This is a G flute that I purchased around 1998 at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. It came with a booklet that contained songs, a fingering chart, care instructions, and the maker’s information, but that booklet was lost several “moves” ago. The mark below the embouchure hole is supposed to be the maker’s initial but I recall thinking to myself (at the time of purchasing it) that I didn’t think it looked like any of the maker’s initials. Does anyone happen to know the maker?
Thanks!
SOUND CREATIONS
Here: http://www.bambooflute.com/
I had one of their flutes in E and couldn’t even span the bottom two holes without using my pinky.
I see that the flute maker lives in Bisbee, Arizona, which is one of my old stomping grounds. Bisbee is famous for its open-pit and underground copper mines. More recently Bisbee has become home to many artists looking for a low-cost place to live in a picturesque natural setting.
With regard to the finger hole spacing on the their larger bamboo flutes ( low E and low D), I notice that their website instructions say that you need to be able to hold a basketball with one hand in order to cover the finger holes on their low D flute. All retired NBA players take note.
They make the rounds up here in the Renaissance Fair. They were selling a “Dragon whistle” that was basically a embouchure hole cut into bamboo tube that was about four inches in length and some shakuhachi style instruments and a back pack sax thing along with side blown flutes that went up to a high Eb or G piccolo (I think). Unfortunately I never took time to try any of the things.
I’ve had two of their D flutes over the years, and you don’t need to be able to palm a basketball with one hand to cover the D hole with the RH 3 finger. I can do it, and I really don’t have large hands (using Casey’s finger spread technique - I come in with a measure of 8.5" from thumb to pinky - but that’s stretching it a bit - relaxed it’s more 8.25").
These flutes are also not the best in tune - at least from the 3 I’ve had (the two low Ds and a high D - that high D was the worst of the batch).
Eric
Thanks for the info! I have always been amazed that this little G flute has a wider stretch on those two bottom holes than any D flute I own or have ever played. The one I have is made from bird’s eye maple, but it looks like now he only has bamboo. The tuning isn’t great so I don’t play it much.
Yeah, I stopped by their booth (They are at the Az Ren Faire at the moment, I’m playing in a group there as well), and they have some decent stuff (The traveling sax is kinda cool 
), but I also had a hard time spanning the bass flutes.
Also had trouble producing tones, but I’ve always had difficulty with bamboo for some reason.
John