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41 of 42 found the following review helpful:
 Beautiful sound, hard on the right hand, detached (not detachable) thumbrest Nov 08, 2007
By Mark A. Peot
On the positive side:
1. This is a very nice sounding recorder--it does not sound plasticky at all.
2. The recorder is not made of wood, which means that you do not have to worry about cracking, shrinking, breaking-in, etc.
On the negative side:
1. Yahama provides a detached plastic thumbrest; YOU have to pick a spot and glue it to the recorder (you provide the glue). I think that this is a bad design--they should provide an adjustable thumbrest molded to the instrument itself.
2. I find that my right hand aches after playing for a while, due to the long reach from F to C. Part of the problem is the placement of the C keys, which could be moved a little higher on the instrument. After a couple of years, I switched to the Yahama Alto (also excellent). I miss the warm, dulcet tones of the tenor, but find the alto far more comfortable to play.
3. Yahama provides a slotted stick for you to clean your instrument. It would be awfully nice if they would provide an appropriately sized piece of cotton rag to go into this slot.
32 of 33 found the following review helpful:
 Great Quality - Hard to play Jan 09, 2007
By Mark A. Capuano
I played the recorder in school, so I thought it would be easy to pick it up again. I always liked the sound of the tenor, and Yamaha has been a favorite of mine, so the choice was easy. The quality of this instrument is excellent. Very solid, and great tone for a resin (plastic) recorder. My only problem so far is the finger spacing. I had read that it was pretty wide, but heck, I play the piano, and I've always had fairly long fingers, so I didn't think it would be a problem. Either my fingers shrunk, or this is one tough instrument to play. I would not recommend it for a beginner like me. I may have to sell it and get a Yamaha alto instead, but it's got such a great sound that I'd hate to do it.
30 of 31 found the following review helpful:
 it's big! Aug 29, 2006
By dame ethel
I bought my yamaha 300 tenor about five years ago. In terms of tone and tuning, I've been very happy with it. You do have to work a little harder to get it in tune for the higher octave, but this has been the case with all of the tenors I've played. The lack of absorbtion can be an issue though. It gets clogged up very easily.
Also, do you have small hands? - it is a big instrument. If your hands are small like mine are, you will probably find yourself avoiding middle Cs, C#s, and Fs (or suffering the consequences, as I am currently... ouch). I can only play it for short amounts of time. Some others who have played it haven't any problems in that respect though. But I wouldn't reccomend it for young kids.
24 of 24 found the following review helpful:
Wonderful sound, gets clogged a little easy Aug 08, 2009
By S. Thornton
"Tea Freak"
The Yamaha 304 tenor recorder (which is what this is, although it is $1 less than the same instrument listed for some reason), is a solid instrument with a wonderfully pleasing, low, and rich sound. I am used to a soprano recorder and was kind of worried about this product because of people commenting on the finger spacing being quite wide, much to my joy the finger spacing is no problem. The product is almost twice the size of a soprano recorder, the spacing is much wider for the finger holes, but anyone with normal sized hands won't have a problem, and the recorder itself is very solid in its construction. The thumbrest included with the product it pretty much useless unless you put some superglue on it, however I don't really need one when I am sitting down and playing (which I usually am). Due to the finger holes being larger, you will have to adjust your grip to ensure that you are properly covering the holes when playing this instrument if you are used to a soprano, but it will become second nature to keep the holes covered properly very quickly.
This recorder has the same benefits and negatives effecting all plastic recorders. The benefit is the thing will basically last forever and will require almost non-existant upkeep, the down side is that the material does not absorb moisture at all and the buildup will lead to blockage when playing pretty frequently. I am not detracting from the instruments quality, as that is common place when dealing with plastic recorders, but it is something that needs to be mentioned for those new to recorders. It makes up for that in price though, being less than a tenth of the price of a similar quality wooden recorder. The tone is absolutely remarkable with this instrument and if you are considering getting a tenor recorder I can't recommend it highly enough.
If you are considering one for a child though, you should get a soprano recorder due to size and finger spacing and such. The good news is that this instrument is in the same key as a soprano and any skill learned with a soprano can be carried over to a tenor.
Enjoy the music :)
21 of 22 found the following review helpful:
it's big! Aug 29, 2006
By dame ethel
I bought my yamaha 300 tenor about five years ago. In terms of tone and tuning, I've been very happy with it. You do have to work a little harder to get it in tune for the higher octave, but this has been the case with all of the tenors I've played. The lack of absorbtion can be an issue too. It gets clogged up very easily.
Also, do you have small hands? - it is a big instrument. If your hands are small like mine are, you will probably find yourself avoiding middle Cs, C#s, and Fs (or suffering the consequences, as I am currently... ouch). I can only play it for short amounts of time. Some others who have played it haven't any problems in that respect though. But I wouldn't reccomend it for young kids.
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