r/Recorder • u/tarours • 17h ago
Wooden recorder and low temperatures
I am pretty new to wooden recorders. I had a soprano and alto in pearwood, for 2 months now. How can I transport my recorders during winter, for example when I will go to my lessons, concerts etc... with low outside temperatures (below 5°C) ?
3
u/lovestoswatch Treble and tenor beginner 15h ago
Let's wait for the experts, but as far as I know you should store your recorder in similar conditions as you would "store" yourself. On a flight for instance (and I commute weekly) the recorders fly with me in the cabin bag. The longest I have to walk in the cold is about half an hour, and in that case I wrap the recorders, so that it will take a while for the cold to get to them, which won't be while I walk. Of course it depends on how extreme the cold is, and humidity conditions are an issue too if it is too cold (i.e. too dry), so I keep them with a patch of humidity regulating gels always (the headpiece of the one I'll play first is in contact with my body when I walk). Avoid sudden temperature changes, but I think that if the recorders are wrapped into a couple of layers of something soft, and then in a bag, it should be possible to walk for a bit without issues. If you are on public transport, hopefully that is not as cold as outside!
But let's wait for the experts!
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u/dhj1492 14h ago
Where I live, it gets far colder than 5C , even -5C.. I guess it all depends on how long you travel in the cold. After over 45 years of going to rehearsals and concerts in the cold, I have never had an issue with my cold commutes in the cold. My commutes are about 29 to 30 minutes. My instruments are all packed into cases and are house temperature when I left. When I get to where I am going, I set up and when I get my recorders out they pretty much still at or about the temperature of my house. I try to find out the rehearsal order or the first concert order, recorder(s) and warm them under my arms. I am always get my next recorder out and warmed before playing or trying to. If you keep your recorders inside the case and not open them outside, they will be still about room temperature when you get to the venue and open the cases. The secret is to get there early enough so you can warm your recorders up to play.
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u/Either_Branch3929 14h ago edited 7h ago
A reasonably well insulated case or bag should do the trick. I live and play in Scotland so cold weather is not unknown (it makes a change from rain) and have never have any significant issues. The worst problem is that condensation and clogging happen more in a cold instrument, so I stick the small ones up my sleeves to warm them. Harder with basses, impossible with contras, but the bigger they are the slower they cool so they don't need to recover as much.
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u/drdaveelliott 1h ago
A styrofoam box, but better still, buy a resin recorder and use that to take places. Combined cold and low humidity will destroy a wood recorder.
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u/SilverStory6503 1h ago
Since they are shipped overseas in the belly of big cargo jets (in my case, DHL), I wouldn't worry about it.
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u/Longjumping-Many6503 15h ago
Cold itself won't damage them. You want to avoid sudden swings of temperature. If you have it in a case in a bag it should cool off gradually as you are outside, which is fine. If the instrument is cold when you arrive at your destination you just want to warm it up gradually. Open the case and let it warm up or maybe roll it in your hands to help warm it up before you play it.
Blowing warm air into a very cold instrument, or letting a wet instrument get very cold is where you are going to have problems.