in your opinion, which are the best bamboo flutes (not exclusive for irish music) on the market? I want to buy a G and/or a E flute, but i want a decent instrument, not a piece of cane with seven holes.
I saw the web-page of william miller, and their instruments seams very good.
P.s. do you know a good bansuri flutes maker? A friend suggests me Jeff Whittier.
Billy Miller
I’ve heard a lot of people suggest Jeff Whittier…
David Chu’s are very cool. Though they’re very natural seeming, I do think he puts a lot of care and engineering into the scale. The hole spacing is unusual, using the RH little finger instead of 3rd finger. His wooden headjoints for Boehm flute are also amazing. And he makes bamboo headjoints too, and bamboo lip-plates. A great way to transform your silver flute into something with a lot more color and character.
I did considerable googling & research on this because I wanted to buy a bansuri for my first flute. I think you can’t go wrong with Jeff Whittier. I ended up going for an Irish flute so I don’t have any experience with Jeff Whittier myself, but if I do get a bansuri in the future I’d definitely get one from him and probably purchase it from One World Trading.
I’m personally a fan of the work done by Erik the Flutemaker. If memory serves me correctly, he’s been around longer than anyone else. He also offers the widest variety of bamboo flutes ranging from Native American, to Asian, and flutes suitable for Irish music. He offers concert pitched flutes in a large number of keys. I believe the lowest concert pitched key he offers is the “Low D” that would be used in Irish music. Have a look at his website: http://www.eriktheflutemaker.com/
Patrick Olwell’s bamboo flutes are still tops for me, but they’re like hen’s teeth. And on the used market they’re solid-gold hen’s teeth with diamond chips implanted. 
However, I have a few of Billy Miller’s flutes that are just fine for the price. I don’t use the G much because I have a low G whistle that I love, but I use the E on occasion and it’s grand for my purposes.
I don’t know if you’re interested in a fipple-end object, but I love the sound of whatever bamboo critter Ronan Browne’s playing here …http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQM2vFwEYEI&list=UUmmCyrEH3UL_-A1Gt9LojCg&index=2&feature=plcp
Of course, the fact that Ronan Browne’s playing it probably helps …
Question: is there something a good bamboo flute, like an Olwell or a Miller, does that a good bansuri cannot do?
Vice versa? I lived in India for several years and played bamboo flutes made there (though without lessons)
and I’m not aware of a difference in the flutes, though of course there is plenty of difference in the
way they are played.
If you looking for a bansuri (Indian bamboo flute), I also recommend flutes made by the performance master and flutemaker, Harsh Wardhan. I owned one once, but after some time I found it a new home, where hopefully it would be played more than I was playing it.
Bansuris are made from a thin-wall cane bamboo, whereas other bamboo flutes (Olwell flutes and shakuhachis, for example) are made from thicker-wall bamboo. This means that the embouchure demands of the flutes will be different. I don’t think that I would choose a bansuri to play Irish music, but others may have a different opinion.
http://wardhan.com/
And what about the tuning? Bansuri are just intonation while Irish flutes are equal temperament. Not sure about Olwell bamboo flutes.
One thing I like about bansuri is they have big holes which makes half-holing and sliding easier. *in theory, I haven’t played one.
I was in a new age shop in Sedona last weekend and there was a walking stick that had holes in it. so I picked it up and discovered it was a flute! it even had a compass on the top. it was very long but the finger holes were very close together. The woman working in the store said “have you tried it yet?” and I said “no have you?” and she said no and we both picked one up and started playing them. I had just got my irish flute a few days earlier so I was not very good, yet this bamboo cane/flute played very easily. She said “ah you’re a flute player”. i said “well not really”. I was surprised how well it sounded and how easy it was. But for $150 I passed on it. I had doubts about the tuning. Interesting concept though.
You have made a seriously wrong assertion, Cunparis:
And what about the tuning? Bansuri are just intonation while Irish flutes are equal temperament. Not sure about Olwell bamboo flutes.
I simply would not want a flute that was equally out of tune on on every note, especially not on one I would use for primarily melodic music. I believe tuning is best given its own thread, but in short, what one would want in an @irish@ flute would be , for want of a better term, neutrally tuned flute.
I don’t want to sound good against an harmonic accompaniment that spans seven or eight octaves. Nor do I wish to play modal based melodies against some full chord thumper following conventional harmonic theory.
Bob
I’m guessing that most makers of bamboo flutes will also make a flute with a tempered scale. For example, the Indian flutemaker that I mentioned earlier, Harsh Wardhan, has a complete offering of bansuris in many keys, all with tempered scales for Western music. You do need to be careful in ordering the flutes, though, because the key of the flute is when XXX OOO are covered instead of the standard XXX XXX that we are used to in the West. That means that a bansuri in the key of G would play the same scale as a low D Irish flute. You can see from the website given on the link that the bansuri G flute is 66 cm. long, and that is the same length as my concert flute with a low C foot, which, similar to the low D Irish flute, plays the D major scale as the fingers are raised. It has been several years since I thought about this, so I may be confusing this key naming discrepancy with shakuhachis. Bansuri players will set me straight, if I have this fouled up.
http://bansuri-shop.wardhan.com/Bansuri_for_Western_music.html
Ronan Browne once explained his “low whistles” on his website but it seems he’s changed his site content a bit. A question on his whistles came up recently over on the whistle forum. Here’s what I found then:
Feadoggie
Bob, you are probably correct in saying that tuning might need its own thread, but let me break that rule with a quick comment. From what prominent Irish flutemakers have said on this forum, I am of the opinion that modern Irish flutes are generally tuned with standard ET (equal temperment) tuning. However, the embouchure of the flute allows the player to adjust that tuning somewhat to his/her liking (neutrally tuned, Just tuning) depending on the musical setting.
Have a look on that video. Sorry, this is in french.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlh5c0jvdgA
But I think the flutes are worth the purchase : the maker, Seli (for Kaim Seligman), harvests himself the bamboo canes, the preparation of the bamboo and making of the instrument have been learnt from indian master makers.
The tone is superb, vibrant and powerful, typical of the bamboo, warm and homogenous throughout the first 2 octaves.The prices are high (I bought one about 5 years ago for a little less than 200 euros with a B3 246 Hz, bell note) , but with those flutes you have a perfectly in tune (A 440), well finished, and beautiful instrument for a long time !
On the other hand, you must be warned that the holes are very large, especially with flutes like mine, and that the distance between ring and middle finger (bottom hand) is unusual compared to the irish flute. Piper’s grip mandatory. The design is especially suited for indian classical music, hindustani, interpretation. Flutes with D bell note, if ever made, should though be easier to play.
All contact infos at the end of the video.
Didier
Hello,
I have a Ray Brook low d Bamboo flute.
Can’t say i not happy with it, it works for irish music (i would prefer it to be louder.)
This is his “Irish” model, he makes other bamboo flutes and digeridoos.
My biggest complaint is that it’s rock solid first octave, is far superior to its thin, weaker second octave.
hope this helps,
francie