Besides the Eb from India I got today, I recently received a Terry McGee Rudall Perfected keyless in blackwood, purchased from another member of this board (who’s been great to know, too – it’s a nice community, this one). I’ve had it for a week or so. Before getting this, I was playing a Dixon 3-piece polymer flute.
The McGee I got has the eccentric bore head, rounded-rectangle embouchure cut, and short foot. It’s almost exactly the same length as the Dixon.
The McGee: Wow. Solid, loud tone – as loud or louder than many Prattens I’ve played lately – spot-on tuning, and so easy to play. It takes very little air to fill the flute, and you can acheive a great dynamic range; also, a good range of tone color. The sound is characteristically Rudall-esque: dark, full of character, complex. Very quick response, and lovely workmanship: silver joint rings, an endcap which adjusts the cork by turning (there’s a screw attaching the cork and endcap, and you can move the cork forward or back by twisting the cap). My wife, who was a little leery of my spending a fair chunk of money on a wooden tube with holes drilled in it, heard the flute and said, “That sounds beautiful!” (as she hid the checkbook. . .) The toneholes are larger than my Dixon’s, making half-holing and bending or sliding much easier. The “banshee filter” cut of the embouchure makes it essentially hiss-free, which is great. The footjoint is a little loose right now, but a few turns of teflon tape fixed that. A very powerful instrument, this is.
A thing to note, though: playing the McGee has also pointed out to me just how much Tony Dixon has got right in his flute design. Played side by side, the tone of the Dixon is very close to wood, and it plays very well; it does not sound like a flute that costs $1000 less than a new flute from a top maker. There is definitely a quality to the tone of the wooden McGee that’s lacking in the Dixon, and the craftsmanship is superior in the McGee, and the larger toneholes sure make a difference, but the Dixon is a fine instrument in itself, worthy of performance.
The McGee is better, though. 
–Aaron
