an aging, cracking and worn plastic recorder of the same brand and model, but in the rosewood finish. The newer recorder I bought was shiny dark brown to match the three other sizes I have. I was quite surprised to see the difference! It may be that the finished recorders are slightly different, or a matter of individual variation (plastics are known to vary), but I suspect it is most likely Yamaha subtly updated their line. My older Yamaha had a more penetrating and interesting tone (and the wooden instrument of course in a different league entirely), but I really like the new instrument for its very mild upper register. Even hitting the highest G is quite effortless (that's overblowing into the *fourth* register in terms of physics!) and the volume is only somewhat greater than the center of the range. The breath required is quite small. All of the notes seem to be tuned identically between the two instruments and the notes and typical trill fingerings seem to be well in tune.This makes a good introduction to the instrument for those of you that do not play recorder, and for those of you with fine wooden instruments, this is a good practice instrument to give your best one a break to dry out between sessions. I really like the mild upper range in particular. I hope they are all uniformly like this!Compared to the other sizes only the Yamaha tenor has a better tone quality. That instrument certainly is delicious, particularly in the lower register. The upper register sounds strained. The tenor is very fine overall, but like all instrument families the lower an instrument is built, the less responsive it gets. The tenor is a more difficult instrument in general. And I can't stand the fact that the standard trill fingering between high d and e is very out of tune.

This is a very pretty instrument and a nice sounding alto recorder. I’m new but it’s easy to play, easy on the ears and it makes a beginner sound good. It will definitely keep pace with me as I continue to improve.

Just received my Yamaha YRA-302B III today . This is another beautiful instrument from Yamaha . I really love the sound . But me , being a total beginner , I can't seem to play the low F and sometimes the low E . Not sure if it's my fingering or blowing or both . I'm sure I'll get it with practice .I now own 2 YRS-24B's , a YRT-304B II , and now a YRA-302B III . I love'em all . I'll love'em even more when I learn how to play proficiently . If you're looking for a good quality , low priced plastic alto , look no more . This is the one !