I noticed that no one mentioned Tony Dixon’s wood flutes. Any thoughts?
Also, the Sweetheart Flute.
[ This Message was edited by: ErikT on 2001-07-14 07:54 ]
Sweetheart flutes vary tremendously. It is my belief that one has to try one before buying THAT one. I have played a lot of them, and some didn’t make the cut, while others were (and are) remarkable.
Jessie
Okay… just as with whistles, the wooden flute world in Ireland is completely different. People would not even consider spending upwards of a thousand dollars for a keyless flute. People over here play flutes mostly by Hammy Hamilton, Eamonn Cotter, and Sam Murray, few of which cost more than $500. Just keep that in mind.
Erik,
I have the perfect flute for you in your price range. The price is 300 USA dollars, so it’s actually at the bottom end of your range. It’s the flute by John Rutzen that I mentioned in another thread. The only thing you might not like is that the head and tuning slide sections are delrin. The other 3 sections (two piece body with separate foot joint) are blackwood. Construction quality is excellent, amazing considering the price. The fitting and slide are brass. The flute looks beautiful, very trad looking as it’s closely based on a ~1840’s Rudall. The blackwood and delrin look fine together, I doubt someone several feet away would even notice.
The best part is playing it. Foremost, the holes are perhaps slightly on the small side by today’s standards, and the flute almost plays itself. It’s exceptionally easy to fill. The stretch & hole size make it very easy to reach and play quickly. The response is lightning fast, I guess both because of how well it’s made and the fact it’s not a big flute with large holes and bore.
Surprisingly, it’s fairly loud. Not a session blaster, by any means, but a good strong volume. It’s actually very close in volume to a Seery, which is a bigger flute. The tone is excellent, it has a good strong bottom “D”, well in tune, and sounds beautiful. Mostly, it’s just great fun as it’s so responsive and easy to play fast, with a great sound. This would be a solid playing flute at any price, and an absolute steal at 300.
Thank you, Bruce. I’ll check it out
Erik