Koch recorders

[Jack Campin - bogus address]

I have just acquired a Koch treble recorder from EBay. From what
I can see on the web, Koch (the father) was the pioneering maker
of recorders in the US, and his son carried on till about 1970 or
so. There's nothing to identify the date - just "Koch" marked on
the block (of all places). Made of cocobolo, I believe. It's a
remarkable instrument, brilliant and powerful, worth far more (to
me, anyway) than I paid for it.

But there is an oddity of the design I don't get. The mid-section
to foot-section joint is corked as normal. The head to midsection
joint is bare wood against wood - the most virtuosic piece of turning
I've ever seen (I suppose cocobolo is so hard and stable you can get
away with treating it like metal). But the tenon goes twice as far
into the head than normal - there is a lower wider-bore part that
clears the midsection tenon by about a millimetre all round.

Why? One guess I had was that you could put some sort of sleeve in
to convert it to A=415, but that would be so far out of tune as to
be musically useless, surely? Or am I missing a corps de rechange?

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e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k
Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
mobile [phone] <http://www.campin.me.uk> Twitter: JackCampin

[Jack Campin - bogus address]

Post by Jack Campin - bogus address
I have just acquired a Koch treble recorder from EBay. From what
I can see on the web, Koch (the father) was the pioneering maker
of recorders in the US, and his son carried on till about 1970 or
so. There's nothing to identify the date - just "Koch" marked on
the block (of all places). Made of cocobolo, I believe. It's a
remarkable instrument, brilliant and powerful, worth far more (to
me, anyway) than I paid for it.
But there is an oddity of the design I don't get. The mid-section
to foot-section joint is corked as normal. The head to midsection
joint is bare wood against wood - the most virtuosic piece of turning
I've ever seen (I suppose cocobolo is so hard and stable you can get
away with treating it like metal). But the tenon goes twice as far
into the head than normal - there is a lower wider-bore part that
clears the midsection tenon by about a millimetre all round.
Why? One guess I had was that you could put some sort of sleeve in
to convert it to A=415, but that would be so far out of tune as to
be musically useless, surely? Or am I missing a corps de rechange?

Looking at it again, I see it is in fact wood against cork - but the
cork is INSIDE the headjoint socket. I'm going to be in for a fun
time getting that replaced when it wears out.

Nobody here ever seen a Koch recorder? I'd quite like to date this
one. I can't imagine there are many in Europe.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k
Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
mobile [phone] <http://www.campin.me.uk> Twitter: JackCampin

[David Warren Steel]

Post by Jack Campin - bogus address
Looking at it again, I see it is in fact wood against cork - but the
cork is INSIDE the headjoint socket. I'm going to be in for a fun
time getting that replaced when it wears out.
Nobody here ever seen a Koch recorder? I'd quite like to date this
one. I can't imagine there are many in Europe.

I have one, purchased about 1962. My first treble, made
of cherry by William Koch, Sr. of Haverhill, New Hampshire.
A cabinet-maker, Koch began making recorders about 1932; a
1941 Newsweek article is here:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,766185,00.html

Mine has quite thin walls and a wide bore, which may explain
the powerful tone, and, yes, it has the reverse-tenon thing
with the cork on the inside!

[k***@mac.com]

I have a complete set of Koch recorders from the '50's: tenor, in c; alto, in f; soprano, in c:, and sopranino in F. I bought the alto in 1958, and the rest in the early 60's. I have a fitted hard-size case for them, custom made. They are pitched at A-440. I'm interested in selling, if you desire. I recently used the alto to play Brandenburg 4 with a professional orchestra.
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Post by Jack Campin - bogus address
Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
mobile [phone] <http://www.campin.me.uk> Twitter: JackCampin

[d***@gmail.com]

Post by k***@mac.com
I have a complete set of Koch recorders from the '50's: tenor, in c; alto, in f; soprano, in c:, and sopranino in F. I bought the alto in 1958, and the rest in the early 60's. I have a fitted hard-size case for them, custom made. They are pitched at A-440. I'm interested in selling, if you desire. I recently used the alto to play Brandenburg 4 with a professional orchestra.
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Post by Jack Campin - bogus address
Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
mobile [phone] <http://www.campin.me.uk> Twitter: JackCampin

Do you still have these for sale?

[s***@earthlink.net]

Post by Jack Campin - bogus address
I have just acquired a Koch treble recorder from EBay. From what
I can see on the web, Koch (the father) was the pioneering maker
of recorders in the US, and his son carried on till about 1970 or
so. There's nothing to identify the date - just "Koch" marked on
the block (of all places). Made of cocobolo, I believe. It's a
remarkable instrument, brilliant and powerful, worth far more (to
me, anyway) than I paid for it.
But there is an oddity of the design I don't get. The mid-section
to foot-section joint is corked as normal. The head to midsection
joint is bare wood against wood - the most virtuosic piece of turning
I've ever seen (I suppose cocobolo is so hard and stable you can get
away with treating it like metal). But the tenon goes twice as far
into the head than normal - there is a lower wider-bore part that
clears the midsection tenon by about a millimetre all round.
Why? One guess I had was that you could put some sort of sleeve in
to convert it to A=415, but that would be so far out of tune as to
be musically useless, surely? Or am I missing a corps de rechange?
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Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
mobile [phone] <http://www.campin.me.uk> Twitter: JackCampin

If any Koch recorders are available for sale, I would love to know.

[g***@gmail.com]

I have a soprano in rosewood, in the box, like new

[a***@gmail.com]

My wife has acquired several recorder including a Koch. As well as several old MOECK Gothenburg Rottenburgh. We know nothing about them.