http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=920839877
It’s out of my price range so I thought I’d post it
Why would anyone in their right mind want to buy this flute? The description says there are cracks in the barrel joint and damage to the cork at the foot joint. The current bid price is $400, but that is still under the reserve price.
A new keyless Cotter doesn’t cost that much more than $400, and the wait is not long at all. I mean hey, if you’re going to waste your money overspending on eBay, why not do it on something like a keyed Olwell that has a very long wait time, instead of this flute that you could get straight from the maker in a few months? At least then you could justify your overspending by saying that you bought yourself a lot of time…
John Kerr
PS Before anyone asks: No, my keyed Olwell will not be showing up on eBay. Never.
Hey, no fair teasing us like that John.
Loren
John,
I agree completely.
Chris
Just for the record, the price of a keyless blackwood Cotter is now 700 Euro
Does that include shipping?
At any rate, somehow I doubt the seler is going to get the reserve, whatever it is. The cork is no big deal, it’s a shame about the cracks though as that’s clearly going to affect what the flute brings, and by most accounts Cotter’s flutes are wonderful.
David M., just out of curiousity, what’s the going rate for repairing barrel cracks and recorking a single tennon? I’m not interested buying this flute, I’m just wondering if the seller might have been better off having the work done before putting the flute up for auction.
Loren
Greetings Everyone,
I am the person selling this flute. I am new to this forum, although i’ve been playing irish music for about seven years. This cotter flute was the first decent flute i ever had. Paid $700 for it, and although that was surely a bit overpriced at the time, it got me from having nada to having something I could actually play and (eventually) sound decent on. It was worth it to me (especially since i was–and still am!!!–on the list for one of the big gun flues). Now, it certainly is not in the category of an olwell or grinter or hammy, but it is a very good flute nevertheless. Thus, given that new cotter keyless flutes are upwards of $700, i didn’t think $400 range was unreasonable. I don’t know; perhaps i’m mistaken.
Indeed, the cracks are regrettable and while they don’t affect the playing now, they will surely need to be repaired at some point. So any info on repairing cracks would be much appreciated.
So we’ll see what happens. Thanks for your feedback and catch ya later!
Cheers,
Brendan
I was under the impression that most people considered Cotter’s to be pretty high quality. It’s a little disappointing to hear an owner say it’s not on par with a Hammy, Olwell or Grinter. Looking at past threads it appears this goes against the consensus.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion but what specifically are you refering too. Tone, workmanship, what..?
My teacher plays an olwell, which i’ve played from time to time, and i have a hammy myself (and i’ve tested the grinter a couple of times), and the difference comes (in my view) in terms of volume and responsiveness. Now that i have a decent embrochure, I feel that on the olwell/hammy i can push the instrument harder in certain respects than i can with the cotter flute. Now, it may be that my cotter flute is simply not designed to produce these effects. It takes alot less air to fill the cotter flute for one thing, and in many ways is easier to play. I wish i could say that it was “equal to an olwell” and so forth, since such a claim might attract more takers, but it is not (again, in my view). Sorry to disappoint. Now, the cotter flute i am selling is, as i have said, a very good instrument. It is easy to play and has a good tone; definitely suitable for a beginner/intermediate player who likes to go out and hit the sessions.
Good man Brendan, honesty is a rare enough thing these days.
Best of luck with the auction. If it doesn’t sell this time out, you might consider having the cracks and cork repaired and then have another go - I’ve seen so similar flutes (name maker flute with repaired cracks) go for some pretty good prices on ebay. Also post a message about it to the wooden flute mailing list.
Cheers,
Loren
On 2002-11-15 08:29, Loren wrote:
Does that include shipping?
Nope
700 euros works out to about $706, so you didn’t spend all that much. And, if you enjoyed the flute, who cares?
Thank you all for your feedback. This is my first time selling anything over the internet, so this has been a learning process. Having cancelled the auction early, i decided to have the flute fully repaired. Although i will search the forum in a second, any advice on going about such repairs would greatly appreciated. Thanks again and i’ll keep you posted on what transpires.
Cheers,
Brendan
I’d check with Dave Migoya…he’s the local refurbishing/repairing meister.
Eamonn’s flutes are wonderful to play, and that’s what you’ll find in the forum. As for workmanship, the fit-and-polish is not up to Grinter or Olwell or Wilkes. They’re a little roughly finished, actually.
So in that respect, they’re not in the same league.
But his flutes are quite a bit cheaper than Olwells or Grinters or Wilkes, and that’s their charm.
Stuart