How good are these flutes? http://www.mid-east.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=FLCS&eq=&Tp=
I play whistle (high and low) and the fife and I just want an inexpensive set of flutes. Thanks!
Mid-East products are best to avoid. Sunreed and Windwoodare probably you’re best shots at getting a good but not too expensive bamboo flute.
The best are by Patrick Olwell and Chris Dawson (Rhiannon Flutes) but Mr. Olwell is not taking orders because his wooden flute backlog is too big. Chris Dawson’s supply of larger pieces of bamboo is limited and so, in turn, is the range of pitches he is able to offer.
Erik the Flutemaker has some interesting stuff. I have his “Brazilian Major”, which is a simple little G flute in bamboo. It plays easily and accurately, sounds good, and only costs $25. http://www.eriktheflutemaker.com/
Of course, another great option would be the top-notch PVC flutes and fifes from Doug Tipple. http://dougsflutes.googlepages.com/home You can’t go wrong with these, (but they’re not bamboo).
They have similar flutes down at a local shop. Bamboo flutes and whistles in various keys made in India. They’re usually around $8 or $10. They aren’t bad for what they are. I kind of want a little high D flute just for fooling around.
I wouldn’t compare them to regular Irish flutes, though. Not the same thing at all.
In making the jump up from whistles to flute, I purchased a bamboo flute through Lark in the Morning last winter - it was made by Erik, and cost about $60. It was good enough to get me going.
My Dave Copley kelyless blackwood arrived a few days ago, and as adequate as the bamboo flute was for learning purposes, now that I have shelled out the $ for a fine instrument, I clearly see that there is a HUGE difference between the two.
Paul
Erik is a great guy and fine maker. It’s the smell and taste of bamboo flutes that I can’t stand.
I don’t mind if it’s PVC. I just want something inexpensive. The reason I named the thread “Bamboo Flutes” was because the kind I found was bamboo. Thanks for the help y’all!
That PVC flute from Doug Tipple can’t be compared to those bamboo flutes. It’s an Irish flute that plays well, in tune, sounds great. You can hold your head high at a session with one of those and not be embarrassed. You really can’t go wrong with one and somebody would buy it if you didn’t like it.
Really? I think it smells/tastes great. If Patrick Olwell ever makes bamboo flutes again I’ll get another one just for the smell/taste: sweet and spicy like a curry or smoky like an Islay malt whisky.
I have owned several bamboo flutes, but I also don’t care for the smell of bamboo flutes that have been made by burning in the holes with a hot poker. The smoky smell seems to linger with the bamboo years after the holes were burned in.
decades… 
I kind of like the smell of my bamboo flute…sort of a sweet smokiness.
I really like my bamboo flute, in general, but I don’t care for certain things about it which I hope a higher quality flute will assist me with (I’m quick to admit that these issues may have everything to do with the PLAYER rather than the instrument…I’ve only been playing “seriously” for a few weeks):
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Hitting the upper registers is a straining, frustrating experience. I feel like I have to blow the flute out of my hands to hit anything above a second octave G even after embouchure and breath angle adjustments.
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The flute seems to have a slow reaction time when moving between octaves quickly…especially between the low and second octave D. If I lift my left index finger the second octave D pops right in, but if I put my finger back down without attacking the note by tonguing it, the lower note doesn’t come into focus for nearly a full second.
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Running scales rapidly sounds a bit muddy. It seems this bamboo flute of mine was built more for slow comfort than speed. Slower, more mellow tunes play beautifully, but anything with a more brisk tempo is a bit touch-and-go.
Just my $.02
sorry for the double post!
each issue should resolve as your embouchure improves…
(I think that he just said that it isn’t the flute)
True, true…that’s what I’m hoping for.
Hey, FLUTEinVT…
Would you mind expanding a bit more on the differences you’ve noticed between those two flutes? Feel free to PM me if you’d like!
Sure. Basically, the biggest is intonation. The upper and lower registers of the bamboo flute are markedly off, even to my ear. The Copely is much more in sync, despite lack of refinement in my embrochure technique. Also, the bamboo flute is nowhere near as responsive to ornamentation techniques, and it is a relatively quiet compared to the Copely. The tone is very different as well, though I won’t necessarily say worse.
I do like the lightness of the bamboo flute - I took it on a backpacking trip recently - something I would never do w/the Copely. I like the look of the bamboo flute as well.
Paul
Thanks for that feedback, Paul!
Makes me even more eager to get my new flute!
I broke a bamboo hiking one time, took me 7 or 8 years… (don’t leave it stuck through a belt loop on a scree field)
Oh…ya left out chimney height!