Anyone know anything about this flute that just sold on ebay? http://cgi.ebay.fr/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200490707087&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBUAA:FR:1123
Looks like a Boosey, but probably isn’t, going on the C and C# keys: looks also like a Pask (like on Terry’s website). Any ideas anyone?
No one? Hello, hello, hello? Echo, echo, echo? I thought the word Boosey would have people lining up to answer! Just joking. I see my question has been eclipsed by a Rudall Rose topic heading…
Yeah, I was watching that one - had a modest and rather optimistic snipe on it, but expected it to go beyond my limit, as it did. Very Hudson/Boosey Pratten looking and, I think, had silver fittings and was in excellent nick. Dimensions (in so far as I could get sense out of the vendor - why can’t folk interpret carefully phrased English accurately??? Too many barely literate…Grrrr!) seemed to be promising for modern pitch use too. I thought the price it achieved was quite reasonable - allowed for the risk that it might be HP inclined and was unstamped, but could be a bargain if it’s actually an anonymous one of what it looks like!
You old sniper, you.
foot key cups and the crown stem are very un-Pratten (hudson or boosey).
However, the tone holes (LH and RH) seem to be off-set, which is very Hudson-Pratten (a trait that Hudson did not carry over to the Boosey shop).
Still, it reminds me very much of an early Hawkes or Riviere.
Interesting.
And it seems to have goen for a reasonable price indeed, given the good condition. I put in a modest bid too, but too modest. I didn’t think it was silver though, looks more like nickel doesn’t it? In any case, is there any way of telling, by photos, whether a flute plays well or not? If it looks like a Boosey, will it sound like a Boosey?
noooo
even Booseys that look like Booseys (or Rudalls looking like Rudalls) sometimes don’t play up to their reputation (although it is rare).
The keys are definitely German Silver (aka white bronze). Jeweler’s red rouge will polish that right up beautifully.
No way to tell by the photo unless there’s a stamp to the flute. Anonymous flutes are always a gamble, more so than most.
Hey, less of the “old” - from you! 
Thanks for the input, David.
Thanks for input everyone.
Hi all.
I was the lucky winner of that auction! If you’d like I could give you some more info about it once it arrives. I have the Boosey pratten plans from Terry Mcgee and it will be very interesting to see how they compare. I was thinking this was an opportunity to get a “prattens perfected” without having to pay through the nose! They sure look very similar.
It appears to have been played quite a bit too judging by the way the area round the embouchure hole looks and the fact that it doesn’t have any cracks either also suggests it has been played continuously. After a pad change (if needed) and some cleaning I’ll let you know how it plays and perhaps post a few pics and a sound clip, I’d have to get a box.net account for that tho…
Yes, the foot keys are different. Would it be possible that this flute was made at a later stage, when the pads got a bit better and could be used for the C & C# keys as you can see on cylindrical wooden böhm type flutes and simple system hybrids?
/Marc
Congrats Mark! Do indeed send us photos when you receive it/clean it up. Have a look at this on Terry McGee’s website and you’ll see an anonymous flute that looks just like it, with same C C# keys: http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/The%20mysterious%20anonymous%20Pratten-style%20flute.htm
Shane
Thanks Shane!
I thought I’d post an update on the “other” anonymous pratten now that I’ve measured it and compared it to the Boosey Pratten plans. They are a very close match but not identical. It’s overall shorter than the Boosey but it’s got the big pratten bore (virtually identical) and the tone holes on the body matches the Boosey very well. The foot has big differences in hole sizes but positions are very close. The foot is 1mm shorter than the Boosey’s. I guess it could be an early predecessor? I’d be happy to give the detailed measurements to some one with more knowledge for a closer analysis. Terry? Interested?
David Migoya spotted that the LH and RH holes could be offset, and indeed they are. G# and long F are also slightly offset, not much. It’s in cocuswood with nickel silver keys and rings. All blocks are fitted with striker plates for the springs, also nickel silver i believe. No markings so far. The liners are nickel plated brass and the barrel bit has a nickel silver collar.
Looking at Terry’s flute pitch list it seems to fall inbetween categories with a C# to D# distance of 246mm. The Boosey pratten is 245mm. The sounding length, tuning slide in, is 566mm on the anonymous pratten and the Boosey is 574mm, 8mm shorter!
With the slide extended about 17mm it’s at 440Hz and it plays quite nicely. Even with the old leaky pads! I think it will be a fine player and it’s in good condition - except for the cracks! Yep, two thin ones, easy to miss I suppose, one down the lenght of the barrel and one small 15mm crack in the head. Bummer!
Here’s a picture and a sound clip of its current un-fixed-up condition. The clip is City of Savannah - I thought it was fitting to play a Matt Molloy tune on it…
http://www.box.net/shared/mdvnuodir8
Ooooh. Nice, Marc! Congratulations again! I thought it looked like a potential goodie - is why I sniped on it - wish I could have gone higher! I think you definitely got, if not a major bargain, a very good buy. Thanks for sharing, and keep us posted!
Thanks Jem! Though if I’m not mistaken I believe you sniped the Henry Potter & Co flute from ME first! I had it for £300 with just seconds left! I noticed you on the sellers feedback list and it must have been you who nabbed it…?
What? Too many verys? You language police!
Not me - the only Henry Potter I’ve picked up recently was a Bb band flute from the same vendor (hence the feedback) - which though nice turns out (not entirely unexpectedly) to be HP. ( 
) I was watching it though, of course - can’t remember now if I put a snipe on, but if did was way too low.
Ah ok, sorry for the accusation Jem. Too bad tho, I would have liked to see how that one turned out. It went for £310, a steal! I wonder if a chiffer got it?
Lovely playing Marc. Sounds like a very nice flute too, some lovely notes on it and great tuning right down to the D, no?
BTW do you have a Boosey Pratten, ro have you played one: if so, what pros and cons would say about it?
Thank you. Yes it’s got a nice sound to it but it felt a bit sluggish to play, hopefully the pad change will fix that. From memory the tuning was pretty much spot on in the first octave and the second was a little sharp, particularly A - I’ll get back to you on that…
No I’ve never owned a Boosey and I haven’t played one either so I can’t say.