Stumbled across this article online.
http://www.wistechnology.com/article.php?id=1093
Is this true? Are the flutes roughed out in Pakistan and then finished up in Ireland? This would not neccessarily deter me from buying one, i was just suprised when i read it. I thought Michael Cronnolly made the flutes from start to finish in his shop.
anton
This seems very strange to me. I don’t find this M. Polczynski anywhere on M&E’s website. Maybe the journalist made a mistake about the brand?
The best thing to do is probably to ask Michael Cronnoly himself.
FTA
Non-experts would have a hard time telling the difference between an imitation Irish flute that was hand-made in Pakistan and a genuine Irish flute that was manufactured by a traditional Irish craftsman.
Never seen one, never tried one. Wonder what a beginner would say if they had a chance to compare.
FTA
After all, Polcynski said, “This is just a little tube with no keys.”
The guy is the webmaster for M&E’s website (just point your mouse over the contact the webmaster button and you’ll see). I had heard that M&E’s standard keys were from somewhere on the Asian continent (Michael can also make his own keys if you ask), but keys made overseas don’t bother me for some reason.
I really don’t know what to make of the article. Is Michael receiving both the polymer and wooden flutes reamed out with all the holes in them and then just re-tuning them? If so, I can’t imagine there wouldn’t be a huge number of unusable/unfixable flutes he receives (I bought one once for $39 off of eBay - worked with it for weeks and it was never worth anything). Is he just receiving reamed out tubes? With polymer, it’s probably no big deal, with wood - I’d think there would be a better chance of receiving poorly aged/dried (not to mention falsely advertised - is that stuff really cocus on the Pakistani made flutes?) wood.
Didn’t Rod Cameron or someone do this in the past (I know for sure he re-worked Aulos polymer flutes)? If so, and it’s noted up front, I think it’s no big deal. However, not mentioning it just doesn’t seem quite right…
But to be fair, quite a few makers have assistants who do quite a bit of the initial “rough” work, and if the maker in Pakistan is good, what’s the difference - the fine tuning and finishing work is what really makes the flute.
See, I really don’t know what to think about all this?
Eric
I think that guy in the article is M and E’s webmaster.
I emailed Michael about it.
anton
Michael Cronnolly, unless he has drastically changed how he does business, buys PVC rod stock from Germany and machines it into his polymer flutes himself. We have exchanged emails about this in the past.
I think the article is referring to the M&E wooden flutes which are sometimes sold on Ebay.
I am sorry I can’t provide more detail at this time, I am in class in North Carolina and don’t have access to my old emails.
–James
Welcome to Silicon Valley, 2005! 
I see no reason to think that the quality would be any less. I have a classical guitar and bouzouki made in china that are both fantastic instruments. If the makers are well-trained and especially if Cronnolly is finishing them off before they go to customers, I’d expect them to be just fine. Indeed, lots of people seem to like his instruments.
got an email back from Michael Cronnolly. He said he makes all his own flutes. I think i would like to get one of his polymer models sometime in the near future.
anton
This is my understanding as well. Just to be sure, I sniffed all the M&E 's I have in stock. No worries, not one of them smelled of curry powder.
Doc
There was another maker who was doing this fixing Pakistani imitation
flutes. I can’t remember his name. Now Mark P. in the article, I know
who he is, I got my M&E from him. He used to have a batch from Michael
Cronolly and sell them via their website. The regular M&E non-wood
flute. Maybe he’s doing the Pakistani wood thing with someone else.
Lesl
Send them back!
I got my first original M&E from mark 5 or 7 years (could be 6 too;)
I dont really give a darn either way. My R&R is very forgiving and its sounds good. Easier stretch than some other flutes too.
That’s an odd article. It’s a little disturbing to see Michael Cronnolly relegated to this man’s associate, but, in fairness, that is likely entirely the fault of the writer of the article.
Regarding the Pakistani connection, it could be read that the arrangement is that Michael tweaks the Pakistani flutes, but that those are entirely different flutes from the ones we know and love.
I agree. It also says they are sold through an e-commerce site, and there’s no e-commerce on Cronnolly’s site.
Well, I know Mark is a local piper/flutist/whistler–I’m guessing the writer probably slanted Mrark’s position in the business slightly since the site is Wisconsin Technology Network. I’ll ask him about this the next time I run into him. And since the words “delrin,” “polymer,” or “plastic” didn’t turn up in the artical, I’m assuming Mr. Cronnolly must be tweaking wooden Pakistani flutes.
–Jeff
The excerpt below is from Mr. Polczynski’s bio on the website of his band, West of Ennis.
Mark Polczynski on Wooden Flute, Uillean pipes, Penny whistle, Harmonica (top)
Mark bought his first Chieftains LP (Chieftains I) back in 1977 on his first visit to Ireland with his lovely and charming wife Maureen. Along with the LP came a pennywhistle, which now rests in an honored place in some drawer somewhere in the basement with his Model 1958 Hohner harmonica.About twenty (!) years later on a second visit to Ireland with his lovely wife and handsome son Michael, Mark hooked up with Irish (Up Mayo!) flute maker Michael Cronnolly. Well, one thing led to another, and Mark became the owner of a Cronnolly flute and the webmaster for Michael’s flute business (> http://irishflutes.net> ).
Back about the turn of the millennium, on one of his bi-annual board of director meetings with Cronnolly (a poitin brewer of local renown, go here for his recipe: > http://irishflutes.net/mef/poitin.htm> ), Mark visited uilleann pipe maker Charles Roberts up in Sligo. Charles took a liking to Mark’s charming naiveté, and cranked out a set of uillean pipes for Mark in six months, certainly an all-time record for any pipemaker in any millennium. Extraneous pipe drones, regulators, etc., have been arriving in Elm Grove continuously over the ensuing years.
Mark’s favorite Irish band is West of Ennis, and his favorite Irish vocalist is Dave Moss. During the day, Mark is an electrical engineer (PhD-EE, We Are Marquette!). For much more fascinating information about Mark, check out his website: > http://irishflutes.net/underhill> .
That would put Mark’s ownership of M&E starting about 1997.
Cheers,
Aaron
No, it says he became owner of an M&E FLUTE in 1997, and the business’s webmaster
D’oh! My college professors would have nailed me to the wall for that misread.
Cheers,
Aaron
Has anyone else seen those tweaked pakistani flutes selling on eBay (revoiced in Ireland) for 120 pounds sterling (or close to that)? I wonder if those are the flutes in question, and I’ve always wondered who tweaked those…maybe it’s Michael, but re-reading the article I’m in agreement that this may well be a messed up article and it could be a separate venture that this fellow is involved with and another person tweaking them.
It’s very comforting to know all M&E flutes are made by Michael - I’ve always had quite a high regard from him.
Eric