Are Adler Recorders (aka Adler-Heinrich) Any Good?

by Howard Fosdick © FolkFluteWorld.com

Go to any website that sells used recorders -- like Ebay, Etsy, or Reverb -- and you'll see tons of Adler wood recorders for sale. Are they any good?

Can you get a great deal in a wood recorder by buying an old Adler?

Does Adler still make recorders today?

This review takes a look at recorders labeled Adler, Johannes Adler, Adler-Heinrich, or Johannes Adler - Magnamusic. We'll talk about the history of these recorders, their quality and playability, and whether any represent a wise purchase.

Origins

Starting in the 1600s, a region in southeastern Germany near the Czech border became known for the making of musical instruments. Eventually it earned a special name, Musikwinkel.

Johann Gottlob Adler founded a family workshop for musical instruments in the area in 1881. He passed his talents on to his son, and then to his grandson after that. Grandson Johannes Adler (1899-1963) formally established Adler as an instrument-making company in 1924. By the mid-1930s, Adler became well known for their wood recorders.

After the second world war, Adler expanded to the point where it became a household name to musicians in many countries. If you wanted an inexpensive wood recorder, Adler was a popular choice.

Underlying this success was Adler's agreement with Alexander Heinrich of East Germany. The combined Adler-Heinrich GmbH became a major producer of wood recorders.

In the United States, the Magnamusic company handled sales and distribution for Adler. The Magnamusic brand became synomous with the many affordable Adler wood recorders sold from the 1940s through the 1990s.

Changes

Ultimately, the rise of quality ABS resin plastic recorders in the 1970s and 1980s cut into demand for wood recorders. Even so, many folks continued to buy inexpensive wood flutes, and Adler kept making them.

In 2007, production finally ceased. But this was not to be the end of the Adler brand.

Production stopped and then started up again at least twice.

Today, you can purchase new Adler recorders from several shops in the U.S.. These include Thomann Music and sometimes Amazon.

Availability is irregular. It's not unusual to see Adlers in stock for several months, and then become unavailable for the next few months.

Styles

All Adlers are wood. The company historically appears to have favored pearwood. Many of these older Adlers are paraffin-impregnated. These are not instruments you want to expose to direct sunlight or extreme heat (for example, by leaving it in your car on a hot, sunny day).

Here are two older Adlers in stained pearwood with string and wax joints:

Today, the Adlers for sale in the U.S. are maple (either natural or varnished). The sizes are soprano, alto, and tenor. As with Adlers historically, both baroque (English) and German fingering are offered.

All current Adler's come with attractive carrying bags. These are folding nylon fabric, with room for the recorder, grease, and cleaning swab.

Adler's big attractions are their beautiful wood sound and classic visual appeal. For all plastic's advantages in durability, cost, and pitch-perfect accuracy, wood still retains a vital position in the recorder universe.

Costs vary by time and place of purchase. Here are the current prices for Adler's maple recorders from Thomann Music in the USA:

Evaluation

Ask recorder players about Adler, and you'll hear opposite opinions. In one camp are the purists, usually experienced musicians, who would never think of touching this "recorder of the common man." Pay for more quality, they insist.

In the opposing camp are those who may be less musically experienced, or perhaps they're simply more practical about what they can afford. These folks are often thankful to have so many decent wood options available at low prices.

I've owned four Adlers over the years: a sopranino, two sopranos, and a tenor. The first three are older pearwood pieces; the tenor is one their current maple products.

The sopranino features a bright, happy voice, and is perfectly tuned. It's a delight to play. Its only downside is that its old string-and-wax joint requires more delicacy and care than modern cork joints.

My two sopranos offer that classic pearwood sound that brings to mind traditional German recorders. One is well-tuned, while the other is bit flat on the G note. I compensate on the G by blowing harder for that note. It's easy to do, but might not be a good solution if you switch instruments often.

My maple tenor is only a couple years old. It represents what Adler sells today. It's a visually appealing instrument, in unfinished maple with a single key for low C (no C#). It only cost about $80 USD.

I'd characterize the tenor as a bit tempermental. One must provide proper breath pressure to play every note pitch-perfect. I'm accustomed to this and find it easy enough, but others may differ on this.

For me, the tenor was a bargain for a decent instrument I enjoy playing on occasion. You can read my review of the Adler maple tenor here.

Conclusion

Given that Adlers tend to polarize opinion, the best solution is to try any instrument before you buy it. If in-person testing isn't possible, ask for a sound sample of the particular instrument you're considering.

If there's no way to hear that instrument, then you're confronted with whether you want to take a risk. You might obtain an instrument that fits your needs at a bargain rate. Or, you could end up squandering your money on an instrument you feel is substandard.

In the final analysis, how happy you'll be with an Adler rests at the intersection of your goals for the instrument, and the specific instrument at issue.

The only real answer is to listen to it before you buy.

==> You may also be interested in my article Beginner's Guide to Recorders, or my article Beginner's Guide to Tenor Recorder.

***** SUMMARY *****