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| TNG OCARINA; not STL | |
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| Topic Started: Jun 3 2008, 02:13 AM (1,740 Views) | |
| Walden | Jul 22 2008, 07:15 PM Post #61 |
Poor excuse for an ocarina-player.
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I think that they are now producing ocarinas specifically for STL. At least, in Docjazz's video it appeared the "horn" ocarina had STL branded into it. |
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| ForestsRequiem | Jul 23 2008, 01:57 AM Post #62 |
Formerly Ocarinaman
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Yes I believe that is true, I remember STl stating that they are not makers, but that they do work with TNG on developing new Ocarinas! |
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| shadowyi | Jul 23 2008, 03:11 AM Post #63 |
[music of paradox]
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Oh that's so ridiculous. People *will* think that STL actually makes their own ocarinas and STL will be able to set their own price due to docjazz's love affair with them. *am disgusted with the whole thing*. You guys would probably get a quicker reply if I email him. But the thing is, the way I translate state names would make it really obvious that you guys live in the States.. |
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| Walden | Jul 23 2008, 03:21 AM Post #64 |
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Poor excuse for an ocarina-player.
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Auto companies do the same thing. They sell imported cars from other makers and put their own names on them. Of course, almost every retailer has their "house brand" which are products made by other companies but have the store's name branded on them. I do wish that STL would sell from other makers, and give some variety in what they offered, because most American players don't really have the luxury of ordering from overseas. |
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| kissing | Jul 23 2008, 08:24 AM Post #65 |
The Whistleblower
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What I don't get is, why not sell them as "TNG" ocarinas?  Ocarinas are different from the Auto business in that they are not as widespread, and there are few makers around the world. Even in a small world like ocarina, why the need to have their name branded on the ocarinas that are clearly not made by them? *shrugs* I'm sure their reputation would be much better (to us at least) if they listed their ocarinas as "TNG" ocarinas, rather than "STL", and have been more open about where their ocarinas are from. Currently, the "STL" label is implicitely deceptive in my opinion - especially to the people who don't know much about ocarina makers as we do. Unfortunately, most of STL's customers nowadays are the naive, it seems to me. |
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| alphard | Jul 23 2008, 09:34 AM Post #66 |
Inliner
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I have an STL ocarina (it does indeed have "STL" branded onto it) and I'm actually really quite happy with the quality...it's the "Zelda"-style ocarina with the triangle on the mouthpiece. It gets a little airy on the higher notes, but that sort of goes away the more I play it, I find. |
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| DeepRed | Jul 23 2008, 11:31 AM Post #67 |
Official TON Signature Maker!
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Once you upgrade to a Focalink or Maparam (if you want to, that is) you'll notice a BIG difference in the sound quality :) Not that TNGs are bad, they're just 'OK'.... |
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| alphard | Jul 24 2008, 02:46 AM Post #68 |
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Inliner
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I have heard some good things about Focalink and Maparam. The problem is (and you're probably going to roll your eyes at this), they're not very "Zelda-ish", lol. The one at STL is the closest replica that I've found so far, except for Spencer's ocarinas, and they're ridiculously expensive. |
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| Walden | Jul 24 2008, 04:00 AM Post #69 |
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Poor excuse for an ocarina-player.
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If it's Zelda-ish you want, the Zelda-ishest looking ones I know of were made by Dunster. She sells via eBay. |
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| alphard | Jul 24 2008, 04:48 AM Post #70 |
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Inliner
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How do they compare to the Spencer ocarinas? ie. looks, sound quality, price... |
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| Elfgrin | Jul 24 2008, 04:49 AM Post #71 |
DDR god
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I just noticed something, figured it was worth a post. the first 3 triples on the website say "The Triple ocarina is the ocarina that plays the widest range of notes. It is a fantastic ocarina..." where as the purple clay says "The TNG Purple clay Triple ocarina is a very high quality ocarina that is made for concert and recital purposes. It is a professional level ocarina..." It seems that TNG actually are subtly telling people that their normal ocarinas aren't professional quality. I wonder how the purple clays sound, because there's no way that they would cost 3x as much just because of the material. I know I raised a topic asking this before (in regard to AC, not triple AC), but it seemed everyone just had theoretical responses, albeit perfectly reasonable ones. Thoughts, opinions, additions? Edited by Elfgrin, Jul 24 2008, 04:50 AM.
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| kissing | Jul 24 2008, 08:54 AM Post #72 |
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The Whistleblower
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Ahh, the old tale of "purple clay". I believe this myth has been busted as nothing more than marketing hype designed to convince the naive buyer. Any seller promoting their own products will boast many things along the lines of "professional level" "very high quality" "for concert". Alas, I have never seen their ocarinas featured in any major concerts by such "professionals". Maparam and Woodsound are used in concerts by professionals (Ocarina Classica), and they have the albums and formal concerts to prove it. Focalink is used in concerts by Hao Lun Hsu, and he also has an album. So far, I have never seen TNG ocarinas portrayed in a similar way. I'm not saying that TNG ocarinas are bad. I think they're OK, and I imagine that the purple ocarinas that they put so much pride in is probably quite good too. However, I think too much exagerration and hype has been created by their descriptions and advertising. It has blown things way out of proportion, and misleads many people out there. Like I said in an above post, I think only the innocent, naive customers buy from STL. As alphard has stated, they have good looking Zelda replicas. I think that is their real intended market. It is very easy for the typical consumer to want STL's claims and descriptions of their ocarinas to be true. But alas, pretty much everyone I know who has owned their ocarinas, as well as Maparam and Focalink have stated that the latter are much higher quality and better value. They cannot run from the reality that their ocarinas are not as good in the opinion of so many... and those who do know this cannot help but to recommend what they think is best. |
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| Walden | Jul 24 2008, 09:12 AM Post #73 |
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Poor excuse for an ocarina-player.
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Teapots made of purple clay don't seem to be very expensive. |
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| kissing | Jul 24 2008, 09:16 AM Post #74 |
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The Whistleblower
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I think that depends on where you get it. In my little research about purple clay teapots, genuine ones made by a good maker cost very much, and are considered treasures. Genuine purple clay teapots apparently retain the flavour of the tea, and it is a well known phenomenon among tea hobbyists and experts. I think this is where they got the idea to market ocarinas under the same concept. Purple clay teapots absorb flavour over time, and richen the tea flavour... so purple clay ocarinas absorb moisture, and sound better over time?? Seems very fishy to me  Also, there are many cheap purple clay teapots too - often counterfeits, or often ones that are made of "fake" purple clay (normal clay with pigments mixed into it). |
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| teidon | Jul 24 2008, 12:49 PM Post #75 |
 
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You can order customized ocarinas from Focalink. Their webpage says this:
So if you want a good quality Zelda-ish ocarina, just email Focalink and see what they can offer for you. If you are lucky enough they might even paint a Tri-Force on your ocarina (or anything else you want). And for the eternal Purple Clay vs other clays question... I don't think we can say for sure wheter or not they are better than others until some of us has played one for few months. But for those buying a new ocarina and wanting to have a good quality ocarina and not pay extra for possible marketing hype should just stick with the known good ocarinas (Focalink, Maparam, etc). |
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| Elfgrin | Jul 24 2008, 06:33 PM Post #76 |
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DDR god
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Granted, that's relative to what you'd expect to pay for a teapot. I've seen teapots that cost hundreds of dollars based on craftsmanship alone. I've never seen ones made out of purple clay irl, but I imagine the price can only go up. And if you get one on ebay, it's likely a fake. They also make different purple clays which seem to absorb the flavour of certain teas better than others, so you might have a pot for green and a pot for black, and I'd imagine the price would only get higher after going into specifics like that. |
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| shadowyi | Jul 25 2008, 05:28 PM Post #77 |
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[music of paradox]
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Weeheehehe! teidon quoted part of the Focalink website that I translated!  But that aside, yes, most STL buyers are very naive little boys or girls that were lured in by docjazz. They would never think of doing some exploring and finding out that their ocarina was actually made overseas. It's really sad, and I get a bit frustrated sometimes. But ah well, I guess this separates the cream from the crop. |
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| DeepRed | Jul 25 2008, 05:34 PM Post #78 |
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Official TON Signature Maker!
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Yep...I was one of them when I started ocarina :/ my eyes are open now though! :P |
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| dhall1414 | Jul 26 2008, 05:41 PM Post #79 |
Pendanters x 3
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i had originally planned on buying from STL but i did some research and found these forums. real eye openers... i'm still gettting a TNG but its at 20 USD below STL's selling price!!! |
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| Deckman | Jul 28 2008, 12:57 AM Post #80 |
Cosstropolitan
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i wouldn't call it naive so much as unaware. most people who purchase from stl are buying their first ocarinas and as such haven't really immersed themselves into the ocarina community enough to know better - if they even realize there is a community. stl is still one of the top hits when you run a google search for ocarinas, while some of the highest quality brands aren't even on the first five pages. that's pretty much how stl sold me my first twelve hole. |
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| kissing | Jul 28 2008, 02:10 AM Post #81 |
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The Whistleblower
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I meant that it's easy to think that STL makes the ocarinas, when they actually do not. I used to think that too, back when I was still new to ocarinas, and I'm sure this is very common 
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| erewhon | Sep 1 2008, 07:06 PM Post #82 |
Pendanters
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Hello, has anybody ordered from them, or is planning to order soon? If anyone is planning to order, do you think you could add one of those VERY cheap plastic altos or sopranos and let us know how it sounds, and if it is correctly pitched? The reason is, that my daughter (sakura96) now has received her order from Susato (more about that in a later post, but in short: we are very happy about what we received) and has started a crusade to get people interested in ocarinas (well, not really a crusade, it happens very naturally B-) ). I had added one plastic Susato Papageno oc to our original order, which we already gave away to a friend of hers, but there might be a demand for try-out instruments without much of a financial commitment from more of her friends, and if the TNG plastic ocarina is of a decent quality as a beginner's ocarina, it might just fit the bill. The brown ones dont look all that bad, either. |
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| kissing | Sep 2 2008, 09:37 AM Post #83 |
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The Whistleblower
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Here is a review of the blue plastic Alto C ocarina from TNG: http://theocarinanetwork.com/topic/6519125/1/ A playable 12-hole ocarina made of durable and affordable plastic~ |
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| erewhon | Sep 2 2008, 12:46 PM Post #84 |
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Pendanters
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Thanks for the link, Kissing. I did not notice that one on the English language version of the site. Somehow I have the impression they only show some of their models there. Originally, I was referring more to these. |
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| kissing | Sep 2 2008, 01:33 PM Post #85 |
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The Whistleblower
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Ahh, my misunderstanding. Well the prices are: Spoiler: click to toggle And based on these, those plastic pendants $2 for the Soprano C and $3 for the Alto C. Dirt cheap! Last time we had contact with tngocarina.com, he said he would do business over the email and accept Paypal payments. I'm not sure whether anyone at TON has successfully bought from him before though.. I did suggest to him many times whether he can set up a store that is English-friendly, but he has been finding it difficult. I suggest trying to send him an email on: haixusky@hotmail.com I hope you get a reply from him (though his english is not good). |
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| DeepRed | Sep 2 2008, 06:19 PM Post #86 |
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Official TON Signature Maker!
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Hehe good to see my pricelist is still being put to good use! lol Yeah I really wish he could sort something out about ordering....I got two emails from him and then nothing...I gave up after that. Maybe after I get my new Focalink I might try again with him.... |
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| erewhon | Sep 2 2008, 06:38 PM Post #87 |
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Pendanters
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I just found one of them in a youtube video, but it was played very shortly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4_j2947j_g It can be seen between 0:50 and 1:20. Regarding a possible order, I will probably wait a little more hoping others can post their experience - for some of these plastic ocarinas only, the order probably will not be worth it for both sides. OTOH, if someone from the EU should plan to order something, maybe we can do it together. However, I will probably not add much to the value of the order, since the plastic learner's instruments and maybe some cheap 12-holes are as of now the only articles I would be interested in. |
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| ubizmo | Oct 16 2008, 03:31 AM Post #88 |
Ocarinist
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Note that this guy, Ted Tseng's DoReMi Store sells WPN ocarinas. He's in Canada. I bought my soprano from him. He doesn't seem to do a large volume; only has a few ebay listings at any one time. The video on the right shows an alto ocarina that looks (to me, anyway) a bit different from the WPN alto that STL sells. It sounds okay in the video, but it's hard to judge by that tune, which has no sustained high notes. |
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| tuneofwind | Nov 6 2008, 03:16 AM Post #89 |
something else
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Yes this thread is over here about him and his store |
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| Tye Possum | Nov 6 2008, 03:55 AM Post #90 |
The wandering musician
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I'm glad I found this forum along with the ocarina comunity(can't spell...)before I bought a tng or whatever ocarina from stl. I was wanting to get another sweet potato ocarina for a while and I was told about docjazz's videos by a runescape friend (believe it or not) who owns a dragon ocarina and so I went and saw his vids and thought hmm pretty good and since he seemed to really like stl I thought that they would be a good company to buy from(I had never heard of stl before that). The problem was that I just didn't really like the look of the ocarinas so I held off on buying one(I'm a firm believer that ocs should look as good as they sound). I was considering buying one anyway because after I heard that Anita Feng was retiring I was like "hold on...what other companies are there?" (I've been more focused on pendants lately) but now that I've found this site I'm on my way to a focalink! I was also going to get a hind sweet potato before I heard of focalink and I'm sure it would be great but it would just be too pricey for me. So I'm glad I didn't get one of these ocs because I bet I'd be pretty disapointed with it.
Edited by Tye Possum, Nov 6 2008, 03:59 AM.
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