First off let me state that the flute I have should be considered a “PROTOTYPE”!
I received the Carbony flute from Rob on Friday and I’m returning it in the mail today.
I very much appreciated the acoustical qualities of the material! It doesn’t sound as bright as I imagined, has a warmth to it. The flute is exceptionally slim (see first picture below) and responsive. Very Nice! The flute body and head only weighed 2.4 oz. (70 g.) and the solid aluminum stopper and gidge weighed another 0.7 oz. (20 g.). In strong light the carbon fiber exhibits an inner luster much like fiddleback in maple (see second picture below).
The design of this flute reminds me very much of Sweethearts Resonance flute (smaller bore with medium small holes) and as such it has a rather pure tone and isn’t as powerful as English model flutes.
Rob did a fairly good job with the tuning and I didn’t have any problems playing in tune (the F#'s and B’s were a bit flat, but not excessively).
Unfortunately the headwall thickness was only ~1.5 mm. so playing the bottom of the first octave proved rather difficult. I’ve corresponded with Rob and he is currently refining the design of the head and embouchure!
All in all I think the material and method of construction show great promise! Rob has been very receptive and anxious to refine this flute. I look forward to Rob’s future offerings!
I personally feel there is a great void in the available new Irish flutes. Doug Tipple has firmly established the entry point with his PVC cylinder profile flutes. But then it takes a fair financial commitment to jump to a conically bored flute ( >> $300 from Burns, Dixon, M&E…). I think there is a need for a good ~$200 conically bored Irish flute and I’m hoping that Rob’s Carbony flute will fulfill that role.
It might have real promise. If Rob can get a mandrel shaped exactly like the best of a rudall, or pratten, then that carbon fiber should be relatively easy to form on the mandrel, and once he gets the hole placement dead on should solve some problems.
I would ask Rob whether or not he can build up the thickness to be the near equivalent of a wooden or delrin flute without problems. A deeper windway might improve the output of the flute. I would like to be able to hear something from someone who is testing his flutes. Best of luck to ya Rob.
Interesting stuff! Thanks for the mini review (or is it a preview?) Sillydill. And great work, Rob - I’ll be watching with interest. Can I put my name down now for any possible tour?
Thanks for everyones enthusiasm! As Jordan stated, a redesigned headjoint is in the works.
will post photos when complete and solicit an someone to test drive.
I can mold the body to any shape with the proper tooling. If someone is really passionate about a particular interior shape and wants to get me some measurements I can take a look at modifying the current body design too. Its one that really works well with my low D whistle, but its only a few $$ to cut another tool.
I’d like to see two shapes of similar lengths, that fit together to make the flute body. For a flute like this especially, compact transport is a big plus.
And while I’m no flute expert, I do sometimes pay attention to what other people here say. A theory is that a thicker wall at the toneholes only, is a good idea. My wooden flute has very thick walls and the notes are all pretty accurate, while people with thin wall flutes are apparently having to do a lot of modulation with their blow to get each note to be in tune with each other, so maybe that’s how it works. Hopefully someone more experienced will give some helpful input on why a thicker wall at the toneholes is better.
“Baited” breath? How d’you achieve that, G1? Baited with what, and what are you trying to trap? “Moose’s patent halitosis trap”? I’m waiting for the follow through ( ) with bated breath! Does it have anything to do with the image manipulation/right-angle bend?
Sorry, couldn’t resist! (As usual.) Seriously, I do like the prospect of this carbon fibre flutery! Looking very interesting.
) with bated breath! Does it have anything to do with the image manipulation/right-angle bend?