I looked over all the old postings that talk about Glenn Schultz Flutes, but am still not getting a feel for what their like. Could anyone thats played or has one give me their impressions. He makes both an 8 hole as well as 6 hole version
Ben
Very nice flute, beautiful woodworking, wonderful in the hands, very easy to hold and play. Good solid sound, but not as loud as, say, a Hammy.
i’ve got one that’s ~11 years old, it’s a little different than his current models in that it has no slide (probably in other ways too). i’m quite fond of it. it has a great woody tone, easy to fill but not as loud as my Seery, has medium-large toneholes and an oval embouchure. short foot. made of some kind of rosewood (honduran?) with stainless bands and cork lapping. i don’t play in sessions so i can’t help you there. i reckon it would blend well rather than cut through but that’s just conjecture.
i can only imagine his work has improved since 1993 when i got the flute.
disclaimer: i’m not somebody who’s played lots of different flutes; as a matter of fact my other timber flutes are by Hoza, who i never see mentioned here either.
Hoza is excellent too.
Glen makes flutes with and without slide, i think.
Glauber and RH
would you say the Schultz Flute will hold its own in a session in terms of Volume. Would you say the Flute is easy to play with low air requirments?. Finally , how would you describe the Rosewood reddish or Beige?
Ben
I don’t really play in sessions, so i can’t answer that question. It is plenty loud but has a darker, woodier type of sound than the other flutes I play. The flute is easy to fill, takes less air than my Seery. The embouchure on mine is smaller than the Seery and oval, so it takes some practice to keep my chops in shape but once i’ve got it the tone is wonderful and also easier to play with some nuance than the Seery (or the Hozas for that matter). It is very expressive that way – really nice dynamic range. It seems less loud than the Seery but really has a different tone, more reedy, darker and not so bright like the Seery (which is delrin) so the perceived volume differences may be more about tone color than volume… haven’t put them to a db meter or anything.
I prefer the short foot too, the flute is nice and light.
The rosewood is more reddish brown, with age and oiling it has darkened considerably.
Out of all the instruments i own (ask my wife, i have lots of different ones, some pretty expensive), my Schultz flute is on my short list of instruments i wouldn’t sell; i’ve had it so long and enjoyed playing it so much that it’s something i’ll probably pass along to my son when i’m too old to play it.
First a description: the flute has very large finger holes, although it’s based on a Rudall design. (According to Glenn, "It started out as a Rudall, but for some reason I don’t remember. . .) As has been pointed out, it has an oval embouchure hole, SS fittings, and is wonderfully light and well-balanced in the hands. Mine is cocobolo, and is without a doubt the most beautiful piece of wood turning I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, the cocobolo is darkening with age, so in another 20 years might be indistinguishable from cocus or even blackwood.
The embouchure on mine is not very forgiving. Actually, I’m not 100% sure whether it’s strictly the embouchure or a combination of the embouchure and finger holes. I just still have a little more trouble with this flute than with a couple of others. I’m not a rank beginner anymore, but still am not an advanced player by any stretch of the imagination, so take those comments with a grain of salt.
That said, when everything comes together, this flute rocks. When I’ve got it, it has a very strong low-D at the same time as I’m able to hit the third-octave G with no trouble. The sound is very woody, but it doesn’t have that mellow sound that some of my boxwood flutes have. It still has a good edge and just a bit of the darkness of some blackwood flutes. It’s easy to play dirty, not so easy to play pure.
As for volume, I find it pretty versatile. I don’t have a Hammy to compare it to (yet), but it’s in the same league with the Copley, possibly the Seery. (Damn, it’s really convenient to have a nice polymer flute.)
I hope this helps a little. I think Glenn and Phil Bleazey are two very underrated flute makers, at least as far as the amount of discussion in this forum. AFAIK, Glauber, RH, and I are the only people who have commented on Glenn’s flutes.
Yes. One of the leaders of the session in the Kerry Piper (Willowbrook IL) plays one, and she can be heard over the din of a very noisy pub and often busy session. That’s the only Schultz flute i’ve seen and played, BTW.
The rosewood is brown.
You can have a glimpse of the sound here:
http://www.murphyroche.com/About/Our_CDs.htm
track 9 on the second CD (right-hand side).
Don’t take this as an indication of the loudness, because it was recorded in a studio, and each instrument had its own microphone. The first track would have been a better sample of the flute, but i guess you’ll just have to buy the CD. 
g
Glenn sent me one in cocobolo with stainless steel fittings. I only had it for about a week and then had to send it back due to cash flow problems (expensive car troubles).
I found it more difficult to play than my Tipple 3-piece, 6-hole, or Burns Folk Flute. It was more woody/airy sounding than either the Burns or Tipple, not as pure and not as loud. However, I only had it for a week so I didn’t get much of a chance to get used to playing it. I’ve also only been playing flute for about a year.
The wood was beautiful, but I think I’d opt for brass (or silver, of course) over stainless steel for rings if I were ordering one.
-Brett
truth be told, when i tried out the flute (at Old Town School in Chicago), i couldn’t get a noise out of it. i’d only played a Moore pvc and some junky bamboo thing before that and i was totally unprepared for the embouchure. dunno what prompted me to buy it, but, needless to say i’m glad i did.
Bummer about the car, Brett.
I have a Burns blackwood, and I’d say, at this point, the Schultz is much louder and easier to play well. I say at this point because of the caveat that Brett pointed out – that he’s been playing for about a year and on the Tipple and Burns. And I say to play well, because I’ve never been able to get a broad range of sounds out of the Burns, plus I find the tone holes are so small that I can’t get a decent E out of it, and sometimes not even a really strong F.
A year ago, I’d have agreed with Brett wholeheartedly. The Schultz isn’t a really easy flute to play, and I’d never recommend it as a first flute, but after you’ve had a little experience, and once you’ve played it for a month or so, it’s possible to get sounds out of it that you can’t get out of just any flute.