The time has come for me to sell my Hammy. I will be sorry to see it go, as it is truly a world class flute. However, I must make room The Coveted One. Indeed, the ten year wait for my keyed Olwell is weeks away from being consummated.
For pics of this flute you can go to: http://brendanjanis.com/hammyflutepix/
This flute is a Pratten-style flute made of African blackwood with six blockmounted keys made of sterling silver. There are two things of particular note with this flute. First, it is one of the few flutes Hammy made with a short foot. Second, the embouchure hole is rectangular (although that is negotiable as you’ll see below). Another feature worth noting, although I don’t think it is unique with Hammy’s flutes, is that the head joint it unlined.
As most people know on this forum, Hammy is one of the best Irish flute makers out there today. This flute is impeccably in tune with itself and has a sound that I would characterize as big and aggressive. However, this flute is not easy to play at first. I mention this only as a caution to raw beginners who have little to no flute playing experience. It took me a good year of steady practicing to get a good sound out of it. It requires a strong and developed embouchure to get the gusto out of it. But wow does this flute deliver once you’re there and it requires a surprisingly small amount of air to do it.
I am the second owner of this flute and am told by Hammy that it was custom made in the early to middle 1980s. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts at humidification and although the flute is playable as is right now, the flute has developed some serious cracks in the head joint. However, I have been in touch with Hammy about this, and I have decided to have the entire head joint re-made from scratch and, while he’s at it, I am going to have the keys re-padded and the joints re-corked. In short, this flute will be as good as brand spanking new.
Hammy tells me that he can turn this flute around in a week after the holidays blow over and thus I anticipate this flute will be ready for delivery no later than the end of January 2006. I have decided to post this ad before it is ready for delivery for three reasons. First, this gives holiday flute shoppers a chance to buy a great flute. Second, I will give whomever is serious about buying this flute the opportunity to determine in collaboration with Hammy what kind of embouchure—either the standard oval or rectangular—you would like to have. Finally, I would like to have the flute sent to the new owner directly from Hammy’s shop in Ireland.
According to Hammy’s website (http://www.hamiltonflutes.com), a six-keyed flute would take a minimum of two years to make and cost in the ballpark of $2344 (USD). You will receive this flute by the end of January directly from the maker in an as-new condition. As for price, I am asking $2000 (USD). The wood case is included and I will pay shipping and insurance.
Please contact me at brendan.janis at gmail.com if you have any questions or are interested in buying this flute. I would prefer sending this fine instrument into the loving hands of someone here and avoid the hassle of e-bay, but if I have no takers by the time the flute is done with repairs, to e-bay it will go.
Thanks for your interest and happy holidays to all.