Night By Noble Plastic Ocarina Alto C Tone Black Rubber Finish

I don’t know if I’m a good choice to review this, as I’m not a pro ocarina player. But I do play flutes and other wind instruments and have a feel for something that has a decent quality . This is a solid little instrument with good relative pitch. I say relative pitch because I have yet to see how it can or even should be played in the pitch suggested (A). I’ve heard it is not tuned to 440mhz, but to my ears this instrument seems to sing its clearest best resonating pitches at somewhere drastically far off from this frequency .. not even close.. but regardless of its failure to fit within a standard pitch model, I think the pitches sound great in relationship to each other on this ocarina… that’s far more important in my opinion . Perhaps other instruments can be tuned to match it in an ensemble, rather than the other way around, if needed.. it’s a fantastic instrument to learn on, and the quality of its tone is really really good. For the high quality tone and the fact that it’s plastic and virtually indestructible , I give this my vote for best affordable ocarina that I can find out there in a cheaper budget

I've only had this a few days, but I absolutely love it. This is what I think of this fine instrument.The tone is a bit lighter or brighter than an equivalent clay or ceramic ocarina, which tend to have a mellower tone. If you are familiar with ocarinas, you know what I mean. This is not a bad thing, it's the nature of a lighter ocarina. It has a very nice tone, bright and loud. It is slightly louder than a comparable sized ocarina, but you can also play with less air without going out of tune. Cheaper ocarinas are notorious for not being well tuned to start with, and requiring a lot of air to sound good. This instrument can be played with less air and still sound good. The volume range is really good. The high notes are nicely in tune.Mechanically, It feels good and is comfortable to play. The hole spacing fits my fingers perfectly. I have average sized hands, FWIW. It is light, being plastic, but it is solid, not at all flimsy feeling. It is very nicely finished, smooth and well constructed. The finish is not rubberized as some people say, it is not coated, but the plastic itself is textured with a satin like finish, rather than leaving it smooth and shiny. This, to me, makes it easier to grip and hold. It gets a well deserved five stars.Update: After playing this for a few weeks, my initial impression is unchanged. It plays very well and is very well tuned. The high notes are easier to play than the Zelda style of Ocarina, though maybe not quite as easy as a high end clay ocarina. Still, the high notes sound good and are easy to play. Being plastic, it is lighter than an equivalent clay model, but still fits well and feels good in my hands. I would be interested in trying one of their larger models, I like this one so much.

You're probably here because you've heard that Night by Noble is THE ocarina to buy. It's plastic, it's durable, it's NOT A SOPRANO, thank God, it's light with a slight grippiness, and it's got a smooth and even tone, great for beginners or for masters alike.YOU'VE REACHED IT. YOU'VE FOUND YOURSELF A NIGHT.All of the above is true. While a "master" at playing ocarina may find that this ocarina won't challenge them or that it's not specialized enough, that same master will probably laud the Night for being a fantastic instrument. It's relatively large (especially if you're used to a soprano), but it still fits in your hand; I recommend this ocarina STRONGLY to everyone, but especially for people with larger hands, like me, and people who can't abide loud, high-pitched noises for a long time--like me. Night will absolutely still play loudly and can reach some fairly high notes, but nothing like a wrong note on one of the piercing sopranos you can find. On top of that, Noble is such a well-known and reputable seller, and their instruments of such high quality, that it would honestly be hard to go wrong with this product. Whether you're interested in ocarina because of Legend of Zelda or because you saw it at the Renaissance Festival, you're a nerd (hey, I'm a nerd too--I play LoZ and I WORK at the local Ren Faire), but you're a nerd of good taste, and you should absolutely continue your tradition of good taste and purchase this ocarina. It is a bit spendier than some of the soprano ocarinas or some of the "Legend of Zelda duplicates" around, but it's definitely worth it. Instruments are one thing that you should invest in; you will usually get what you pay for. :) I own over 20 ocarinas and ocarina-like instruments, and this is still one of my very favorites of them all.