Open Box Yamaha Venova Casual Wind Instrument Level 2 197881179502

It's really cute. I have no reed experience, so it's taking time to get my embrochure correct. Worth the effort and fun to play around with.

I can't give a review, purchased as a gift that has not been opened yet

The Yamaha Venova is the coolest and latest instrument from Yamaha. It combines the simple fingering of a recorder, either German or Baroque, with the powerful rich sound of a Soprano sax. It comes complete with a mouthpiece, ligature, mouthpiece cap and synthetic reed. It also comes with a cleaning swab, which is used to clean the inside of the instrument. The case that the Venova comes in is well made. It comes with an adjustable strap which is used to carry it over your shoulder. Cleaning the instrument is simple. The mouthpiece and reed can be cleaned using a gauze pad. The inside of the instrument is cleaned with the included cleaning swab. The mouthpiece and instrument body are washable. If you plan to wash the Venova, I recommend washing it by hand in a kitchen sink. Use cold water. After washing it this way, use the cleaning swab to remove any excess water from inside the instrument. Never, under any circumstances, run the Venova through a dishwasher.

The Venova is a funny little saxophone/recorder mix. It sounds pretty decent, although the intonation is a little spotty in some notes. However, the synthetic reed it comes with is bad. it is substantially harder to get a sound out of, compared to a normal reed. First I thought the instrument was bad, then I thought I was bad, but eventually came to the realization that it was probably the reed. Even making a sound with the mouthpiece was hard. Once I bought new reeds, it became so much easier to play. The mix between saxophone and recorder is interesting, and took a little bit of getting used to for me, as a saxophone player. There are no pads to cover the holes on the body of the instruments, like under the buttons of a saxophone. Your fingers need to cover the hole entirely, or the note will not come out right. But if you have any experience with the recorder, it probably will not be a problem for you. I am pleasantly surprised with the sound of the instrument. While it is made of plastic, it still retains a good amount of saxophone sound, if that makes any sense. I'm not a professional though, so if you have a better ear for saxophone sounds, you may disagree. The intonation is a little messy in the higher notes, and also in the accidentals, like b flat. This can be fixed with adjustments to your embouchure and the force of air you blow. With all of this being said, I do enjoy the venova. While it's advertised as a 'casual wind instrument' I actually would not recommend it as a first instrument to learn. Similarly to the soprano saxophone, the embouchure makes a very big impact on your sound, making it harder to play in tune.