Yet after having not 1 but 4 alto C Ocarinas in my collection, you're probably wondering: WHY?!
For one, I wanted to see what kind of quality Focalink could produce with a pendant seeing as every other Ocarina I own from them was a smash hit with me.... so to speak.
Second, I like pendants for their more travel friendly personalities as well as their more compact and at times, pleasantly challenging fingering. Anyone who says otherwise has either not given pendants enough of a chance, or they've been around a novelty Peruvian too long... :3
Have I finally found my one true pendant or in my Tenrai still King of the Kiln? Let's find out!
Wearability:
It's your typical Alto C pendant ocarina, 2 Inches tall and about 1-1/2 inches deep. (just a teeny bit smaller than my New Vista but heavier than my Gemstone)
It's a little big for someone like me to wear around my neck for long periods of time but if anyone knows me, I don't use neck straps as neck straps. I use them for my wrists! Only one word of caution: The neck strap is equipped with not-very-secure slipknots for adjusting so you may want to remake them yourself so they stay knotted!
Overall, it's a good run-of-the-mill pendant ocarina in terms of size, weight and ergonomic ease. Not too big, not too small. Finger holes are well formed and easy to find. An all around pleasure to hold and behold with it's dazzling Jade crackle. ;)
Playability:
I'm gonna be brutally honest in this review, I was disappointed with this ocarina. Don't get me wrong, I love Songbird, I love Focalink/Stein but what I don't love is when people can't keep straight how the fingers are to be assigned their notes!
Here's what I mean. (click to enlarge) I scanned this from the exact instructions that came with this pendant.
Now, in most ocarinas, *Tenrai, New Vista and Gemstone* You progressively shift fingers from covered to uncovered position, from right to left up the scale as you go. Simple, right?
With the Focalink Seedpod Pendant, look at the photo. (click to enlarge)
Right in the song book it says to attain the B note *which with other pendants is hit with your right index finger and left index off* "This note varies between Ocarinas" ...... Are you kidding me?!
Last time I checked, most modern ocarina makers use pre-made molds for their ocarinas even when they're not Mass produced. This?! This is either something wrong with the molds, the firing process, incorrect sculpting of the holes prior to firing or just a Maker to Maker issue! Every other Pendant ocarina I have has NEVER needed this so is everyone else right and Focalink wrong or is Focalink right and everyone else wrong?!
All I knew was that until I read the songbook, I was genuinely concerned that Focalink had cranked out a defective dud of a product with this pendant.
But is it though? No! It's still a very well built, ergonomically sound and beautiful sounding Ocarina. "Brothers" from "Full Metal Alchemist" is positively angelic on it. ♥
If you can get past the slightly clunky discrepancies with the fingering system (I know I can and will) It is still a very good Ocarina to have.
The notes are mildly textured in their tone giving it a warm and soothing rather than bright and clear (or rather, piercing) tone. The high notes are easy to reach with not too heavy of breathing requirements but for this ocarina to reach it's fullest potential, I find it benifits from not-so-meek breath. Overall is still a piece of craftsmanship worthy of Focalink association.
A quick summary on the tone of the seedpod: Normal breathing will result in calm and whisper sweet tones. Breather stronger and you'll get bright yet mildly textured tones.
To Sum Up:
+Compact
+Well constructed
+Proper Tuning
+Versatile tone. Can go from sweet to powerful in a single breath.
-Needs it's strings fixed. Can be removed if you so choose
-Awkward Fingering discrepancies.
Score: 3.5 of of 5. Hard to believe this scores the same as my New Vista pendant. @_@
Perhaps this means that my new vista is a better ocarina that I expected... or perhaps I need a different Seedpod pendant. Oh Well. I'm not about to look a gift ocarina in the wind-way so I am going to find a good song to feature this ocarina in!
Audio Sample:
I feel it's not right to say all this without actually showing you how this little beauty performs so here you go!
COMING SOON!! Stupid summer job...
God Bless and Later! A.M.
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