"Rhythm of Earth" 12 Hole Alto C Smoked Straw Fire Ocarina, a Fantastic Ocarina for Performance, Special Designed By Ocarinawind® Gift Idea

This is my second Ocarina Wind ocarina. They are reasonably priced for a very reasonable product.The unboxing was particularly enjoyable. The smell of campfire hits you as you unwrap. Very nice on the cool autumn night! I didn't find the smell overpowering, but if you have a very sensitive sense of smell, you may. It disappates rather quickly, but the ocarina still has the light scent.The bag is nice. A little basic/generic design, but it protects it from dust & chips. The velcro is good. It runs the length of the opening so the ocarina can't slip through. It is very lightly padded and and very durable canvas. Good, solid stitching. I always have one of my ceramic OW ocarina in my purse & the bag does its job!The necklace is pretty good quality. The beads aren't cheaply made They are pretty tough plastic and not gaudy. I use it as a wrist strap rather than around my neck. It is a little to heavy for neckwear. (It is pictured, but tied to a different ocarina.)The songbook is okay. It is written in eastern music notation & ocarina tabs. I recommend not looking at it. I suggest watching David Erik Ramos' Octalk series on youtube. It is free & a GREAT learning series. Practical, methodical & interesting approach to learning how to play the Ocarina. You have to blow different strengths to play the ocarine correctly. This series will walk you through it.The ocarina is great. Very earthy. It isn't glazed so it has a slightly rough feel, which is nice. It feels like you have grip on it. (I have a glazed ceramic ocarina & it is slippery!) It also has a bit of a boxy feel to it, which feels more comfortable to hold. The sound is very mellow in comparison to my other ocarinas. Softer, raspy tones. Mine is in tune all the way to the high notes. You can bust out a tuner to check your embouchure and air flow to control intonation.All in all, great ocarina for a great price!

The media could not be loaded. I'm impressed. The ocarina does have some intonation problems, (completely repairable with some sandpaper and clear nail polish) but the overall tone is good. The breath response is crisp, the ocarina has a bright but husky, chiffy tone, and the overall breath requirement is pretty low. I frequently catch myself playing this ocarina sharp since I'm used to others with a higher breath requirement, but this ocarina should play comfortably for beginners.This ocarina is straw fired without any sort of protective finish, and from the box it had a very strong smoke smell, reminiscent of a camp fire or maybe cigarettes. If you stick it in a closed container with some uncooked rice or baking soda (or both), it should help dissipate the smell. Regardless the smoke smell should fade after a month or so.This is a 12-hole, but don't hold high hopes for the low A. The low notes need a pretty big breath cut so they play quietly. The G plays a little flat, the high E & F play a little bit sharp, though I intend to retune to fix those issues.I bought this ocarina out of curiosity, partially because I wanted a cheap ocarina to bash & negatively review, but the good quality foiled my plans. Curses! I'll tweak this ocarina and it'll make an excellent gift for a friend, a new ocarina player. The Focalink & Night by Noble 12-hole plastic Alto C's would make for better starters, but this is a great ceramic with an attractive finish for the price.

This was my first twelve-hole ocarina, having played only a small ovaloid before. It arrived exactly on time with its prediction, and with no damage to its packaging.Other reviewers have complained about the wood-fired smell, but it's not that strong, will dissipate soon, and I kinda even like it.The ocarina plays reasonably in tune with itself, though a couple of the chromatic fingerings need to be fiddled with to play correctly. For example an e-flat, which is usually played with the full left hand, and the thumb and first two fingers of the right, with the middle finger covering the sub-hole on the right hand is better played, on the ocarina I received, with the sub-hole on the left hand covered in place of the one on the right.Other than that, the ocarina has a nice tone, and plays well. My only real complaint is that the whole range is around a quarter-tone flat from in tune. This could be attributed to breath control, however the trend is consistent throughout the whole range, including in the mid-range, where breath control is not much of an issue.I would recommend this to any first time player, for its reasonable price, as well as good playing quality, however, be wary if you want to play with a group on it.

Wow, can't believe the quality of this ocarina considering the price. I planned on getting some "cheap" non-plastic ocarinas to bring while camping, hiking and lending out. This guy has become a go-to. The breath response is very low and even until the high D and up, requires more breath (totally normal for any ocarina). I have large hands and this ocarina is by far the most comfortable one I have. I can play it all day with no hand or finger cramps, that's amazing at my age (43). The sound, the best I can describe is "smooth mellow". The straw fired smell will go away in a short while, It doesn't bother me, but it does some people. Leave it out of the carrying case as much as you can and the smell will leave quicker. I really like the non-glazed surface, it provides a great pinky grip while playing the high notes. All in all, great instrument for a beginner or a pro who needs a solid back-up or travel ocarina. This is fit for any skill level. Don't let the low price fool ya, it's really a great ocarina.

Out of tune. it could be fixed, but I don’t know how to. The firing of this item left two unsightly Discolored marks on the top side. The Smokey smell has not gone away after a month.The sound, however, is clear and the instrument seems to be made well. (Aka no cracks or chips in exterior)