Trying to decide between a couple of decent maple soprano recorders and a couple of plastic altos (priced comparatively) Any advice? wood or alto?

In this price range, I would buy plastic just because it's easier to maintain, and the sound quality of the Yamaha 300 series is superb. For less than the price of one wooden alto, you could buy a full case of Yamaha 300s, including the sopranino, soprano, alto, and tenor recorders. If I had to pick only one, I'd buy the alto because it plays better with musical songbooks like the Disney Fakebook. The distance between my wrist and tip of pinky finger is 5.5" and my hand perfectly fits the alto. If your hand is smaller than this, you might find the soprano to be a better fit.

Does the foot joint detach?

I'm not sure what a foot joint is, but it has 3 parts. The mouth piece, the middle part with almost all of the fingering holes, and the bottom where the little finger goes (foot joint?)Its a nice instrument, needs to be cleaned fairly often.Hope this helps.

Yes it does. It comes apart into 3 pieces. This is a good recorder, but I would recommend that you also consider the Aulos "plastic" Haiku alto recorder as an alternative. I believe it is a better choice.

ASIN	B000RW20Q8
Best Sellers Rank	#22,365 in Musical Instruments ( See Top 100 in Musical Instruments ) #23 in Soprano Recorders
Brand	Yamaha
Brand Name	Yamaha
Colour	brass
Country of Origin	USA
Customer Reviews	4.7 out of 5 stars 608 Reviews
Finish Type	Painted
Global Trade Identification Number	00086792507828
Instrument Key	key of f
Item Dimensions	5.1 x 5.1 x 35.6 Centimeters
Item Weight	0.55 Pounds
Manufacturer	Yamaha
Manufacturer Part Number	YRA302B
Material	Brass
Material Type	Brass
Model Name	YRA-302B
Model Number	YRA-302B
Style	Professional
UPC	086792507828
Warranty Description	no warranty available

Yamaha Yra-302B Professional Alto Recorder With Baroque Fingering

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