We tend to assume that if a maker makes a very good keyless flute, his keyed flutes will be as good. This isn’t always the case. My keyed Noy is delightful - the keys are easy to use and silent - but not all keyed flutes are as graceful as keyless flutes by the same makers. This is something to consider, and we really should give this information to each other. I am hesitant to name names (not Wilkes, in case anyone wonders), but I really think we should warn each other if a maker’s keys aren’t so easy to use. Thoughts?
I think that the ease of use of keys has so much to do with the flute player that it would be hard to generalize. How one holds one’s fingers, for example, can make all the difference in how easy the keys seem or whether they might feel in the way. So I’d be reluctant to comment in judgmental ways, though factual considerations would certainly be fair game.
Carol
Let me clarify. I didn’t mean the shape or position of the keys, I meant sluggishness and lack of appropriate springiness (springy-ness). I think it’s not a matter of opinion, but fact, in degrees. If a water system ran sluggishly (mine does sometimes), the water would have bubbles in it and lack pressure, etc. I read on some online thing once a review of a certain keyed flute and the reviewer stated that the keys were sluggish. I couldn’t imagine it until I played a flute by a different maker whose keys were almost unplayably sluggish. I had to press HARD to get the keyed note(s), and it didn’t bounce back as it should. This was a new flute.
Jessie I totally agree with you. Some things are personal, say one embouchure cut may work for one person (obviously it at least works for the maker) and not for another, some tone or the amount of resistant may be preferred by some and not others.
even springs on keys, say McGee likes hard springs and Noy light, but with keys costing twice as much as the keyless flute, I think we owe in to each other to warn about poor quality work, it may force the maker to step it up as well.
I really like the keywork that McGee has, not for the finish, but for the function of it.
No matter how many times you pull the keys out, they always seal good, and the design is very user friendly. Noy’s keywork ( well the whole flute) is like jewelry, fine Swiss clock?
I think it is very much dependant upon how your hands are formed. I had an Ormiston that I liked but the keys were all in the wrong place for me, but I don’t blame the maker, I have large hands and the keys just felt like they should be in different positions. My current flute, a Wilkes, is just the opposite everything is just finger perfect, but a friend who has small hands found she couldn’t play it at all! I’m sure any good maker would make a flute to fit if asked.
On flutes with block-mounted keys, sluggishness can happen if the blocks have swollen or warped, even if very slightly (invisible to the eye), so they act to “pinch” the key. The flute may have left the maker’s shop with all keys functioning perfectly, but if your climate is different than that of the maker’s, the blocks may be affected. I have exactly this effect with a boxwood flute I own: in dry weather the blocks warp very slightly, making some of the keys sluggish. You open the key and it takes its sweet time in coming back down to close the hole. But when the weather’s humid, or if I’m playing in a more humid climate like Ireland or England, everything works perfectly.
It’s tricky, because the maker can’t make the key slot too wide in the block, otherwise the key will wiggle, but you can’t leave the slot too tight either or it will pinch the key. It has to be just right, and if the tolerances err on the close side then you can have pinching when the weather changes.
If anybody in the past has told us of the wonderful playing quality of a flute but did not mention that this was only providing you did not attempt to use the keys because they stuck or were hard to use then that person is being silly. Certainly being told about the keys is just as important as anything else about a flute, stating that springs are too weak or too strong or are in awkward positions compared to other flutes all seems to me to be excellent info.
You have a good point Jesse. Perhaps the testing for smooth operation should be done in a non-player position, say on the table, as well as in the playing position. With a clarification in the write up.
Is this not proving the point Brad, now I wonder if post-mounted keys are an improvement over block-mounted, to avoid the binding problem. Never even thought about it before your description.
Interesting, Brad! Actually, the flute was made 33 miles from my house.
Tom, most times people recommend a flute, it’s a keyless one. As I said, I think it’s common to assume that a given maker’s keyed flutes will meet, if not surpass, the quality and playability of his keyed flutes.
Well, I’ve only experienced the binding problem on a boxwood flute, which is much more sensitive to changes in humidity than blackwood is.
I’ve never had such problems with blackwood flutes, although I’ve occasionally heard of people complaining of stuck keys on their flutes and it’s usually the block that’s the problem.
Getting the springs just right is a tricky proposition too…you have to get them light enough for easy action but not so light that the key leaks. This is especially an issue on short keys where the spring doesn’t have as much leverage, like the short F key, which on most flutes I’ve played has a somewhat stiffer action to ensure that the pad will seal the hole.
In my experience, even the flutes from the best makers may develop key problems, sometimes quite early on. I met a professional flute player a few years ago who had several badly leaking keys on her Olwell flute, but I don’t think anyone would say that Patrick’s keywork is of poor quality. And I once received a new flute from a reputable maker that had a non-functioning short F key (the cork on the touch was too thick to allow the key to fully open, and I had to cut most of it off with a knife). The maker had obviously forgotten to test that key before sending the flute to me. But the rest of the keys functioned fine, and I didn’t think it was a big deal, these things happen every now and then.
Ach, one more thread to catch up on at a later date, I’m never gonna catch up!
Loren