I received a new bamboo flute from the maker today. It is beautiful.
I went to put it to my mouth and immediately noticed a change in the air aroma. I smelled inside the mouthpiece (and the rest of the flute holes) and there is a distinctive musky smell that (forgive me), I have only experienced when smelling molded wood/plants in a dark damp cellar/basement. Is this scent common for the inside of bamboo flutes?
FWIW, I got a bamboo Shakuhachi (Jinashi, so no lacquering inside) some time ago from a well known maker, and it doesn’t smell funky (or musky). So I can give one data point.
I have a few bamboos. Never had any smell. I mean the bamboo itself smells good but it has been stabilised.
I bought a cheap bamboo flute, & it didn’t have much of a smell at all, not even a woody one…
Bamboo flutes sometimes smell from having the holes burned in. It diminishes over time.