If you must get a cheap ocarina or a plastic one, I can’t recommend enough Focalink’s ocarinas for the plastic ones, and the Song odd 7 hole Ovarina of Time Kokiri edition. Really good sound off of those.
Because vendors can charge whatever amount of money as they want for their product and most people's business ethics are always on the schisty side to begin with.
It had better tone than the $10 one. The $10 one just sounds that cheap plastic toy sound where as the $15 sounds a bit more like a proper woodwind instrument (just a bit though). It's super detuned though as you said
Honestly, I'm just excited to see that he has that one. The people that make it are locals where I live, and I remember hearing them run ads on the local radio stations when I was a young teen. It's really cool to see someone using their products.
I have an STL I recently got to start for practicing, as after a long research, I figured they were the best quality / price compromise you could find at lower cost. The Zelda one is a bit more expensive but you can get a "normal looking" one for cheaper. I think I got mine for 40ish bucks. Sure it won't be worth the really high quality ones but when starting an instrument, as long as the instrument "sounds right", the quality can wait until I learn to play better xD.
@@SarkenHSSame except I got mine closer to like a month ago. It's pretty fun to have a wind like instrument to learn since I've always been a percussionist since I started playing anything related to instruments in general (Mine is the OoT based one on the video just for like 12 dollars from a temporary price cut from like 36 on Temu)
IKR! I want one. And I will only learn how to play Zelda tunes on it. I won't even learn how to play it in general. I'll just learn how to play Zelda music on it. 🤣
@@J.L.E.4002 I mean, to my not in depth ears it honestly sounded like at least a half step more in tune. Still terribly out of tune, but much more than 15$
Umm are you 10? Obviously playing an instrument is cool. It's gonna be hard to get a gf when your hobbies are playing video games and looking at your phone.
If anyone is wondering, they mainly sound different due to material type. The expensive ones are made outta things like ceramic, meanwhile the cheap ones are plastic. Depending on material, the sound will travel different because of how it travels/interacts with the material. Its like a plastic recorder and an actual recorder
@@rosieweaselbyThe clear red one sounded more off tune to me and was more expensive. I have a really good ear for pitch as well (not quite perfect pitch but fairly close) but I suppose I haven't heard an actual ocarina before.
@@rosieweaselbyyeah both of the cheap options where so bad i cringed as well. would never recommend them to someone who wants to learn. you shouldn’t learn with an instrument that’s off key. if i’d play that i’d constantly think im covering the wrong holes
Agreed, for just playing for fun it’d be perfectly fine. Everyone else on this video is acting like they’re recording the next hit album on an ocarina or something so it needs to be perfect.
This actually illustrates a point I love making about cheap instruments. There's an obvious quality difference between the two but, in the hands of someone as skilled as you are, you at least make them sound passable. So much of an instrument's value lies in finding what sounds can be coaxed out of it after getting to know it. In the hands of someone like you, they still manage to sound like playable instruments, capable of being performed on.
Can’t say too much about ocarinas but a lot of cheap guitars are uncomfortable to play on, which can deter aspiring beginners. If your instrument is pitchy, why would you take the time to master it?
I've always been taught that by any musician and they tell you first to try with a low cost instrument to see if you like it instead of waiting your time if you don't want to pursue the musician career
The way this comment section turned out is so funny yet so infuriating. The amount of people gatekeeping the ocarina that have never touched one is so goofy [referring to those saying he is gatekeeping as he tries to spread helpful information, claiming that he's not respecting the instrument, claiming he's faking/playing bad on purpose, and those acting as though he expects them to hand over all of their money to begin this hobby right this second. Like, why did it get so toxic? It's okay if you want to play casually or not play this instrument. No one expects you to.
@@bot-just-botif you listen closely the professional ones have a much cleaner sound. The cheap red one was very, very out of tune and very flat, and the cheap blue one was, if you listen closely, pretty airy in sound
the good thing with the pro ones is that they can be usedfor decor to so theres not a huge reason to care but if u actualy play em them the pro is 100% sounding better and the cheap ones are only play not good for show AT ALL
For all of you saying the cheaper ones are good enough to learn from- take it from me that they are not. It is very difficult for a beginner to play on a poorly tuned ocarina because the breath pressure for each note becomes incredibly unpredictable. However there are plastic ocarinas at about $35 that are good to start with and have wonderful tuning and quality control.
theyre honestly nothing better than a fair temporary if you already have it. having any amount of practice with a terrible one is still better than none because you cant afford a decent one.
(X) Doubt I would not trust a plastic one bro. Idk all that much about harmonics but there's no way that being plastic didn't have something to do with the garbage sound. I would even wager that the plastic ones were drilled with more precision and thus sound more precisely how they're supposed to than the hand blown ones. And they're two different kinds of plastic here, probably covering the majority of plastics used in ocarinas
@@pinnacleexpress420 yeah, they are. Actual reputable makers, still cheap cost wise, but in par with a good ceramic one. Slight sound difference due to plastic not ceramic but yeah!!
You should look up Majora's Mask revisited by Theophany. They have an incredible cover of Clocktown on ocarina performed by David Erick Ramos. The whole album is amazing in fact, and I'm not even that big of Zelda fan.
@@EdanClarke-xg4ip Yes they are. But you forget that all that audio was crunched through what was then the best that they had but still not very good. And so if you actually go listen to the tracks, they're going to sound out of tune and a little "choppy" which the cheap one sound more in line of, so it's more authentic to the actual audio in a backwards way
@johnd8553 I disagree. The in-game ocarina has a clear and rich tone-colour. It was created using a digital synthesizer, so there was no need for audio compression to fit it in the game. The tuning is also entirely perfect. The cheap ocarinas in this video, on the other hand, are horribly out of tune, have pinched and leaky tone quality, and are inconsistent on the extreme ends of their range. In the clock town theme, however, the instrument used sounds more like an oboe or string instrument of some kind than an ocarina, so it has a rougher sound. Even then, it is perfectly in tune and is consistent in every register, so I feel the higher quality ocarina is a more suitable instrument in every way since it is also in tune, with clear tone, and high consistency.
Holy crap. I always thought of Ocarinas in the Recorder-class of “cheapness doesn’t affect quality within a degree”. Thank you for proving me very wrong.
I want to try playing around with one, and I’m just gonna look for a strawberry one and a normal one from 10-15 bucks cause unless I’m gonna use it as a second instrument, I ain’t getting smth expensive
No. If my kids are getting an ocarina it's going to be one that isn't going to give me fucking nightmares at night. They will learn that they are not allowed to play them except for sitting on the floor on top of a foam mat to keep them from breaking if they have to until they are old enough not to drop them as easily.
I remember one kid in elementary school got himself a replica of the Ocarina of Time, and deep down, I was quite envious. Despite me knowing nothing about The Legend of Zelda, I still wanted to practice the time travel tune so I could time travel to the future. Now here I am, kicking myself more, for still not having it to time travel into the past.
Nah. The blue walmart was passable on the lower notes, but got REALLY bad when he tried to play the high notes. The $60 ocarina was so much cleaner at the farthest ends of the spectrum.
For reference: there are ocarinas within the same price or CHEAPER that sound significantly better than these cheap ones. If you like them, that's fine! But they're not too great for people genuinely wanting to learn the instrument. Thanks!
I remember when I was younger I built up the courage to ask for an ~$8 ocarina. It looked just like that plastic red one! I loved it so much, even if it sounded like a recorder. I got pretty good at it! This video is making me want to get an upgrade, it’s lasted me at least 10 years now.
I wouldn't say it's "better" besides maybe for certain songs. It has a cooler, more narrow tone, while the $115 one has a warmer, rounder tone. The $115 is indeed a bit richer, but it really comes down to personal preference.
Just stumbled into this short and learned that not only are Ocarina's actual instruments people play, but they are apparently prevelant enough to have cheap Walmart knockoffs.
@@buchstaben-suppe I mean, yeah? I never gave it that much thought. It's not that implausible for a piece of media to fabricate a new instrument. That's why its called Fiction lol.
ocarinas are probably the first instrument thats actually got me hooked in interest, viola and piano never really did it for me tbh, ill probably be saving up for the $60 one
They may not sound as good as the more expensive ones but considering the price difference is 767% and 600% cheaper the cheaper ones may be worth it to most consumers. They are good but they aren't 7x better
Yeah. They're at least good to get as practice to learn how to play or even to just see if you have the determination to learn, before getting a proper one. Plus unless you have a proper one you probably won't know how bad the plastic is so rather than being like "oh this is shit" when playing the plastic one you'll be thinking "oh my god I sound so much better with a proper one"
@@TechnoBoy-yl9hq yes ofc, though I'd be quite interested to see at what price do they start to become significantly better. As in would an Ocarina at the price point of £50 be a lot closer to those at £100 or those at £10 for example, there must be a point somewhere in-between that the cost outways the performance.
Not necessarily. There are actually ocarinas MUCH better than these and they're the same price or even cheaper. These are just not worth it for a musician actually looking to play the instrument seriously.
@spooks-man3562 they're instruments. If you want an ocarina that will survive countless performances, and one that will be in tune with everything you play, you have to pay a decent price. I'd say good ocarinas can start from anywhere from $50-$200 USD. For example, you can play on a out of tune $50 guitar, sure, but it's not something you'd want to stick with if you're gonna learn to seriously play. It's easy for musicians to tell if they're out of tune.
I am no music person, but the cheap ones still sounded useful. There are places I can imagine the problem parts of the sound being a benefit instead of a hindrance.
@@rovidelarosaahhhh yes...because I'm sure you can play it perfectly to the T even with the highest quality ocarina, right? You scrubs are so pretentious and standoffish.
I have a $13 ocarina I got several years back because I was a teen and didn't have a ton of money, it wasn't _great_ but it was made of ceramic and sounded way better than the cheap ones here. It was off-key but I would compensate that by only mostly covering each hole, which would pitch-shift it
Night and day! The higher end ones are actually really beautiful. The happy meal ones remind me of those crappy plastic recorders from elementary school. It’s like calling a rubber band tissue box a guitar.
I will forever be grateful for the person who donated their expensive ocarina to Goodwill and I got buy it for ten dollars. Great purchase. I can't play it, but it looks awesome :D
Never go so cheap with an instrument that it's perpetually out of tune, ESPECIALLY if you're learning. You will put it down thinking that you're bad at music. You may not be able to tell it's not in the right scale, but your body can tell. It will sound off to you and discourage you from playing. This is one of these times I'm simply asking you to trust me bro. Sincerely, a musician
Parents, be advised. You are holding back your child's talent if you don't get them good equipment. Regardless if it's painting, music, sports, or something else; bad equipment will hold them back because there is no more room for them to improve with the equipment. Notes play better and sound clearer, deeper colors can be reached with proper paints and brushes, safty equipment protects better because they fit properly, etc.
There are those people out there that don’t care or can’t hear when things are out of tune, but nothing is worse than an out of turn instrument. That guy calling the other commenter “Beethoven” doesn’t understand, but I bet there is something out there he likes on which he would not settle for. I bet he has an expensive phone and not some cheap thing
My parents got me a cheap ocarina for Christmas a while back, and I’ve always been so tempted to shell out for a more expensive one because I was so frustrated with it. Watching these videos is dangerous for me because I just might do it, but I really shouldn’t be spending the money rn lol
I'm not a musician, nor do I have any advanced knowledge about ocarinas. But if it was me, I would keep the cheap one just for the memories. Just imagine a few years from now, when you'll have enough money to buy a great ocarina (and play it like a pro), wouldn't it be nice to have the first ever ocarina to look back on to see how much you've grown? Besides, since it's cheap, you won't get much for it, and you'll be giving away something that got you started on your journey to master the ocarina. P.S. I know it not that deep, but I'm a softy when it comes to nostalgia. So please keep it if you can.😊
@@thesam9833That's quite something to say. Time has passed since you left that comment, but I just want to say I was in a similar position to OP and I decided to spend my first ever paycheck on upgrading to a good double-chamber ceramic ocarina. When I first decided to get, my mother looked me in the eyes and asked if I was going to use it in a year. Now, almost 7 years later, I am on the track to be a music educator and the ocarina itself is an integral part of my identity as a musician. I've played it with friends, performed duets, taken it out busking with my little sister, taken part in performances. I play it and I perform it and I feel alive because it is not only novelty. It's a legitimate instrument and my investment in that ocarina was one of the best decisions I ever made with my money.
I guess they're perfect for someone who doesn't know if they want to fully commit to learning to play the ocarina. $10 down is SO much better than being $115 in the hole.
This does not apply to more expensive instruments. It's better to have a great 750 dollar guitar with durability and resale value than it is to have a 200 dollar POS which will never sell and plays awful
@@thepotatotaxi2430is a 200 dollar guitar really that bad? I know obviously famous brands can go for thousands of dollars, but damn if 200 dollars isn’t a decent entry price remind me to never get into guitars
@@Roach_Dogg_JR You can get lucky with cheap ones that play well but generally the best guitars for noobs are 300-600 dollars and the best guitars are 500-2k dollars imo. Any higher is silly
i recently found a 3d model for a playable Ocarina of time and so i now have a 3d printed ocarina. it costed like 8 cents and is mildly better than these cheap ones. still nothing compared to the songbird OoT
I don't. The red one was AWFUL. The blue was passable until he played some of the higher pitch notes near the end and it really struggled. Both the $60 and $115 ocarinas were excellent, though.
Check out Songbird Ocarinas. They have a nice variety of ocarinas to choose from and even have the shapes from OoT - and cute little pendant ones too! Each one comes with a songbook.
I have a NIGHT by Noble ocarina; it's a Korean company (Noble) teamed with another company to make a composite plastic that sounds, honestly, incredible. They are ot compared to ceramic in tone, without needing quite the breath for volume, and doesn't tend to go out of tune.
Yeahhhh no the plastic ocarinas are not worth it they sound terrible. You might as well buy a recorder if you think it sounds okay. Just save for an actual ocarina or you could make one yourself if you dabble in potery
The cheep ones sound super hollow and they have a lot of air flow you can hear blowing sounds, instead of the whistle from the expensive ones which sounds in tune.