What is the Block of a Recorder Made Of?

The block of a recorder is made of cedar wood. This grows in Kenya and Florida, is beige or red in colour, and swells very little when it comes into contact with water. This property is very important for ensuring that the measurements of the windway change as little as possiible.

The block is inserted into the headjoint of the recorder from the top end and consists of the block plug and the block surface. The block surface has to be very smooth and clean so that the flow of the airstream does not meet with unnecessary resistance and cause turbulance in the air flow.

Apart from the traditional cedar wood Mollenhauer also uses a new material for the block: synpor, a synthetic material with wood-like characteristics that combines high moisture absorbency with resistance to swelling. This material is mainly used in instruments that will be subject to particularly high demands – synpor blocks are standard in Modern Sopranos and Modern Altos as well as in Helder Alto and Tenor recorders.