Moeck 5214 Steenbergen Soprano 415HZ

The Moeck Steenbergen soprano in castello boxwood at A = 415 Hz is a quiet instrument compared to other sopranos. That is the reason I bought it - I wanted a quieter, lower soprano, and that's what it turned out to be.

(It is castello, not European, boxwood, by the way. Confirmed via the pdf datasheet on Moeck's site, but you can also hear it. It has the typical castello "banding" effect sometimes heard in the high notes, or when the windway is too wet.)

I would say it has an entirely average timbre; it does not sound bad, but its tone is absolutely unremarkable. A bit breathy, but not too much.

I would say that it is an ensemble instrument, as it will blend well, but is perhaps too quiet to be a solo instrument.

First impressions out of the box:

Pros:

- Responds well to fast playing.
- High notes speak very easily.
- Low notes are loud and full, rather lovely in fact.
- Trill fingerings are surprisingly well-tuned! Moreso than with many of my other sopranos. (For example, C-B at the top of the the first register, E-D at the bottom of the second register.)

Cons:

- The grain of the body joint differs in color and "direction" than the grain of the head and foot joints. I expected better at this price point.
- The instrument is coated with a plastic finish that I do not like at all.
- I have one other Moeck soprano (pearwood Rottenburgh), and it too is coated in plastic. I hoped that this more expensive instrument would be spared the varnish, but sadly it was not.
- I doubt I will be buying any more instruments by Moeck thanks to this. For comparison, Mollenhauer seem to seal their instruments with parrafin, not varnish, which feels much more natural under the fingers, and is (I feel) less likely to influence the timbre.

All in all, not a spectacular instrument, but you could do a whole lot worse. The well-tuned trills and robust low notes are quite nice, in fact.

Thomann's service was, as always, fantastic.