Mollenhauer 5920E Modern Alto (modern)

My recorder is of rosewood with the triple keys. It is the Modern version. This recorder is used for playing in small groups of musicians. Early to modern music is played. From first note this recorder started out strong. The recorder speaks very easily throughout its range. This makes it very easy to play. The low notes are so very loud if you want them. No shying away from blowing too hard, they still sound. It gets all its notes into the third octave fairly easily. I'm not adept on the third octave fingerings yet so I might have more to say about these notes in the future. The dynamic range is much greater than my baroque plastic and wooden alto's. The dynamic range allows much more emphasis to be placed on notes and phrases. Much more expressive in that way. The Modern sound is good to my ears and the instrument plays well in tune. The wood is beautiful and has gotten several comments by musical friends who have seen it from afar. The finger holes and keys fall just right to my fingers. The case is first class. This is a very satisfying purchase to far. Thomann handled this purchase very professionally and promptly for these trying times. I highly recommend this recorder. October of 2020. My opinion of this superb instrument hasn't changed. I find that I sometimes use it on tenor parts that don't go too low. It doesn't have the same tonal quality as a tenor but can be a nice tonal change when playing in small groups. It easily plays all of its notes without drama. I love the ability to play quite soft or loud as the music dictates. This instrument gets played all the time in a small recorder, guitar, cello group.

I am a serious recorder player and anyone who plays this instrument knows of the weakness in the lower notes.

The 5920 is not cheap but as a player you learn to appreciate the craftmanship necessary for making top class instruments. I tried this recorder out in a large UK shop and was amazed at the volume at the bottom end. It is worth having. Of course they charge too much in the UK .

The keywork is top class, equal to the keywork on my top class clarinets and Yanagisawa saxophones .

I shall be using this on gigs very soon, not on every tune we play, but especially those with lots of bottom notes. I have an Aura Alto recorder in grenadila which is superb at the top end. Maybe the grenadila version of this recorder would be a worthwhile investment. I have a Mollenhauer comfort tenor which is also good at the bottom end and is rosewood. This gives a nice tone so I went for a rosewood
5920. I also chose the E foot because I suspected that this would make the bottom F even louder and clearer. I think this will be used much in the next few years.
Highly recommended!!

November 2016
Have had this for a year and has become my favourite alto...Mainly because of the tone but also the top end is very playable . The finish has improved with oiling and have got used to the bottom notes with the keys. An excellent instrument, the best alto on the market.

The sound produced by this recorder is amazing. I have only just started to 'play it in' but it is immediately responsive through the whole range. Compared with my other 2 good-quality alto recorders the main differences are:
- the e-foot (nice, but a bit of a novelty)
- the ability to produce a true note at very low and very high volume, i.e. through a big range of air pressures.
- a 'ringing' quality to the notes which is delightful.
I wish my playing would improve to the standard of the instrument! It also looks beautiful in the rosewood