Flute for sale - Terry McGee Pratten 8 key copy

Irish Flute
1

I have a new flute on order from Terry McGee, and my order should be coming up on his bench sometime soon, so I have to sell my old flute to pay for the new one.

I am selling a Terry McGee Pratten copy (based on a Boosey & Co. Pratten No. 8626) in blackwood. It is a discernibly brown blackwood and I would have thought cocus, but Terry’s records are clear - blackwood it is. You can read Terry’s description of these flutes here:
http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/models.html . The flute I am selling has both a long D foot, and a C foot, making it either a 6 key or an 8 key, as you wish. Here is a picture of the flute in its case:

You can see a much higher resolution picture here:
http://home.comcast.net/~tamadden/PICT1153.JPG

I agree with Terry that these flutes sing a bit more freely without the C and C# key, and therefore I have always only used the long D footjoint. The flute has the "Bent and Twisted McG# key and the Mk III tuning slide. It has the traditional cylindrical head with a two semicircles type embouchure. The flute barrel is stamped “Terry McGee Canberra” and on the other side it is stamped “232”; according to Terry’s records he finished this one in March, 2001. I bought the flute used, from another Woodie-L member about 9 months later.

The flute has just been fully inspected and refurbished by Terry, and therefore is in A+ shape. Larry Mallette tried it in East Durham last year and promptly informed me that I had a leaky key, so off to Terry it went. It is playing great now.

I have about $4,200 in the flute, and will sell it for that, shipping extra. The flute comes with the two footjoints mentioned above, and one of Terry’s beautiful wood cases. The case has a few scratches on it, and the flute may have a ding or two but nothing obvious. The flute and case look great. The flute has never cracked. Looking at Terry’s website I see that a new 8 key with case would go for about $4,400, and I cannot tell what he would charge for the long D footjoint, but it would probably be at least $500.

Here is a picture of the case:

or go here for a high resolution copy:
http://home.comcast.net/~tamadden/PICT1152.JPG

This flute is a serious bargain for the right owner. Caveat - please note: this is a Pratten copy, not one of Terry’s improved models. It exhibits the characteristics many people associate with the original Prattens: it demands a focused embouchure but will repay the skilled player with a strong bottom D, a very consistent tuning, and an overall volume and tone that will let you cut through the noise in a session. It is also, have I not mentioned this already?, gorgeous. But it is probably not for a beginner.

I know this is a lot of money, so it is my intention to offer it to Woodie-L and Chiff and Fipple first, give you all some time to think about it, and if I get no takers I’ll put it on eBay in a few weeks.

eBay rules apply; you send me your check; once the check clears I’ll send you the flute. If you can come out to Bloomfield, NJ, you are welcome to drop by and try the flute out.

Regards,

Tom

Tamadden@comcast.net

2

So Tom,

What’s Terry Making you instead?



Doc

3

I ordered one of his Rudall Improved models. Neal Warshaw, an Albany, NY based player let me try his last year in East Durham, and I really liked it.

I am very much an intermediate level, hobby player and don’t play enough to build the kind of chops that you need to really drive the McGee Pratten. When I am playing every day this flute sounds great. You should have heard me at the end of CIAW this year, for instance. But sadly, work interferes with my flute playing schedule, and it is a rare week that I can put in more than a few hours of playing time.

All the best,

Tom

4

I have to chime in and say the tuning on my McGee Pratten is terrific. All in all a great flute, wonderfully consistent and issue-free, to boot. Never seems to have a “bad-air” day. It’s a hoss, all right! :slight_smile:

5

Prattan… Pratton… is it so difficult?

6

It’s harder to type PrattXn than to play one! :slight_smile:

7

Right you are - edited my post above for spelling.

All the best,

Tom

8

I added some pics to my first post. Follow the links below the pictures to higher res copies you can really zoom in on.

All the best,

Tom

9

So does anybody have an extra $4000 lying areound to give me? I really want a Flute like that Blackwood Pratten 6 or 8 key… :pint:

10

Once again, I thank my lucky stars that I am a lefty. So that when these great keyed flutes come up for sale, I couldn;t use it even if I could afford it.

That and I’ve already sold a leftward appendage to pay for a Terry flute…

11

Christmas is a coming and the geese are getting fat
Please to put a penny in the old man’s hat;
If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’penny will do,
If you haven’t got a ha’penny then God bless you!

Hey - this flute is still for sale and would make a fine Christmas present for your favorite fluter.

All the best,

Tom

12

Question for Tamadden: HOw do you like that particular embouchure cut?

13

I like it a lot. This is a huge embouchure hole, with a much straighter back edge to blow against than most. The only straighter back edge I’ve tried is Terry’s square embouchure.

I think that embouchure shape is a personal issue; each person will have a different optimal solution. I find that I prefer a large embouchure with a straighter back edge as opposed to a smaller rounder embouchure. This headjoint is very much to the large, straight edge end of the scale.