This is a great recorder. I bought this one essentially seeking out the highest quality plastic recorder I could find and this one delivered. To beat this with a wooden one you would have to get up into at least the medium range of recorders. I bought Yamahas for my wife and son so I could teach them and the tone is night and day. I will say it’s a little harder to play, but not by much, and the tone is worth it. That said, for a total beginner with no experience on any wind instrument whatsoever, it might be a little trickier. But if you have any experience with wind instruments then it really should not be any issue whatsoever. With proper diaphragm support the low C comes out very clear, albeit obviously not a loud as the upper register. There is a narrow range for the thumb when you hit the high A, hence it being a little tricky, but you can quickly get used to it.The faux wood finish…. Well, my other hobby is fine woodworking so to ME it looks a little silly. But the matte finish is very comfortable and I prefer it over a glossy finish. To the lay person you could probably fool them into thinking it’s a wooden recorder from two feet away. I don’t know how long the finish will last, but I suspect eventually it will start to show signs of wear after many years of use. But at about $30, so what, just buy another if cosmetics are a concern. The wood finish to my eye looks better than the Yamaha 312.The case is really surprisingly very nice given the price point. For a soft, unpadded case, you can’t really do any better. It’s a fairly convincing fake leather that is very soft and pliable. It doesn’t feel “cheap” it actually feels quite nice – and it just plain looks good. It also comes with a cleaning stick (supply your own rag), thumb rest (never touched it), and a tiny fingering chart printed on orange paper just to make it harder to read(!).The body fits together very precisely. It did not come with any cork grease, but you can use chapstick or almost anything since it’s plastic. Once put together it’s easy to rotate sections for a preferred finger position, particularly with the bottom third. Once adjusted, it doesn’t slip positions. There is absolutely no leaking to speak of. The overall fit and finish is very good – I saw no blemishes in the paint and I could feel no seams anywhere.

Muy buen instrumento salen muy fácil las notas graves y tiene muy buena calidad en sonido en generaly bonita,recomendable .

Ha un suono che si avvicina molto ai flauti dolci in legno. Grande facilità di emissione in tutti i registri. Ottimo anche lo Yamaha YRS312BIII (leggermente più economico), ma rispetto a questo ha una dinamica maggiore e ha una migliore qualità del suono nel do# e re# dell'ottava bassa. Anche il sol# dell'ottava alta suona senza incertezze. Una volta "caldo" non si bagna facilmente e può essere suonato a lungo senza dover aspirare. La finitura è di qualità e non ha una consistenza plasticosa, Nel complesso Ottimo.

it’s not brown but ivory. Aulos 303a

It's not 'too good' for a beginner --- everyone deserves to learn on an instrument that they can trust and not put up with notes that do not speak or are hard to achieve --- or, worse, blame themselves and not enjoy their music making and give up because they cannot make progress.You can easily make this recorder sound lovely, unlike some of the cheaper instruments on offer. It speaks nicely on every note and is responsive if you blow very softly too.It also has a lovely feel to it because the surface is not smooth, so it's very easy to hold and will not slip.It didn't have cork grease, but a thumb rest. If this is your first recorder, you need cork grease and keep using it, or the pieces will get stuck and the joint will wear down if you have to wrestle it. Order some grease anyway, you'll use it up quicker than you think.Because it's plastic, it does collect condensation, but don't suck up the water -- cover the labium (the whistle bit) with your hand and then give it a blow to remove the drops. If you warm the head joint up, it will collect a lot less moisture.Because it's a soprano, you should invest in ear defenders or decent ear plugs. I'm not joking... it's one thing to listen to a performance, and another thing to practice the upper range notes every day for however long you enjoy tooting. This is true for every Soprano or smaller recorder you have, please protect your hearing, or if your the parent/housemate of the musician, your sanity. Also, please lock your pets out of the practice area, they might seem as if they are not bothered, but, their ears are sensitive too and some animals will just stay with you and put up with the pain. And for you, even if the experience is not unpleasant, your hearing will still be affected, there is a long line of musicians who have gone deaf or otherwise damaged their ears.