Anyone get a chance to try Forbes Christie instruments at Irish Arts in the Catskills? I understand he was to be there with several flutes for sale. It would be great to have a firsthand report. Thanks!
Actually his name is Forbes Christie, he’s a Scotsman who used to work with Chris Abell at Brannen Brothers in Boston; he now lives up in Nova Scotia.
I got to see and try one of the flutes briefly while I was there and it seemed good to me although there was an awful lot of noise in the pub and I couldn’t hear very well. The flute looked well made (no surprise, as Forbes is a real craftsman), it felt very light in my hands and played like a Pratten-style instrument, big holes, large embouchure hole.
They are sold under the brand name “Windward flutes.”
UGH! Total brain freeze! I’m caffeine deprived.
Sincere apologies to all, and especially Mr. Christie and to Mr. Forbes.
Ditto…real eye candy too…
I tried! through no fault of my own, I might add, I’m really a one person flute .. errmm.. 
a one flute person, even though I do have a couple. I’ve a friend who put a black flute in my hand saying This is the one I Want What do you Think 
and that was quite nice and bright I thought. I tried it in the tent before the concert started, so I could hear it. The fingerholes were offset though and I didn’t see that, so I missed a couple to start with.
Then I tried the one next to it - it sounded higher, it was fabulous - followed by Mr. Christie putting 2 more Eb flutes in my hand one after another. They were all lovely.
But just as I got to the one with the keys, the concert started and I couldn’t hear.
2 friends of mine bought one each though. I tried one of those on Tues, and it wasn’t as full sounding as I’d expected but still very nice and brilliant sounding (like a lot of treble in the sound). However, its weight did feel heavier than my flute, even though both are keyless. It was an orange color, don’t know what the wood is.
And Jeff - we all know Jeff, he did a lot of work being the tester for these, and I think a great job. The mouth holes are very comfortable and Olwell-like. The flutes themselves are just works of art, I didn’t know of Mr. Christie before but he’s way up there to me now.
It was a good week for gearheads.. . Windward Flutes, Patrick Olwell, and John Gallagher all showed up at the flute classes and allowed us to sample and ask questions.
I liked the Windward flutes a lot. . . but I’m probably not the best judge. For one thing, by the point in the week that I had tried the flutes, I had been playing a lot more than normal and everything sounded better than it would have “in real life.” Also, I’ve less than four years of fluting on two instruments only. Disclaimers aside. . .
I think I played the one of the Windward blackwood flutes that had been recommended to Lesl - it was a fine flute (for me) in every sense. But it’s been sold already, and not to me. . . 
The Windwards came in a few different flavors. . . blackwood, mopane, and something called “African Olivewood.” The last is a very figured blonde wood that Lesl mentioned. They were absolutely gorgeous - probably the best looking flutes out there from an artistic standpoint. OTOH the blackwood ones were the easiest for me to play.
Windward also has a D/Eb conversion model, but I can’t remember if the body section or the head and foot joints get swapped out. On the model I tried (in D configuration) I couldn’t get the D’s to come in clearly or fully in either octave. But that probably demonstrates my limitations as a player more than anything else. I didn’t have the same issues with the standard model.
John Gallagher let us try two of his models - you guessed it, a large-hole Pratten and a small-hole Rudall. They are very distinct from each other, but also both great, playable, and very nice sounding flutes. The Rudall wasn’t really any quieter than the Pratten, but the harmonics were distinctly diffferent between models. The Rudall was noticeably more comfortable in the hand, but then again, my flute is very slender so I’ve got a built in bias. It was fun to have a side by side comparison. I’d very seriously consider one of his if I weren’t content with my current.
Patrick Olwell’s flutes were, of course, great too. That kinda goes without saying.
My two clips in the signature are on my Windward. Cr*p playing from me, but maybe it can give an impression of the sound when I play them. They were 1 meter from an Edirol R1 on a music stand with no processing. Mine is Blackwood.
I love my Windward flute. Big, powerful flute. Also one of the prettiest around.
'bye,
Chris.
The website is very seductive and the flutes look gorgeous. Kudos to you for putting up your clips, Chris.
I tried them, and bought one, so that is the executive summary for you.
I was not really in the market for a flute. I have an Olwell keyless and a Terry McGee keyed flute, and thought I was done flute shopping. However, when I tried one of Forbes’ blackwood models, I did not want to give it back, and since I was “in funds”, I didn’t.
The flute I took home is maybe the easiest blowing flute I have ever played, with a big easy bottom end. Beautiful sound and wonderfully in tune. Big embouchure and big holes. Probably not for the Rudall fan, but a great flute for me.
I tried a number of Forbes’ flutes, and found a wide range of personalities. Forbes confirmed that he was presenting a number of different configurations, so he probably has something for everybody. I do worry that the range of personalities would make buying one through the mail difficult; I’d want to try them and pick out the one that fit me, as I did.
There is no doubt in my mind that for those of us who are in funds and seeking the best possible flute to buy, our lives have become more complicated. I would advise anyone to give Forbes’ flutes a try before making a purchase decision among the top ranked flutes available.
I was also able to spend some time with Forbes and found him a delightful gentleman with some great stories to tell.
Thank you Jeff Baker for bringing him around to visit us in East Durham, and a big thank you to Paul Keating for allowing Forbes to exhibit there.
All the best,
Tom
My new African Olivewood flute from windward (bought it at the Boxwood festival in Lunenburg, NS)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/20068352@N00/2784559702/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/20068352@N00/2783707179/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/20068352@N00/2783707269/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/20068352@N00/2784559740/
Wow, that’s a real beauty!!! 
Love the color and grain of the Olivewood-and it must sound pretty nice too, if it pleased a Powellite! There aren’t many flutes out there in Olivewood, too bad-would like to hear and play one some time! I wonder if it’s anything like Boxwood in tone and lightness of weight?
Anyway, thanks for sharing the pictures–good luck with it, and have fun! And yes, let us know how it works out for you.
Just wondering if the webmaster could change the title of this forum subject “Forbes Flutes at Irish Arts Week”, to avoid confusion. (see Brad Hurley’s post - thanks, Brad) We all know that there is another maker called Forbes (Rob Forbes) whereas these posts were about Windward Flutes, made by Forbes Christie. Many thanks to the players who have bought, tried and written about Windward’s flutes.
cathal morley should have edited it back when Brad mentioned it.
We’ve been through the Forbes confusion a few times here already…
You certainly do beautiful work sir.
Duly chastened, Denny!
I offer my apologies to the board and to both makers once again.
Maybe call them Christie flutes?
aw, I didn’t know if you knew that you could edit it.