Artinoise Re.corder Blue

I have two of these; a blue and a red one. They are made from hard durable plastic and are available in a range of attractive colours. They are relatively inexpensive compared to other electronic wind instruments on the market.
Unlike a traditional acoustic instrument which is cylindrical, the re.corder has a flat top, sides and bottom so that all the finger and thumb holes are on flat surfaces. Despite this I found it easy to adapt to the different shape.
I experienced latency issues using the app on my smartphone, but I prefer to use the loopMIDI and RecorderBridge software to play the sounds from a software synth or an external keyboard or sound module via MIDI anyway. The user manual contains instructions, but it may be difficult for someone who is not familiar with MIDI to follow them. The quality and range of sounds that can be obtained from a software synth or external hardware is vastly superior to that provided by the app and there is negligible latency. The app is primarily for use as a learning tool anyway, although you will still need it to change the settings which are downloaded to the re.corder. If you use external hardware you can then experiment with various effects such as tremolo, distortion, delay etc. if that is your thing.
The recorder came with the default ‘lip’ setting; With the lip setting the re.corder makes sounds as soon as the player’s lips make contact with the instrument. This feature is for people with breathing problems who have difficulties blowing into a recorder. This was easily fixed by changing the setting to ‘breath’ using the app.
The instrument can be played like an acoustic recorder by removing the plastic mute plug. The unplugged sound is comparable to a good plastic recorder. I was provided with two transparent mutes. They can be easily lost and it is difficult finding replacements, so I recommend tying one of them to the instrument. If you do lose the plugs you can still use the instrument by rolling a small piece of blu tack into a ball large enough so that it covers the window but doesn’t get lost inside the instrument. I would also suggest attaching a lanyard to the instrument to prevent it from falling and getting damaged.
By default, the instrument is in C, like a soprano recorder, but you can change the fingering using the app so that it is in F, for example, like an alto recorder.
I found that after playing for some time I started to experience problems with condensation. This is irritating but is no different from condensation problems with acoustic recorders.
This is an excellent instrument. If you play the recorder and want to extend the capabilities of the instrument I recommend them. If you are not already a player I would suggest buying a traditional acoustic recorder first to get some practice before buying an electronic version.