I am amazed by this instrument! It is very similar in mid-range sound and response to an Adri's Dream, but the upper register speech and response are far superior. It is dull to look at! - and genuinely it feels as if Mollenhauer have almost tried to make it less appealing than a Dream, so as perhaps to sell more of the latter....? (Think VW/Audi for a comparison!) The manufacturer are hardly effusive about it on their website either. Very strange situation. In any case, I have not had it for long enough to play it for too long, but enough to know just how beautifully suited it is to early 17th century Italian rep., e.g. Fontana and Castello.
The intonation is almost perfect. On my instrument, Bb in the first octave is a bit sharp and requires a double fork to be in tune. Otherwise bang on.
I opted for single holes. ASW found that D and E in the first octave were much stronger with single holes - I haven't tried both to compare, but can say that these notes are indeed strong, and I don't find a problem tuning the semitones as the holes are large. Another huge advantage to this recorder is that you can buy a head joint separately - I am going to do that, because I foresee playing it a very great deal! I shall also be buying the others in the Waldorf family as I find myself increasingly performing earlier music.
To conclude: just ignore the deliberately inexpensive appearance (whilst enjoying the associated price!!), and play it and play it and play it again. That's what it makes me want to do, and with a huge grin on my face when I put it down! BTW my other half, also a pro musician and recorder player, is similarly smitten.
UPDATE: I lightly sanded it to remove the outermost layer, and found that the oil treatment given hadn't penetrated very far down - perhaps because the wood is wax impregnated? Anyway, I was then able to refinish it in a much nicer shade using danish oil (except on the beak). It no longer annoys me to look at, which is quite important!
