Kicking off things for the new year of 2026, I am pleased to unveil the newest set of high end wooden inline ocarinas from Bretti Musical Instruments, and the finest alto G4 set to date! This custom batch consists of two ocarinas, SN 049 and 050, made from an exceptional selection of three woods: an incredibly beautiful piece 10-year air-dried African blackwood for the body, a clean super straight striped piece of zebrawood for the top, and a rich curly old growth redwood mouthpiece from my personal redwood reserves. The African blackwood imbues a presence of not only physical weight in its density, but a sophisticated elegance in feel and tone. Ocarina 049 has a very clean blackwood body, whereas 050 includes a beautiful bit of sapwood and natural inclusions and cracks that have been carefully sealed an accentuated in the craft of the instrument. The zebrawood tops provide a unique paring to the blackwood, with the dark veining of the zebrawood complimenting the rich depth of the blackwood, and the yellow tone of the zebrawood pairing nicely with the bit of sapwood on 050. The grain lines are incredibly clean and straight, and was specifically designed with a higher density of grain running straight down the center, and transitioning symmetrically on the sides to a lighter grain tone. Finally, the curly old growth redwood has a deep and rich earthy red color, and was personally selected from my private reserves to match the premium African blackwood body.
In terms of tone and response, I believe that this set represents the pinnacle of my alto G4 voicing to date, and at this current stage I honestly do not believe I can voice this key for a wooden inline any better than this. Both ocarinas play identically, and this is one of my most closely matched sets, so much so that I cannot discern any noticeable difference at all between the two ocarinas. The tone is bright, sweet, and crystal clear, with the classic inline texture found in my inlines, and a beautiful ring to the timbre. The ocarinas play absolutely effortlessly across the range, with a rich open low end, resonant mids, and beautifully clean highs. While I work hard to voice all of my ocarinas to play beautifully, there will always be some slight variations in tone and response, and some ocarinas will really be elevated to the next level. Both of these ocarinas are the case where there is just a bit of extra something to them that makes them stand out. The breath curve is balanced to exactly the level I like, with a slightly rising breath curve, and a smoothness in playing that just sings. Although this is currently my most expensive ocarina set to date, the beauty of the tone truly reflects the beauty of the woods in every way possible, and is a master-level wooden inline for any serious musician and collector.
For full details about the development, background, and sound samples of this ocarina batch, you can check out the unveiling video and song demo for this batch in the links below on the Bretti Musical Instruments YouTube page:
Batch 19 Inline Ocarina Review – Custom Alto G4 – January 2026
Odolttogi (A Traditional Korean Folk Song from Jeju Island) – Batch 19 Custom Alto G4 Ocarina
