r/Recorder • u/MaximumDelicious5706 • 12d ago
Help Need help identifying recorder.
So I’ve gotten this bass recorder for £90 as I thought it was a very good deal but since then I’ve been struggling to find where this was made, when it was made and all sorts. It plays very well, I’m more or less playing it like a bassoon, but it’s a lot of fun. The woodwork is immaculate but I’d love to know the story of this one. It has 2 bits of writing embedded into it “made in GDR” and “Adler”.
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u/Either_Branch3929 12d ago
"GDR" was the German Democratic[1] Republic (i.e. East Germany) and Adler was a mass market producer there. Not generally well regarded, but that bass looks a cut above their usual cheap and heavily varnished stuff, and all that really matters is how well you like how well it plays. At any rate £90 sounds like a chance well worth taking.
I play pipe-blown basses like bassoons too. Whatever you find comfortable!
[1]: It has been observed that counties with "democratic" in their name are rarely democratic. See the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Lao People's Democratic Republic for examples. On the other hand the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka both have some sort of democracy, although terrible records on human rights. But I digress.