It’s hard to say without trying them, but i believe these are beautiful flutes lovingly made. The main reason they’re less expensive is because Luc makes flutes as a hobby. The worst thing would be for people to overload this guy with orders for “cheap flutes” to just have one more stick in their collection.
For the record, the traverso is a very different instrument from the Irish flute. The fingerings are all different. It plays relatively softly. It’s hard to play well. It’s hard to play in tune, even. A lot of them are in tunings that are 1 or 2 semintones flatter than what we use today. The traverso is mostly for people who want to play music of the Baroque period in authentic instruments, so it’s really a niche thing that hasn’t been exploded the way the Irish flute market did.
So, think twice if you really want a traverso. If the bug bites you, go ahead, do it. But don’t come back to complain that it’s out of tune, too soft for session use, too fragile.
Well said glauber. In fact the first thing Luc will tell you is that these are more a beginners instrument and not ment to be anything else. He also does not take orders. When he makes a flute it is because he is interested in the design or he got a batch of wood he wants to try turning or any number of reason, but not because someone has ordered it. He will gladly sell what he has up for sale but thats it. I consider myself real lucky to have been able to secure this flute. This will be the first flute he sells to an american or accross the pond. I got an email from him this mourning with two email address of people he has sold flutes to if I want to contact them and get their opinion of his work. You are one I think Claudine. The boxwood that he used in my flute is from south america not europe. Although he thinks it is more stable than the european version he was very quick to mention the difference. By the way Claudine the Rottenburgh copy was the first one I asked about. I realy like the sound of A=415. It just sounds more right for the period.
So…just a little more info for ya
I think most boxwood comes from Jamaica these days, but i could be wrong. I think most of the European boxwood got used up because it was such a popular wood for things like tool handles!
Luc has asked me this morning if he may give my e-mail-address to a guy from US. So the mystery man is you, Tom - pleased to meet you
I am very happy with the flute until now. It’s very easy to play and looks quite nice, too. I even think that it is not too hard to play in tune, just needs some practice. He also sold me a very nice softcase for the flute for just 15 Euro. I wanted a flute pitched at A = 415 Hz as this seems to be the most common pitch used in today’s baroque music scene. So I hope I will be able to attend some lessons or summer school with this flute.
Thank you for the information Claudine and it`s nice to meet you also.
I am truely looking forward to getting #13 in my hands. I have decided that 13 will be a lucky number for at least a couple of weeks. Have fun with your new flute.
