Anyone seen this before? I just bought one to review and I was wondering about other people’s experiences. He actually has a sound clip up for it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYEzkeEoJCo
I get no indication of the intonation from this but the sound is pretty nice. No idea about a higher register but I figured it was worth 60 bucks for, if nothing else, the interesting looks.
That is a funky and kind of cool flute. Some odd (at first glance) design decisions–it appears to be a hybrid bansuri and Irish flute. Narrower bore (like a simple Irish flute) but larger finger holes like a bansuri. Plus a seventh hole if my eyes did not deceive me.
As you say, hard to know how it plays but I thought it sounded very nice in the video. Certainly worth trying at that price. Mind you, that looked very much like totally unfinished cocobolo. Didn’t even look as though it has been oiled (though I can’t be sure of that). Tread cautiously if you might be sensitive to cocobolo. If you end up getting one, you should seriously consider dropping by the hardware store for a can of clear, spray lacquer. Build up a few coats of barrier between you and the wood.
good call on the finish,as far as I know I’m not sensitive to it but I know continued exposure to the untreated wood can cause increased sensitivity over time and my small pipes are cocobolo (I might cry if I had to give them up), I’ll ask him if he has finished it with anything. I’m actually now facebook friends with the maker. If you look through his youtube channel you’ll see all of his many many many instruments. This guy is clearly skilled, I’m excited to try this out now.
If it turns out that he doesn’t finish it, grab the lacquer–seriously. Really easy to do. Just hold the flute on a thin dowel, stand outside in the open air and coat the whole flute. Let it dry as directed then do another coat. Then another. Three coats should give you adequate protection from the wood. If you’ve never used a spray lacquer, practice a few passes on a bit of wood. If you botch it at all, you can sand it smooth and re-coat. Very straightforward.
I bought a ‘cocobolo’ C kaval very recently with very similar looks to the bansuri pictured from this maker on ebay. I was very disappointed. let me say from the start that the insrument plays okay. However, I was expecting a bored wood instrument. It is actually made with a wrapped veneer wood that is glued at the seam. It is very light and fragile feeling and I think wouldn’t take much effort to break it. I can’t believe it is cocobolo as cocobolo is a very hard wood that I’m sure couldn’t be wrapped like this. I think if cocobolo it would be heavier too. The appearance also doesn’t really match cocobolo as in the piccolo I have or in pictures I have seen on the net.
Also, when you buy you are not getting the instrument in the picture. Though he doesn’t state it you are actually making an order. He then gets it made and sends it 3-4 weeks later. When I contacted the seller with my concerns he didn’t dispute any of them, he just made a refund. At $30 this kaval appeared to be a great bargain. I guess it backs up the saying that if something appears too good to be true it probably isn’t. At $30 it was probably fair value, however, I don’t think the seller was fully upfront with what he was selling. I am not sure all his instruments are made this way but the bansuri pictured certainly appears to be the same as my kaval.
That is good information. Indeed I am expecting it to be a bored wood instrument, it would be a bit of a let down if it isn’t. He communicated that it was an order and not the exact instrument though. We shall see, I’m not overly concerned, it was cheap and it will likely be considerably better than the Pakistani junk sold for around the same price.
I have seen cocobolo that looks like this though its possible that it is not cocobolo, in which case, that is really misleading. You can actually wrap nearly any wood, even hardwood with steaming and time especially oily woods which I understand cocobolo is very oily. I have bent oak dowels into loops before so I can easily imagine this working with other hardwoods.
If it is by any chance genuine (and solid) cocobolo, then he must have a very inexpensive source for it. A solid billet of cocobolo large enough to make a D flute is pretty spendy these days, costing in the range of $30 to $50 I think. I have a pretty large stock of it that I bought years ago, and even then a 30" billet of 1.5"x1.5" square stock was around $35. That would certainly explain the low cost if he were using a veneer.
I agree that the cocobolo in the picture is not what I’m used to seeing. The color is a bit off (not as much red) and while the streaks of darker color look right, the grain has an open look to it that I don’t usually see. My experience with cocobolo is that it cuts very cleanly, with a closed grain and a smooth, oily surface.
It might not be the most honest presentation, but if the flute plays nicely and in tune it probably is not important. I sell a one piece cocobolo D flute for about $300 more than he is asking, so it’s all relative 
I don’t have a problem with innovation in material. look at how accepted delrin and PVC have become. I absolutely agree, if it plays nicely and in tune, it doesn’t really matter. However, that should be communicated when selling it. If it breaks easily though that could be a real problem, not that I’ll be lugging this thing to sessions but it needs to stand up to some bumps.