I attended my first session last Wednesday and that was a fantastic experience. I was there with my (beloved) delrin Forbes flute and was lucky enough to hear a Geert Lejeune and a Sam Murray wooden flute from two other players. I fell very much in love with the tone of the Sam Murray’s flute (I am aware that 95% of the tone comes from the player, but I believe there was something special in the flute as well).
Brief, I am planning to buy e 6-key high-quality blackwood flute and would have gone for the Sam Murray but, as far as I understand, the flutemaker is not making flutes anymore.
Here comes the point of this post:
Could you point to me to something similar to Sam Murray’s flutes?
In my search for a wooden flutes over these last few days, I was attracted by two flutemakers: Gilles Lehart (good reputation, great tone on recordings and, above all, short waiting list) and Solen Lesouef (to what I can hear, the tone that attracts me most). Do you have experience with these two flutes?
Any suggestions of other flutemakers?
I am seeking advice especially from experienced players who have played several different flutes. Please feel free to PM me if you’d prefer keeping private your comments on the flutes.
You might inquire of them. From previous views of their website, & reports of purchases, they seem to be handling that particular business end of flutes coming from his workshop. Also, from previous threads on C&F, you might see it suggested that purchases direct from Sam Murray are sometimes rife with difficulty.
I have been mostly exposed to the boatload of Olwells in Chicago sessions and my own Wilkes. But I would give a hearty recommendation to Glenn Watson’s instruments. Again, you might say it’s the player, but the Glenn Watson that came through our session was great. There was a Sam Murray years ago, but I don’t remember it well, so I am comparing to Olwells. I’ve heard a hearty player here in Chi-town absolutely honking on a Noy, so that may be something to look into too. There was also a Morvan in the for sale part of this site a while ago if i remember right. That may be worth a look.
I think there have been a number of threads on Sam Murray flutes here over the years. I’d give them a read through.
If you are particularly interested in Sam Murray flutes you could run a WTB in the Used Instrument Exchange. I have known people to have found instruments and unicorns that way.
The reason I mention Dave Copley’s flutes is that I’ve played them for 18 years, including a blackwood 6 key. The quality is high, the workmanship is very good, and the prices are reasonable. Dave himself is one of the nicest and most helpful people to do business with. This is a good deal why he has prospered. FWIW
I wasn’t able to find a Web site for Sam Murray, but McNeela Music has Sam Murray flutes on offer, and it’s at least strongly implicit that Mr. Murray is still producing them. If that’s not a viable option, then Busterbill took the words right outta my mouth: try the UIE.
Dan, to be blunt. Kkrell has pointed out that direct dealings with Sam Murray, particularly for purchasers who are not his immediate neighbors, and for purchasers who are not IN Ireland, have been fraught with difficulties. This has been well documented through the years in many discussions here on Chiff and Fipple. You can use the search function to help you remedy any ignorance you may have in this matter.
Purchasing through McNeela may help alleviate some of the uncertainty of making such a purchase. No one that I know of has said McNeela sells instruments he does not readily have to hand. I am, however willing to be corrected in this matter.
I feel the OP is in over his head. First session + delrin flute straight to a 6 key blackwood? I think keyed flutes are overrated, not necessary for 90% of players, and extremely costly + more upkeep, but that’s my opinion. So when I say dont im nicely trying to say just go keyless
And I’m not wholly unfamiliar with the arduous process that acquiring a Murray flute can be. A Google search for “Sam Murray Flutes” will return C&F posts documenting that. I was merely throwing out an option. It is a good example of the time-honored adage: caveat emptor.
So what? He might be a ‘novice simple-system flute player’ (profile description), but I’d not read ‘first session’ as ‘zero experience’ when he already has two keyless flutes. There are no laws saying it’s all about sessions or forbidding keys for x number of years!
I have a simply divine Murray keyless blackwood flute I purchased from McNeela Music a while back. No matter Murray’s personal quirks and difficulties dealing with people, this is a first rate instrument with stunning tone and the Deil with have to rip it from my hands when I die. In discussion with McNeela I understand one can order Murray keyed flutes, but they are not directly on hand and require a waiting time of six months. While I cannot validate it with certainly I also understand he is back to work and with his son or apprentice and slowly and steadily making instruments after a long hiatus, but not himself dealing directly with customers. And no, he has never had a website as far as I know. Some people don’t (hard though that may be to believe in 2020!).
Speaking of fine makers, allow me to also recommend Terry McGee here in Australia. I know he’s making keyed instruments because he just posted about ordering a bulk set of sterling keys to keep him going for some time.
I suppose I’m in the 10% then. Yes, I have two Delrin flutes: an R&R-like by Vincenzo di Mauro and a Pratten-like one by Rob Forbes - and I love them both. I definitely need keys on my next flute, and I was thinking of moving to wood as the cost would by only slightly higher and I could experience the difference. Thanks for the Gabriel, Ham, Copley and McGee valuable suggestions!
Experienced player here who’s owned several fine keyless/2-keyed Irish flutes (Casey Burns, Hamilton, Grinter). I just got a fully-keyed flute in mopane from Terry McGee and it is superb in every respect. I went with the Rudall 5088 model since a friend has one and it was the best flute I tried in my year-long search. The wait time was around a year and a half and was totally worth it. My advice would be to try as many different makes/models as you can (which I realize is going to be hampered by Covid), since finding a flute that suits you is such a personal preference. Good luck!
Thanks kidonthemountain. Yes, trying different flutes right now is almost impossible. I’ve been visiting Terry’s website since I started playing the flute and that’s a great resource - I guess his flutes must be superb, indeed. I am still reasoning on the possible options and hope I will get to a final decision soon.
