Mollenhauer 5924E Moderne Alto Recorder

I really wanted to like this instrument more than I do. The sound is big and full in the lower register with great projection, and the sound has an interesting color, very focused and clear (which could be good or bad). The instrument is loud overall compared to Baroque models, but in the high register above high F it becomes pretty harsh and doesn't have a very attractive quality; this is unfortunate because one of the cool things about this model is that you can play up in that register without having to cover the end with your knee. Playing up in that range does require complicated fingerings, it should be said. My biggest issue is with the pitch of a few notes; the second octave C is sharp, and the second octave B natural is very sharp, and there's really not any practical way to work around this. Also worth noting, because it's a "modern harmonic" recorder some things about the hole spacing are slightly different. The spacing is wider overall, and in the right hand specifically the space between hole 4 and 5 is unusually wide. If you're someone who has difficulty playing a tenor recorder without comfort keys (holes 3 and 4), this instrument might be a problem for you. Overall, it's an interesting instrument and beautifully built, but honestly for this price I was expecting better. I've never played any of the other modern alto recorder models out there so I can't compare, but for me I would take a really good Baroque model over this any day.

The overall voicing of the instrument is quite poor and it lacks flexibility. Low register seems ok at first but do not expect to get a strong low g sharp / a flat. I expected to get a powerful instrument but middle and high registers are quite poor and less flexible than in other Mollenahuer recorders like the Denner model. The 3rd octave fingerings are quite intricate and not very practical if you have to be fast.
There are far better options for non historical versions of an alto for much less money: Mollenhauer Dream edition allows for high f sharp without the use of the knee to cover the bell hole for a far better price.