12 Hole Ocarina From the Legend of Zelda By STL Ocarina

This is the my first experience with an ocarina and I wanted something that I could actually play. When doing research I found STL ocarinas who seemed to make high quality ocarinas. This ocarina is a bit pricer than others on Amazon but it makes up for it in its quality.First, This ocarina plays very nice which in my option is the most important thing. This ocarina sounds great and can hit the high notes that it should.Also, it looks great. Designed from Links ocarina of time this is a great playable instrument from the games. I would recommend this ocarina over any cheaper alternative because most others will not sound as good. If you are looking for an ocarina you can play I would say this is a great choice for any beginner or Legend of Zelda fan.

I had been eyeing this nice ocarina for about a year or so, and had always hesitated on if I wanted to shell out so much money on a "video game" instrument. When looking at older reviews, I saw that despite the number of happy people, there were still quite a few people who had major issues with the product. But after much debate, and a price drop (and coming across some extra cash), I finally ordered it. So then all I had to do was wait and see how it went from there.I was not disappointed.First of all, the delivery was very fast. Amazon said it would be as little as one week before I would receive it, but it came in about four days. I was so surprised, I actually had to think what would be on my doorstep for me from the mail. When I opened it, I was so happy to see it was something I wasn't expecting until much later!Next, the instrument itself. I had seen some complaints that the instrument was very small. And that the notes never reached the highest notes it should (in the Sun's Song, for you LoZ fans out there). I also heard for it's appearance, the color was off, the Triforce symbol was nothing more than a yellow triangle, and there was no golden band by the mouth piece to make it look like the "real" thing. All not true for what I got.The instrument looks beautiful. The golden band IS there, the shape IS a Triforce, and yes, the color is a deep dark blue, but it does not take away from its beauty. (And for the record, I went back to play the LoZ: OoT on the N64 and saw that, when Link first received the Ocarina of Time, it was a darker blue than when you will see it the rest of the game. When Link holds it up, it has a different graphic design than when he plays it through the rest of the story). And apparently, what was sold years ago was a Mini Ocarina. So the mini was about the size of a Kiwi fruit. That was NOT the case with this instrument. It was large enough to fit in the palm of my hand, and I have the equivalent size hand of a male teenage boy who just hit a growth spurt. Also, they provided a string through the instrument to wear around the neck. I never do, since it's too large (in my opinion) to do this. I'm not sure how removing the string would affect the instrument (I DOUBT it would, and it's very easy to do so, but I'm a bit paranoid and too lazy to want to put it back, so I won't), but it doesn't take away from the looks of the ocarina.The sound is absolutely gorgeous. Seeing so many places make replicas of video game or TV show's items, they never turn out to be that great as a stand-alone. So really when I hear "replica", I think it's for show and nothing else. But this ocarina is really and truly an instrument. When given the instruction/music booklet, I played a song (Serenade of Water) and was overjoyed at how beautiful the sound was. It almost sounded like the real song (I've never played a woodwind instrument, so I was a bit shaky on the notes)! The instrument is a Tenor, about in the Alto C range (like the sound of the highest notes sung by an average male).If comparing it to the ocarina in the game, it is an octave lower (Personally, I think it's due to the music in the game. For the game's ocarina to be heard and sound great, the notes needed to be an octave higher to properly fit in with the game and it's music). The real-life ocarina is a bit too big to play those high notes like in the game, so everything is incorporated for a lower octave. But that does not take away from the sound of the ocarina. Even at a lower octave, the ocarina and its songs are still beautiful.Finally, the extras. The ocarina I ordered from this site promised to include a carrying case and an instructions booklet in the package. To my surprise, I received TWO of each! (I expected another ocarina in there, but there wasn't :P) The second booklet was just a duplicate of the first (both entitled "Zelda Songs for Ocarina: For ocarinas with nine or more holes" Volume 1), so I believe it was just an error on the packing end. The book opens up to show the notation system for the ocarina, but does not go any further than that. I DO have a music background, but not with woodwind instruments. So I was expecting some kind of chart that shows what fingering corresponds to the notes for us non-woodwind learners (or even non-music people). But all songs they provide you with are in the number notation with a small chart to explain the rhythm notation as well.Apparently, you will need to visit their website to CREATE YOUR OWN TABLATURES (aka: tabs). They do not have these songs available for download, ready-to-go. You will need to go online and create the fingering notation sheet music by going off of their number notation. Yes, they do provide some finger-notation sheets to get started (6 songs total, and they are the easy songs to play for a beginner), but everything else is something you will need to do on your own. I understand that they made it this way so you will learn how to PLAY AN OCARINA instead of just playing the Zelda songs on the "Ocarina of Time". But in all honestly, some people may get this item just for novelty purposes and do not want to pick up a new instrument, so I felt this was a step back for them.So for my final review:Shipping was fast.Instrument itself is beautiful in looks and sound. And it looks just like the Ocarina of Time.The carrying cases are good. Enough to serve their purpose.The music books are a bit of a let down (for the people going for novelty) and are obviously homemade. I personally, DO want to learn the instrument, so I try to learn the number notation. For everyone else, you can order this without the booklet. The music can easily be found somewhere on the internet already converted to finger notation if you just do a search.I give this 5 stars. Because I am trying to learn a new instrument, I look at the number book as a way to learn and is not a hindrance. For everyone else, I guess this would be a 4-star review (just because of the booklet), but it is DEFINITELY worth the buy!

I am a 22 year old Legend of Zelda fan and have been waiting patiently to find the perfect ocarina to buy. This is my first ocarina and is a little pricey, but well worth it. The instrument is beautifully made with a deep blue paint job that shines the second you take it out of its protective case. The sound is eerily gorgeous with only a few airy notes that can be ironed out with a little fingering practice (that's what she said =P). Anyways, all in all I'm 100% satisfied with my purchase. Shipping was fast, it arrived before estimated time of delivery. I picked it up and was playing some of my favorite Zelda and Non-Zelda songs within a few hours of practice. The book it comes with is pretty helpful, but I would suggest looking up the tabs online for more complete and accurate tabs. The only downside, and other reviews on here have said it before, is that the ocarina itself is made out of ceramic and is not intended for children to use because of how fragile it is. I give it 5 stars and would highly recommend anyone looking for a good ocarina to save up the extra $20-30 to buy this beautiful piece. The Great Deku Tree would be proud if he saw me now =)

This is the first ocarina I have ever purchased from STL, and I have to say, I am impressed. Almost every other ocarina I have played has had such a quiet voice, and any attempt to push the volume results in a horrible screech, especially for the lower notes. This ocarina seems to have forgotten that this is a thing, and is quite the attention hog. Even it's lowest notes are loud enough to hear into the next room of my apartment, as my wife will attest. This is very much a performance instrument.The first interesting thing about this ocarina is the voice. It sounds breathy, but loses none of the quality of the note being played. It actually sounds very much like a simple flute. Most other ocarina's voices I have played are sharp, crisp, reminiscent of a recorder than a flute. The trade off for this clarity is range, and volume. Every note is able to be heard, and heard well. Most other ocarinas I have played advertise the same range as this ocarina here, but there are usually one of two things wrong with them: either the lower notes are almost inaudible to any but the player, or the higher notes are impossible to use without the voice screeching. And I've played a lot of ocarinas.To put a long review short, this is the first ocarina I have encountered that combines both volume, and clarity of voice in a nice professional blend.