Now that I’ve found the flute that feels just right for me (a William Hall passed on to me from Pat Plunkett), I’m selling my Skip Healy rod-system 5-key.
Details here: https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/fs-skip-healy-5-key-flute/79217/1
-Tom
Tom, I think you need to take a look at your hole spacing stats. 36 mm is almost an inch and a half. All of the spacings seem off. I have a Pratten and my hole sizes more or less match yours, but my hole spacings are around 10 mm less per each. One of us is missing something.
One measuring centre-to-centre and the other edge-to-edge?
Good thought, but it still doesn’t add nearly enough. If measurements on my own flute are correct, Tom needs to account for an average of 10mm of spacing more than I have on mine. Plus, I know for purposes of drilling one measures from center to center, but to account for the space between holes, that would seem misleading. Your spacing measurement would as a consequence vary by the size of the holes, which would throw off the actual amount of reach from one hole to another, wouldn’t it? Or is there a standard for these measurements that I am unaware of?"
I think conventionally one measures centre-to-centre as that both reflects best the actual span required of the fingers and is more (readily) standardised - if one measures the solid wood between adjacent edges of the holes one would also need to give the hole diameters (OK, I gather in this case they’ve been given, but they aren’t always needful/relevant) and one ends up with a cumbersome bunch of figures which are harder to visualise or to measure out on a dummy flute (broomstick etc.). For purposes of span indication, centre L1 to centre L3 and ditto for the R hand gives pretty much adequate info for working out whether one will be able to successfully and comfortably finger a particular flute. From a fingering (as opposed to tone-production) point of view, hole size really only matters to the very slim- or bony-fingered.
Fair enough, but would you agree that the spacing still seems excessive? You, of all people, should know - and I mean that as a tip of my hat, Jem.
It’s also quite simple to check the ‘centre-to-centre’ spacings for existing holes by averaging top-edge-to-top-edge and bottom-edge-to-bottom-edge.
but to account for the space between holes, that would seem misleading. Your spacing measurement would as a consequence vary by the size of the holes, which would throw off the actual amount of reach from one hole to another, wouldn’t it?
Nope, it’d be bang on!
Nope… at L1-36-L2-35-L3 and R1-32-R2-38-R3, nothing unusual for a slightly ‘stretchy’ flute.
Appreciated - though actually it isn’t something I tend to think about much or fuss about, unless someone raises it as a query with regard to a flute… FWIW, I have had (unusually) such a discussion fairly recently (with Peter, as it happens). If I interpret the vendor’s stats aright, his flute has a L hand span (L1-L3 hole centres) of 71mm and a R hand span of 70mm. Those don’t seem particularly excessive to me. Here are some figures from that other conversation:
English flute with French style pillar-mounted keys, two part body: centre of L1 to centre of L3 68mm, centre of R1 to centre of R3 67mm.
A Sweetheart flute (model unknown): L hand span about 75mm (which we agreed was unusually wide)
McGee GLP: L hand span 72mm
And here FWIW are a few I’ve just taken from flutes to hand (only one distinctly Pratten-ish, though):
R&R #2130: L 70mm R 67mm
R&R #4683: L 71.5mm R 70mm
anon nach Meyer: L 68mm R 69mm
Fred Rose: L 71mm R 72mm
Pakistani Pratten-style: L 72mm R 65mm
anon French small holed, slightly LP 5-keyer: L75mm R 67mm
S Koch (Wien): L 67mm R 67.5mm
Rampone: L 68mm R 70.5mm
Does that help?
I’m sure there is nothing unusual or excessive about the spacing on the Skip Healy.
I measured center-to-center. I used calipers to do the measurement, which required a certain amount of eyeballing to get the pointy tips of the calipers centered over each hole, but I think I got pretty accurate measurements.
Doug Tipple has a chart of hole comparisons here:
http://sites.google.com/site/dougsflutes/flutefingerholecomparison
I’ve removed the hole size measurements, so this just shows the distances.
T = Tipple
Mu = Sam Murry Blackwood (2007)
Mc = McGee GLP (2006)
R = Reviol Pratten-style (2007)
B = Casey Burns 2-piece Folk Flute (2008)
D = Dixon 3-piece (2009)
F = Rob Forbes 3-piece polymer (2008)
SH = Skip Healy 5-key (circa 1995, and added to this chart by Tom)
D. T39, Mu36, Mc39, R38, B35, D36, F37, SH36 (distance between finger hole #1 and #2)
D. T33, Mu35, Mc34, R35, B34, D36, F35, SH35 (distance between finger hole #2 and #3)
D. T27, Mu32, Mc32, R35, B31, D34, F31, SH32 (distance between finger hole #4 and #5)
D. T38, Mu37, Mc32, R38, B33, D36, F37, SH38 (distance between finger hole #5 and #6)
I believe the Prattenish flutes are R (Reviol), F (Forbes), and SH (Skip Healy). The interesting thing to me is the difference between that last two measurements on the Skip Healy and Forbes. The Reviol has a wide finger-spread, but it is fairly even. The Forbes and Healy, however, require that your right ringer finger stretch 6mm farther than the spread between your index and middle fingers. Most people seem to get used to this, but my hand seems programmed to expect an even spread.
-Tom
Okay, my bad. I re-measured my flute using center-to-center and got the following:
- 8
36
- 9
33
- 8
56
- 9
32
- 11
35
- 6
I didn’t realize the difference in how the measurements were done would make so much difference.
Much enjoyed your playing on the clip accompanying the advertisement.
Thanks, Jim. I hope some of the strengths of Skip Healy flute come through in the recording. However, its a very different animal from my “new” flute, a small-holed William Hall 4-key with a John Gallagher head joint that I bought from Pat Plunkett, and my hands have a hard time making the switch to the Pratten-style finger holes.
-Tom