I got my first real, live look at a Casey Burns flute yesterday at our session. It was a standard(?) keyless in boxwood, and was it ever gorgeous!!! I had never seen a Casey Burns flute before. It was big, and beautiful, and sounded wonderful. I can’t say that any pictures of flutes I’ve seen on the websites do justice to the instrument. The photos all make them look smallish, and this flute certainly wasn’t. (Kind of like the difference between a photograph of a Hasselblad camera, and seeing one close up: they’re huge!)
Anyway, I think I need to start saving for a Casey Burns boxwood keyless, or maybe a keyed model to complement my Tipple. No, I haven’t owned one before, and I’m not doing payola, I just really liked what I saw on Sunday.
I also forgot to mention my desire to smell the wood and maybe even lick it (couldn’t do THAT since it isn’t my flute. I imagine boxwood would taste like butterscotch, or maybe a very rich vanilla.
Steve, don’t send a deposit to Casey without visiting Patrick Olwell. He’s, like, an hour away from you and is a very accommodating host. Plus he’s a stone’s throw from several wineries and a very cool state park. I’m not by any means dissing Casey, but it would be silly to make a major expenditure like this without visiting one of the world’s top makers who’s so close. And Patrick does great work in boxwood, too.
Oh wait, I didn’t notice it was you Steve. . . uh. . . I don’t think I’m going to let you hold that flute anymore. . . But thanks for restraining yourself.
Besides, it does NOT taste much like butterscotch. It’s more like linseed oil.
I second Chas about Olwell’s boxwood flutes. I sold my Burns boxwood when I got ahold of my Olwell boxwood Rudall. Just my personal choiceand preference, of course. For me, the Olwell has more expressiveness and nuance capabilities (plus, it has more presence or volume, but we won’t go there!)
Pat O’s boxwood unlined boxwood flutes are, well, Olwells–all
that that means. I’ve owned one. There is the clean, expressive
sound, the volume and presence and so on, as you say.
I’ve never played
a D CB boxwood flute, but I have one of these in C
and I think it’s extraordinary. There’s something about
Casey’s design that seems to bring out the tonal properties
of boxwood, not to mention the visual beauty of the stuff–
and Casey has wonderfully clean boxwood. The sound isn’t
as ‘polished,’ if I may use the word, but geez is it woody.
I see these flutes as incommensurable–apples and oranges.
I can’t speak about the CB D boxwood (wish I could!), but IF the C is
indicative, my personal feeling is that these flutes
rival the best all-wood flutes out there.
I hope people will express freely their opinions about tonal differences
tween particular flutes, whatever these are. Doing that is the best way to avoid a ‘chilling effect’ on discussion.
Good words, Jim. Yes, Casey’s flutes are lovely. Mine was just a personal choice. I’ve never been priviliged to play one of his C flutes. I DID hear one of his D Mopane Rudall flutes recently which had a GORGEOUS, rich sound. It made me covet that particular flute!
What model Burns Boxwood did you have, was it the Standard? I’ve only played one Standard in Blackwood before, but it was a nice one, with rings and slide. It had a nice throaty voice when pushed that I really liked, which seems to be a characteristic of Blackwood.
I have an all wood Blackwood Rudall by Casey that is lovely, and has a different voice than the Standard I played. I also have a Folk Flute in Mopane now that sounds very much like the Rudall, but it’s an older one from late 2003. A later Folk Flute I had before sounded more in common with his Standard, and a little more open toned than this one.
And, I have a new love too-I just picked up a used Jon C Pratten in Blackwood with all the bells and whistles, and it’s amazing too! Very differnt in voice from the Burns flutes, and similar to a Hammy. Excellent workmanship throughout, and a fantastic deal.
Personally, I’ve never played an Olwell or heard one in person, but some people seem to like them. I guess he’ll do OK if he sticks with it.
Was the Olwell you owned a C? If not, I think you’re comparing apples and cucumbers. Even if it was a C, it’s still somewhat apples and oranges, as Casey’s C is based on a Bflat bore while Patrick’s is based on a D bore.
I 've had the Burns A-Bb-C set for several weeks now, and I’m really thrilled with the Bflat and C. I agree that the C is incredibly woody; it really has a nice deep low-flute sound. I had a Burns all-wood Rudall that I was pretty underwhelmed by. It does have a woody sound, but there’s a veiled nature to the sound that I never got over. My all-wood Olwell (Nicholson) does sound like an Olwell, but there’s a warmth to the sound that’s really incredible.
Apples and cucumbers, then, as I haven’t played the boxwood
Burns Standard D. Yes, the boxwood Olwell Nicholson was a D, not a C.
Your point about bores is interesting. But I will say this.
For whatever reason, the boxwood burns C is a superior flute, IMO.
It really is something extraordinary. If the boxwood standard D is its
equal tonally, it’s an excellent flute. I hope it is; it would
be great.
But I haven’t played one
and I cannot pretend to know.
Bah, of course you can! It’s easy, people do it all the time 'round here! Just say something like “I’ve heard reports that it’s a fantastic flute” or “It gets great reviews around here.” Chinese Whispers will take care of the rest and pretty soon it’s taken for granted (people can never be bothered to use the naff ‘search’ function for reports and reviews). Just look how popular the McChud has become in the last year!
In the past, Casey has received some less than favorable reviews, but when I played one of his simple folk flutes, I was quite impressed…dollar for dollar a great deal.
The folk flute I tried last fall was great.
I tried a gorgeous boxwood Rudall model at Dusty Strings in Seattle a couple of summers ago that I still remember.
And I have a mopane standard all wood that I love.
I’m keeping it.
