New Pendant Ocarina with Maximized Range

I love the range this ocarina offers. I can play so many songs with it. It can be comfortably worn as a pendant, which I enjoy since I can play it anytime and it stays warm and ready to play, (I cannot play a cold ocarina without getting horrible whistling noises). This ocarina always sounds mellow and full. It is so much easier for me to get the fingering correct and play in time on this ocarina. I am much slower on a traditional 12 hope ocarina. As an older player, I also find this ocarina to be much easier on my wrists than the traditional style. It is a pure pleasure to play.

The colors on the glaze were very nice and the concept was great, extend the range. But I was confused by the mystery hole, what is its function? It's not mentioned anywhere so is it an 8 or a 9 hole? The breath goes along with the size of the holes, small holes small breath, big holes big breath and the more big holes uncovered the breath goes up. Could not hit F6 on it, D and E were tough, so it just ends up being kind of an Alto A pendant. Concept is great, design needs work.

After I figured out that you are supposed to put your pinky over the mysterious extra hole, it sounded great!

It's bigger than I expected and impressively louder too. The higher notes require Huge breath pressure and it took me a while to get used to the fingering system (not a big deal though). But once you get a grip on the fingering and the air pressure, the overall impression is a definite WOW. It's highly ergonomic and pleasant to hold, the sound is pure and strong, and the new possibilities it gives you are awesome. Don't be intimidated by the big thumb holes warning. I have tiny, child size hands and have zero problem to seal the thumbholes. It's only a matter of grip and some experience. If you find it too challenging, try to get a pair of silicone thumb picks that some people use for playing the Kalimba (sold for pennies on Amazone etc.). And, there is also this extra wind hole that is so fun to experiment with! Try partially or fully sealing it with your right pinky while you play (yeah, I know, this is probably incorrect, but really fun ;). The bottom line: I Love it! Warmly recommended.

When I was a teenager I bought my first ocarina from STL - the blue Zelda 12 hole. Imagine my surprise when I saw one of their ads from ig. It's been over a decade!

This new one is awesome; smaller, has more range, can be worn as a pendant. It's amazing to say the least. Has a good weight to it and I plan to get a more comfortable necklace string to wear it for longer periods of time. I'm very happy to see STL still around, thank you so much!