If I already had the money in my hand (just a week and a half longer), the picture Casey posted of his latest batch of folk flutes would have pushed me right over the edge. I would have bought one of them without a moment of hesitation. And now I’m back to considering the benefits of delrin against wood. I know delrin will hold up better and I won’t have to worry about taking care of it as much, but those wood flutes are just so pretty.
Aww, wood aint so bad. There is a breaking in period that Casey Burns talks about on his website. You have to swab it out after playing and protect it from low humidity but it’s really not that much of a hassle, despite how much we talk about it (humidifying) here and well worth the trade off. One thing to keep in mind is that Casey’s folk flutes don’t have a tuning slide which makes them less prone to splitting at the head-joint or barrel.
I have never had the pleasure of playing one of Casey’s folk flutes but i have heard a few at my local session and they all sounded great and the lack of a tuning slide didn’t seem to handicap the player at all. Anyhow, i have found that the longer i play, the less i seem to rely on adjusting the slide to keep in tune and more on relaxing my embouchure.
BTW, IMHO if i were to get a folk flute i would get blackwood. There’s a reason why it’s such a popular wood for flutes and the reason isn’t the color.
i think casey does particularly lovely things with boxwood.
Tis true. I was more referring to stability and sound quality and in particular what i have heard about blackwoods ability to hold its own in noisy settings. In reality i don’t have the experience to comment on this subject and i’m just going by what i think i have heard. Carry on.
All other things being equal, I prefer blackwood to boxwood, for the reasons you mention,
but with Casey’s flutes I prefer boxwood.
Nice playing Jim! Is that one of his folk flutes? Lovely sounding.
Thank you. It’s a C flute, not a folk flute–not just the key but also the finish.
No slide, which is nice–an all wood larger flute. Very easy to finger and also light.
I really think casey’s boxwood flutes are something special.
Wood flutes aren’t hard to care for–it’s mainly common sense. Don’t leave it on your car’s dashboard in the sun. Don’t sit on it. Swab it out when you’re done playing. Oil it a couple times a year. And keep the humidity relatively stable. (During the dry season, play it regularly, and store the flute in a drawer with a bit of moist sponge nearby.)
Well, now. There’s a M&E Ebonite flute in the UEI. What opinions do you folks have on the maker and the material? I could PM the seller, but I would like a range of opinions, if possible.
I really like my 8 key ebonite M&E. Unlike the other delrin flute makers, M&E and Gary Somers are the only makers of Rudall style flutes. Ebonite, in my opinion, has a lovely sound…but it can break if you drop it (but will never crack because of dry air/moisture issues and needs no special care just like delrin), so in some ways it is almost like an intermediary step between delrin and wood.
Eric
Unlike the other delrin flute makers, M&E and Gary Somers are the only makers of Rudall style flutes.
Vincenzo Di Mauro is making great sounding Rudall style flutes these days.
I didn’t know that…nice to have another polymer rudall out there!
I love the extra embouchure on the far end of the B flat flute!..really, why only one tonehole at the far end of the flute instead of the oft seen two? Possibly does it have to do with length - vs - balance?
The point of the unused holes is to shorten the sounding length without making the flute top-heavy. The top hole accomplishes this. The lower one is just there by convention, (vestige of older keyed flute design, I guess).
I think David O’Brien only uses one hole in his design. http://traditionalirishflutes.com/index.htm