Hi everyone,
Just bought a flute from another C&F member, now I need to get a case for it. Its an Old German 8-key (well, 7 since the long f is broken) in three pieces, total length assembled with the tuning slide in its current position just under 26 inches…anything else I need to add? I don’t need the greatest case in the world, I’m not doing serious traveling with it, more like somewhere to keep it when its dissassembled and something to take it to the park with.
I have some suggestions. I use a baby blanket to roll up my flutes and whistles. I make sure there is cloth on both sides as I roll them up so there is no banging. At home I use a test tube drying rack (I’m not sure where you would go to buy one though).
An idea for an inexpensive case is to look for a used attache, the hard ones with a lock. Buy some foam at a craft store and cut to fit. This will make a sturdy case and cost very little. Someone found a similar case new at one of the office supply stores (Staples, Office Depot) and rolled their own.
Pistol cases are often suitable for whistles, there are probably larger gun cases that would fit a flute.
If the flute is valuable, be careful what type of case you carry and store it in. Thieves like guns, and you wouldn’t want one to be surprised to find your instrument inside what they thought was a gun case. They’d no doubt toss the lot in the trash. There was a thread not long ago in which a contributor had his house broken into, and his flutes and whistles stolen. They were in pistol cases, and his thought was that if the thieves had known they were musical intruments, they would have left them alone, but of course they didn’t open the cases to check. These are no doubt good cases, but I wouldn’t store the flute in one in my house. I’d store in in another innocuous container of some sort, and use the pistol-type case when I went out. Hammy Hamilton supplies an excellent flute case, but its pricey.
For your purposes a Cavallaro flute roll would do.
The pistol case is a good deal cheaper; pistol cases
go for about 10 bucks, I think, and provide
better protection, but the roll will do–the roll isn’t
highly recommended for keyed flutes,
however, if real protection is needed.
The concern about theft of a pistol case is
worth factoring in, and the fact remains that
these are widely used for keyed flutes–some
makers provide them for their flutes, etc.
P.S. Just to add Cavallaro cases are available
from Doc Jone, the Irish flute store.
Hi–
You might want to go back through this thread
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=27315&highlight=
best -
Linda
Hi all,
thanks for the replies…I read through the thread, and I think the pistol case sounds like the way to go; cheap, protective, and handles my new flute’s keys. Although finding, and then walking around NYC with a pistol case will be interesting…wonder how many times I’ll get stopped by the cops? Also makes me wonder if I want to bring this with me when I fly to New Orleans in a couple of weeks…I’m thinking maybe a couple of whistles will suffice…thanks again everyone, if I get any interesting stories out of this, I’ll let you know…
Put the case in a bag, I suggest. Probably no trouble
with airports–X ray machines.
Just to add my two cents…
Cavallaros are wonderful, but, I’d definitely go with the pistol case for a keyed flute.
Doc
Most people mistake my pistol case for a drill case–slightly less violent.
I suppose the proper drill could provide a nice D drone…
Since you’re in New York City you might want to stop by Rod Baltimore’s store on 48th Street (music row) between 7th (near Broadway) and 6th Avenues on the south side. If you bring your flute and talk to the guys there you might find a nice old hard case that, with a little tweaking, will hold your flute. I’ve got a couple from them in the past and they were decent and not that expensive.
–Mike